New York-based architect Arzan Sam Wadia helped design One Bryant Park, Bank of America’s headquarters and the world’s first LEED Platinum skyscraper. Raised in Mumbai’s middle-class, low-rise Tardeo, he recently revisited the area and was startled to see skyscrapers crowding its narrow lanes. In a conversation with Nauzer K Bharucha , he reflects on New York’s lessons, why the tower-ground relationship matters, and why Mumbai’s rapid vertical growth risks outpacing streets, services, safety, and long-term resilience.
I spent many years working on One Bryant Park, the Bank of America headquarters—a roughly 2.1-million-square-foot tower that became the world’s first LEED Platinum skyscraper. Regulatory changes have enabled much of this: higher FSI under DCPR 2034, fungible FSI that effectively expands saleable area, TDR mechanisms that shift development rights around the city, and redevelopment frameworks like cluster redevelopment and SRA that bring large FSI incentives.
It isn’t just height; it’s the feeling that the city is “made” by its towers, and that the public realm—the sidewalk, the avenue, the light between buildings—is inseparable from the skyline. A) I still remember my first day: walking down Park Avenue and instinctively looking up the whole time, almost unable to process how the buildings shape the street into these canyon-like rooms. As an architect, that initial awe eventually turns into a different kind of respect: you start noticing the discipline behind a tall building that works. In coastal areas, changes to CRZ rules have also loosened buffers, which adds another layer of long-term risk in a city already vulnerable to flooding and sea-level pressures. So my view is: Mumbai’s vertical ambition isn’t wrong—but without serious, enforced, area-by-area planning tied to infrastructure upgrades and street capacity, the skyscraper boom becomes less a symbol of progress and more a slow-moving urban liability. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Mumbai | Silver Rate in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai | Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Petrol Price in Mumbai | Diesel Price in Mumbai | CNG Price in Mumbai | LPG Price in Mumbai