ANNOUNCEMENT

REVIEW
SHORTLIST

Overview

 

The competition has now concluded (December 2014) - below is the original call for interest.

 

The Museum was originally established in 1855 as the Government Central Economic Museum of the Bombay presidency. The oldest museum in Mumbai, it is situated amidst the lush surroundings of the city's botanical gardens and zoo.

 

In 1975 the name was changed to the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum after its eponymous founder, a polymath who practised as a physician and surgeon, whilst also doing pivotal research in archaeology and agitating for his countrymen's rights and education. Dr. Lad was the first native sheriff of Bombay.

 

The main building's Palladian architecture with high Victorian interiors is unique, not only in Mumbai but unrivalled in the whole of India. It recently underwent a major renovation, which won the 2005 UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Conservation Award of Excellence, the highest international award in this field.

 

The Citation comments, 'The building stands as a unique testimony to the development of Victorian architecture in the context of the hybrid building and crafts traditions of 19th Century India, as well as to the civic traditions embodied in one of the country's earliest museums.'

 

To find out more about the museum please see: www.bdlmuseum.org