Express Towers
| Express Towers | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Location | Mumbai |
| Address | Marine Drive, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400021 |
| Country | India |
| Coordinates | 18°55′41″N 72°49′19″E / 18.928062°N 72.822082°ECoordinates: 18°55′41″N 72°49′19″E / 18.928062°N 72.822082°E |
| Current tenants |
Indian Express Limited DBS Bank Blackstone Group Ernst & Young McKinsey & Company Warburg Pincus Wells Fargo Merrill Lynch Columbia University |
| Completed | 1972 |
| Renovated | 2008-2012 |
| Owner | American private equity firm Blackstone and Pune-based Panchshil Realty |
| Height | 105 metres (344 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | Basement+Parking+ground+25 |
| Floor area | 400,000 square feet (37,000 m2) |
| Lifts/elevators | 10 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Joseph Allen Stein |
| Renovating team | |
| Architect | Praveen Vashisht & Associates |
| Renovating firm | Xebec Project Management Services www |
| Services engineer | Spectral Services Consultants |
| Website | |
| www |
|
The Express Towers is a 25-storey building located on Marine Drive in Nariman Point, Mumbai. Upon its completion in 1972, the 105 metres (344 ft) building was the tallest building in South Asia for about two years. The building serves as the corporate headquarters of Indian Express Limited, which also owns the building. On 19 November 2013 Blackstone Group along with Pune-based Panchshil Realty reached a deal to buy the iconic South Mumbai building for Rupees 900 crore (US$144 million).
The building was commissioned by Ramnath Goenka, founder of Indian Express Limited, who was determined to build the tallest building in South Asia. It was the first major building to be built in the reclaimed land of Nariman Point.
The building was designed by Joseph Allen Stein, an American architect who chose to settle in India. A Padma Shri awardee, he was well known for his elegant, simple and ecologically gentle architecture and his buildings today are recognized as landmarks worthy of preservation.
The Express Towers is valuable for this was the only high-rise Stein ever designed. The building is unique for the way it connects to the ground. The tower block rises from a terrace garden above a three floor high podium. Even in mid 1960s, he recognized the increasing use of cars particularly for a commercial building like this. Thus a full floor at street level was dedicated to parking, visitors on foot were brought into the building by a gentle ramp on the floor above and also allowed to pass though the building by another ramp on the other side. The lift and stairs core in the centre of the tower block allowed openings on all four sides. Cantilevered balconies at lintel level protect the full height windows from sun and rain, while occupants have a magnificent views of the Arabian Sea on one side and the city and the harbour on the other.
The Express Towers at the time it was completed was the tallest building in South Asia, a position it held for about two years. It surpassed the 101 metres (331 ft) Habib Bank Plaza in Karachi. In turn, it was surpassed by the Oberoi Trident Towers which measured 117 metres (384 ft).
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