Design to rejuvenate Mumbai’s 'forgotten' Maharashtra Nature Park

The winners have been announced in a global design competition to makeover Maharashtra Nature Park in Mumbai, India with new landscaping and a pedestrian and cycle bridge over the city’s Mithi River.

A team led by architecture firm Sameep Padora & Associates (SP&A) will now develop their masterplan for the prestigious scheme, after being selected for the project by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

30 multidisciplinary teams from around the world entered the race for the project; tasked with dreaming up a design to “inspire and impress 20y million Mumbaikars who are resolute in making their city more inclusive, nature-loving, liveable and better connected.”

Over three rounds, the list of competing teams was whittled down to a final two: SP&A and Tiarstudio & Atria Arquitetos.

The successful collective, which also includes landscape architects Design Cell and architecture studio Ratan J Batliboi Consultants, have been awarded 50 lakhs (US$73,400) They will work on the final design until it is ready to be approved by planning authorities and executed by a contractor.

Explaining their hopes for the project, the architects said they will “rejuvenate one of the rare parcels of urban forest that lie forgotten within the city.”

The masterplan will substantially expand the existing forest-like environment and boost its potential as a site for both tourism and nature education. The design team envision a central courtyard for markets and performances, an ampitheatre and library, and boardwalks along the park’s mangroves. They will also create a bridge “that has the potential to become a destination rather than a simple connect.”

Image: Sameep Padora & Associates' winning design for Maharashtra Nature Park.

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