Mumbai's Art Deco buildings - believed to be the world's second largest collection after Miami - were added on Saturday to UNESCO's World Heritage List alongside the city's better-known Victorian Gothic architecture. The decision was approved at a UNESCO meeting in the Bahraini capital Manama.
A not-for-profit team of enthusiasts are in the process of documenting every single one of Mumbai's Art Deco treasures but they estimate there may be more than 200 across India's bustling financial capital. The majority of them, built on reclaimed land between the early 1930s and early 1950s, are clustered together in the south of the coastal city where they stand in stark contrast to Victorian Gothic structures.
"The Victorian ensemble includes Indian elements suited to the climate, including balconies and verandas," UNESCO said in a press statement announcing the decision. "The Art Deco edifices... blend Indian design with Art Deco imagery, creating a unique style that has been described as Indo-Deco," it added.
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