Designed by UCJ Architecture & Environment

Located in the greens of Goregaon, a picturesque suburb of Mumbai, on a plot of fourteen rolling acres, the IGIDR was planned as part of the commemoration of the RBI’s Golden Jubilee. This institute being the first of its kind in India and the other existing only in Great Britain, the central concern in designing was the extent of symbolism that could lead to an appropriate determinate in working out the final architectural solution.

The site sloping westward, set in hilly surroundings, is in close proximity of two famous historical monuments; Kanheri caves to the north and Elephanta caves to its south, To be relevant then, is to have a balance between the existing and the arrival.

The final design response is to both, the steep topography and the architectural heritage of the region. The earth-riveted structure has phenumetic connectors inter linking each other.

The theme followed for the institute’s architectural ordering is ‘From darkness to light’. This has been translated into building programme by graded admittance of natural light from auditorium to the researcher’s cubicles; the auditorium being the darkest. Light becomes a specified material.

The campus has two types of zones institutional and residential. The institutional spaces are made up broadly of an auditorium, a computer room, a library, research wings, an administration block and service utility core.

Networks of axiality provide inter-connections. The residential accommodation caters not just to the needs of the house staff but also hostel facilities for research scholars and invitees, These areas are tied up together by a centrally placed recreation hall as a transitional node. Densely landscaped and profusely planted raw open spaces complete the link.

Architects: UCJ Architecture & Environment

Project Name: IGIDR, Reserve Bank Of India

Location: Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Status: Completed in 1987

Architect in Charge: Uttam C. Jain

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