International Cruise Terminal, Mumbai

​“I am an ardent traveler, and I wish for all my friends is to see all that I have.”
 

Travel for recreational or leisure purposes is the world's favorite leisure activity. Mumbai, despite being an island city and having such a rich heritage of shipping, trade and Architecture, Mumbai lacks a cruise terminal befitting the aspirations of both, the cruise vessels as well as the travelers.



The site for the International cruise terminal is the old piers of Lakri bandar, Coal bandar and Tank bandar at Darukhana, Mumbai.



The design stems from nautical forms, The terminal aspiring to push boats off into the vast ocean, the museum bringing boats back from the Ocean, both are at the two ends of the nautical journey we have embarked upon. Fishing boats have been designed over the last thousands of years to withstand the constant forces of the sea, they are the pioneers of shipping all over the world. Fishermen keep their boats upturned but ready to go at any moment, in that state they cannot be dragged into the sea by small waves nor do they get damaged, hence the roofs have the form of upturned boats, they are bound together by the strongest known ocean phenomenon, whirlpools, signifying the risks taken by adventurers and sailors while going out to sea. These boat hull shaped roofs are supported by columns in the form of reeds, holding them all in place.



A Maritime Museum is also proposed on the site at Lakri Bandar, as large ships can only enter on the northern side, leaving the south side free for cruise tenders and public spaces. There is a severe lack of understanding of the sea in the common public, and hence no love for the ocean from which Bombay rose. The Maritime Museum tries to bridge this gap and hence aspires to become a cultural hub for maritime Mumbai.

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