Concrete Shape

No structure, let alone a shopping mall, has provoked such annoyance, excitement and awe all at the same time. Which is why Kiran Kapadia has a lot to answer for. This young, Harvard-returned architect of Crossroads is the man behind the building. His landmark project in eight years, he spent over three-and-a-half years planning the mall from start to finish. The 30-member office of Kapadia Associates 8212; builders primarily of beach mansions and corporate structures 8212; burnt midnight oil for their first major public project. quot;The result is for the public to see. I think the best compliment I have received was from a lady, who said that finally here8217;s a shopping mall where one need not buy things.quot; In fact, Kapadia worked with exactly this purpose in mind. The atrium-like central area is what, he feels, has made the crucial difference. quot;It is the hub of activity. A space, big enough for a crowd to fit in, breathe and have fun after a shopping or eating spree. It8217;s a question of architectural control,which always works for any kind of structure.quot; The whole idea, was to lend it quot;an easy-going, yet a well-finished feelquot;.

But why the dominance of grey, if fun and easy-going was the desired look? quot;Because products should receive the maximum attention. The music and the noise already have an overwhelming effect. If the colours were bright too, the products would have taken a backseat. We have left enough scope for each showroom to work on their individual designs.quot; The other crucial feature that he religiously adhered to was the scope for free and smooth movement from one block to another through the interconnecting bridges. quot;It gives people the flexibility to move and the feeling of openness from all sides.quot;

He also denies that it is a copy of any other mall. quot;I have tried to keep up to an international standard in terms of the basic concepts, but it couldn8217;t possibly have been a copy, because the nature of the space, the environment and even the milieu is totally different. Crossroads is the first mall of its kind in the country, so the basic design is bound to be influenced by earlier designs like this, which only exist in other countries.quot;

In fact, the milieu around a particular site has been a deciding factor for Kapadia, who sees his designs as more quot;urban and global, rather than an assimilation of regional influencesquot; 8212; one of the reasons why he doesn8217;t see the relevance of heritage designs in a city like Mumbai.

quot;Contrary to popular belief, architecture is not just about ostentation and aesthetics, it is a lot about functionality.quot; A combination that will perhaps take yet another concrete shape with a hotel for the Oberoi group, in the pipeline for this architect who believes in building with the times.