The Arc
In a city as dynamic and paradoxical as Mumbai, where wealth and hardship live side by side, architecture becomes more than shelter, it becomes a form of social mediation. Here, the voices of the city speak in many tongues: from the fishermen and street vendors to doctors and teachers, each navigating a shared space through difference. This layered, textured existence is both the challenge and the beauty of urban life. The Arc emerges as a response to this complexity, an imagined village within the metropolis, compact and permeable, grounded in inclusivity and cultural memory.
Mumbai, dense and unrelenting, is a city of movement. Yet within its restless core, The Arc offers a pause, a chance to reflect on how we live together. Inspired by the intimacy of traditional villages, the project introduces a compact urban form defined by a built perimeter that encloses a vibrant internal world. This boundary, while protective, does not exclude. It embraces the city beyond, offering openings to waterfront parks, communal squares, and lush, natural landscaping. In doing so, The Arc becomes both a sanctuary and a connector, balancing retreat with openness.
At the heart of the village is its civic soul, a community pavilion that functions as a space for gathering, exchange, and cultural dialogue. Echoing historical precedents, it joins a lineage of village centers: the square, the market, the place of worship. This space, alongside the relocated temple and gym, forms a core that is symbolic and functional, with a newly proposed museum embedded within the Worli Fort, telling the story of the site and its earliest inhabitants.
As cities around the globe grapple with growing socio-economic divides, The Arc stands as a counter-proposal. Rather than replicate the segregated logics of modern urbanism, it invites connection. Public open spaces are curated with care, offering a sequence of green, activated zones: lush plantings, open plazas, framed vistas, and pedestrian pathways that encourage lingering, interaction, and shared experience. These light interventions are not ornamental, they are deeply performative, enabling a lifestyle that is sustainable, inclusive, and grounded in community.
The plan is resolutely pedestrian-oriented. A circulation diameter of 200 meters ensures ease of movement and intuitive navigation, connecting residents to surrounding neighbourhoods and transport nodes. Within this human-scaled framework, streets are alive with mixed-use activity, places of commerce, culture, and encounter. Designed to promote walking, conversation, and spontaneity, the streetscape rejects the alienation of car-dominated urbanism in favor of interaction and diversity.
The Arc does not pretend to resolve the vast inequalities of Mumbai. Instead, it offers a spatial and social proposition, one that acknowledges complexity and responds with care. It creates a new typology for urban living, rooted in memory, ecology, and collective well-being. In this re-imagined place, the sun filters softly through brick-lined openings, casting dappled shadows into shared verandas. Beyond, the ocean breathes against the edge of the city.
Here, a community stands not divided, but together, diverse, grounded, and hopeful.
