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David Sassoon Library
David Sassoon Library
Mumbai, India
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Other Projects by Abha Narain Lambah Associates
David Sassoon Library
Mumbai, India
Type
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2022
SIZE
5000 sqft - 10,000 sqft
BUDGET
$100K - 500K
The David Sassoon Library and Reading Room is the oldest Victorian Gothic structure in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the “Victorian & Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai”. Owing to its contribution to the architectural and cultural heritage of the city, this gem of a building holds significance locally and nationally and is a listed Grade I heritage building. The building is located right in the middle of the historic neighbourhood of Kala Ghoda which is an art and cultural hub.
The historic structure was built through the generous endowment of Bombay’s Baghdadi Jew merchant Sir David Sassoon and thus the library is an important landmark of Jewish heritage. The library is also an integral part of the nine-day long Kala Ghoda Art Festival held in February that is attended by over 150,000 people every year, hosting many book readings and activities during the festival.
The David Sassoon Library is amongst the first few buildings to be built on newly acquired land after the demolition of the redundant fort walls that were protecting the western coast of Bombay in the mid 19th century. Constructed in 1867-1870 in a Victorian Gothic style of architecture, the building was designed by Gostling and Campbell, and an Indian architect Khan Bahadur Muncherjee Cowasjee Murzaban was involved in execution of the library’s stunning interiors. The building originally functioned as the Mechanics’ Institute primarily used by foreign mechanics working at the mint and government dockyard, and was later renamed after its benefactor as the David Sassoon Library.
In 2020, the members of the David Sassoon Library approached Abha Narain Lambah to restore their building. The library reading room had been leaking profusely and the roof slab was in deteriorated. For the past half a century, visitors to the library had seen the reading room roofed over by a flat Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) slab. This slab had been introduced into the building as a later intervention, in the late 1960s, when the original historic pitched roof was demolished to make way for a reinforced concrete slab. Subsequently the slab had been repaired in 1997 and again waterproofed in 2009 under repair projects led by different architects and yet the leakages persisted. Over time this incongruous intervention developed water leakage issues in the building making the archival books housed in the library vulnerable to damage. The 150-year-old structure had faced substantial damage and the library’s collection was vulnerable to the persistent leakage, peeling plaster, timber deterioration and poor maintenance.
As the team of conservation architects of Abha Narain Lambah Associates began documenting and researching the building, they found some interesting evidence that was to inform and guide the conservation approach for the project. Archival photographs from the 19th century showed the reading room roofed by a pitched gable roof, covered in terracotta tiles and with a cresting at the ridge. There was thus irrefutable and clear evidence that the concrete slab was a later intervention and that the reading room was originally covered with a pitched roof and had a stone gable wall with polychromatic stone masonry and arched profile of windows on the gable end. The team further investigated and found the r.c.c slab to have replaced the original roof sometimes in the late 1960s. Moreover, structural examination of the concrete slab led the team to realise that the slab was already weakened, with major corrosion of reinforcement and leakages as a result. The dead load of the slab and corrosion of the reinforcement was further distressing the historic structure.
It was thus evident that rather than repair the concrete slab, the way forward was to remove the later addition and restore the building to its original roof profile. The conservation architects decided to recommend this approach to the Library Committee, to restore (based on photographic and archival evidence) the original historic roof profile by reconstructing the sloping roof instead of repairing the concrete flat slab which was a later intervention and had outlived its use. The members of the David Sassoon Library and Abha Narain approached corporates and citizens groups to support the restoration project. To undertake the ambitious project of the roof as well as comprehensive electrical upgrade and interior restoration, substantial funds were required. They approached Mrs. Sangita Jindal of JSW Foundation to seek support and she pledged to support the restoration of the Grade I heritage Victorian Library and cover the expenses required. JSW Foundation partnered with ICICI Foundation, Hermès, Kala Ghoda Association, The Consulate General of Israel, Mumbai and others to raise the needed funds for the restoration project. This mammoth task has only been possible through such a collective partnership and unrelenting support of corporates, citizen groups, local associations and consuls in restoring the building.
To restore the 480 Sq.m area of the library, the conservation team submitted a conservation proposal to the city Heritage Conservation Committee who unanimously agreed to reconstruct the original roof of the building. After obtaining required statutory approvals, an experienced contractor M/s Savani Heritage was appointed. The project began towards the end of winter in February 2022 and was completed within 16 months; and the roof works itself was completed within two months in a race against the battering monsoon season of Mumbai. The project was inaugurated in early June 2023 at a total cost of Rs. 4,00,00,000 or $5,00,000.
Archival 19th century photographs and archival watercolour drawings from the period of construction of the building formed the basis for this restoration. Thus, the team was clear the this was not to be a conjectural re-construction, but was based on clear archival evidence of photographs and drawings.
The first key intervention of this project was to restore the original roof profile. This began with carefully demolishing the concrete flat lab without damaging the stone masonry. This was followed by fabricating trusses in the hammer beam profile seen in archival drawings to support the sloping wood and terracotta tiled roof in time before the monsoon. This architectural and structural ingenuity was achieved by employing a combination of building materials and traditional construction techniques. The design of the truss, the polychromatic gables walls and other distinct architectural details were derived through an extensive archival research on the building. The trusses were fabricated in steel and placed carefully upon the stone walls. The gable wall was carefully erected using carefully matched yellow basalt (Malad stone) and softer Porbunder limestone by expert masons and craftsmen.
The rear garden of the Library was transformed into a workmen’s yard, with lime being slaked, sieved and mixed at site; arch voussoirs carefully placed and matched to the architect’s drawings, wooden boarding sorted from old Burma teak wood of matching size to that found in the surviving original roof over the staircase. The gable walls of the reading room had rectangular windows that had originally supported arched lancets but were demolished in the 1960s intervention. The arched gable windows were carefully reconstructed based on the old photographs and carefully crafted with stone voussoirs by a team of Gujarati master craftsmen. All the old Burma teak wood windows were carefully scraped and polished and the historic Minton tiled floors were preserved and restored in-situ.
The next intervention was to revisit and upgrade the interior of the library and administrative spaces to compliment the Victoria Gothic exterior. The conservation architects were also able to establish that the past interventions of the 1960s was also the time when most of the shelving units seemed to have been re-designed, as the other Victorian furniture original to the building’s construction did not match the style and period of the book shelves in the reading room which were definitely mid-century in their design. Thus, whilst the historic Victorian Minton tiles and Victorian wooden tables, chairs and other furniture was restored as found, the shelving needed to be designed as per the Victorian Gothic interior. The mid-century book shelves were replaced with shelving more appropriate to the Victorian design, basing the design of the shelving on the design of the window shutters seen elsewhere through out the library. The remaining historic furniture was carefully hand polished and placed in position.
The original building was lit with gas lights, and then electrical lighting was introduced in the 20th century. The gas pipes have been carefully retained. All the original wrought iron railings, fretwork, louvered window shutters, doors, flooring and Victorian carvings have been carefully restored and preserved.
The project is envisioned as a prototype for revival of cultural heritage through architectural restoration. The project is unique wherein the core goal of all the donors and stakeholders was to give back a gem to the city without seeking any financial benefits.
Today, the David Sassoon Library has a visitation of over 1000 people every month who come to engage with its beauty. The library’s over 2,900 patrons and life members who visit the library regularly and around 300 life memberships who join every year can now enjoy peaceful reading ambience in an otherwise bustling city.
The historic structure was built through the generous endowment of Bombay’s Baghdadi Jew merchant Sir David Sassoon and thus the library is an important landmark of Jewish heritage. The library is also an integral part of the nine-day long Kala Ghoda Art Festival held in February that is attended by over 150,000 people every year, hosting many book readings and activities during the festival.
The David Sassoon Library is amongst the first few buildings to be built on newly acquired land after the demolition of the redundant fort walls that were protecting the western coast of Bombay in the mid 19th century. Constructed in 1867-1870 in a Victorian Gothic style of architecture, the building was designed by Gostling and Campbell, and an Indian architect Khan Bahadur Muncherjee Cowasjee Murzaban was involved in execution of the library’s stunning interiors. The building originally functioned as the Mechanics’ Institute primarily used by foreign mechanics working at the mint and government dockyard, and was later renamed after its benefactor as the David Sassoon Library.
In 2020, the members of the David Sassoon Library approached Abha Narain Lambah to restore their building. The library reading room had been leaking profusely and the roof slab was in deteriorated. For the past half a century, visitors to the library had seen the reading room roofed over by a flat Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) slab. This slab had been introduced into the building as a later intervention, in the late 1960s, when the original historic pitched roof was demolished to make way for a reinforced concrete slab. Subsequently the slab had been repaired in 1997 and again waterproofed in 2009 under repair projects led by different architects and yet the leakages persisted. Over time this incongruous intervention developed water leakage issues in the building making the archival books housed in the library vulnerable to damage. The 150-year-old structure had faced substantial damage and the library’s collection was vulnerable to the persistent leakage, peeling plaster, timber deterioration and poor maintenance.
As the team of conservation architects of Abha Narain Lambah Associates began documenting and researching the building, they found some interesting evidence that was to inform and guide the conservation approach for the project. Archival photographs from the 19th century showed the reading room roofed by a pitched gable roof, covered in terracotta tiles and with a cresting at the ridge. There was thus irrefutable and clear evidence that the concrete slab was a later intervention and that the reading room was originally covered with a pitched roof and had a stone gable wall with polychromatic stone masonry and arched profile of windows on the gable end. The team further investigated and found the r.c.c slab to have replaced the original roof sometimes in the late 1960s. Moreover, structural examination of the concrete slab led the team to realise that the slab was already weakened, with major corrosion of reinforcement and leakages as a result. The dead load of the slab and corrosion of the reinforcement was further distressing the historic structure.
It was thus evident that rather than repair the concrete slab, the way forward was to remove the later addition and restore the building to its original roof profile. The conservation architects decided to recommend this approach to the Library Committee, to restore (based on photographic and archival evidence) the original historic roof profile by reconstructing the sloping roof instead of repairing the concrete flat slab which was a later intervention and had outlived its use. The members of the David Sassoon Library and Abha Narain approached corporates and citizens groups to support the restoration project. To undertake the ambitious project of the roof as well as comprehensive electrical upgrade and interior restoration, substantial funds were required. They approached Mrs. Sangita Jindal of JSW Foundation to seek support and she pledged to support the restoration of the Grade I heritage Victorian Library and cover the expenses required. JSW Foundation partnered with ICICI Foundation, Hermès, Kala Ghoda Association, The Consulate General of Israel, Mumbai and others to raise the needed funds for the restoration project. This mammoth task has only been possible through such a collective partnership and unrelenting support of corporates, citizen groups, local associations and consuls in restoring the building.
To restore the 480 Sq.m area of the library, the conservation team submitted a conservation proposal to the city Heritage Conservation Committee who unanimously agreed to reconstruct the original roof of the building. After obtaining required statutory approvals, an experienced contractor M/s Savani Heritage was appointed. The project began towards the end of winter in February 2022 and was completed within 16 months; and the roof works itself was completed within two months in a race against the battering monsoon season of Mumbai. The project was inaugurated in early June 2023 at a total cost of Rs. 4,00,00,000 or $5,00,000.
Archival 19th century photographs and archival watercolour drawings from the period of construction of the building formed the basis for this restoration. Thus, the team was clear the this was not to be a conjectural re-construction, but was based on clear archival evidence of photographs and drawings.
The first key intervention of this project was to restore the original roof profile. This began with carefully demolishing the concrete flat lab without damaging the stone masonry. This was followed by fabricating trusses in the hammer beam profile seen in archival drawings to support the sloping wood and terracotta tiled roof in time before the monsoon. This architectural and structural ingenuity was achieved by employing a combination of building materials and traditional construction techniques. The design of the truss, the polychromatic gables walls and other distinct architectural details were derived through an extensive archival research on the building. The trusses were fabricated in steel and placed carefully upon the stone walls. The gable wall was carefully erected using carefully matched yellow basalt (Malad stone) and softer Porbunder limestone by expert masons and craftsmen.
The rear garden of the Library was transformed into a workmen’s yard, with lime being slaked, sieved and mixed at site; arch voussoirs carefully placed and matched to the architect’s drawings, wooden boarding sorted from old Burma teak wood of matching size to that found in the surviving original roof over the staircase. The gable walls of the reading room had rectangular windows that had originally supported arched lancets but were demolished in the 1960s intervention. The arched gable windows were carefully reconstructed based on the old photographs and carefully crafted with stone voussoirs by a team of Gujarati master craftsmen. All the old Burma teak wood windows were carefully scraped and polished and the historic Minton tiled floors were preserved and restored in-situ.
The next intervention was to revisit and upgrade the interior of the library and administrative spaces to compliment the Victoria Gothic exterior. The conservation architects were also able to establish that the past interventions of the 1960s was also the time when most of the shelving units seemed to have been re-designed, as the other Victorian furniture original to the building’s construction did not match the style and period of the book shelves in the reading room which were definitely mid-century in their design. Thus, whilst the historic Victorian Minton tiles and Victorian wooden tables, chairs and other furniture was restored as found, the shelving needed to be designed as per the Victorian Gothic interior. The mid-century book shelves were replaced with shelving more appropriate to the Victorian design, basing the design of the shelving on the design of the window shutters seen elsewhere through out the library. The remaining historic furniture was carefully hand polished and placed in position.
The original building was lit with gas lights, and then electrical lighting was introduced in the 20th century. The gas pipes have been carefully retained. All the original wrought iron railings, fretwork, louvered window shutters, doors, flooring and Victorian carvings have been carefully restored and preserved.
The project is envisioned as a prototype for revival of cultural heritage through architectural restoration. The project is unique wherein the core goal of all the donors and stakeholders was to give back a gem to the city without seeking any financial benefits.
Today, the David Sassoon Library has a visitation of over 1000 people every month who come to engage with its beauty. The library’s over 2,900 patrons and life members who visit the library regularly and around 300 life memberships who join every year can now enjoy peaceful reading ambience in an otherwise bustling city.
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