The beauty in blue
Nestled along the streets of Mumbai, stands a beautiful blue bungalow in all its glory. It sits right across Perry Road, in the queen of suburbs, Bandra. An old beauty built in the times of the British era. It is impossible for onlookers to not admire the bungalow while passing by.
An old world colonial bungalow in a pretty powder blue built in the 1930s with decorative white wainscoting around the windows and a vegetable garden, flowering plants and shady trees outside the periphery of the plot. Flanked by tall trees, the landmark structure has since shed all signs of the long battle and instead bears heritage status in the city.
Built in an Indo Portuguese style, ‘Peace Haven’ was a wedding gift by Valentine Clifford to his wife, Betty Clifford. Today, It is one of the few survivors on Perry Road, where, over the past decade, old bungalows have slightly made way for soaring, luxury, high rise apartment buildings.
The house, a typical English style villa was built according to patterns available in the books of time. The color blue was chosen on the facade as it was Mrs. Clifford’s favorite color. Peace Haven is truly the sign of true love which still stands strong in Bandra today.
Cottage bungalows and villas were a normal trend pattern in the queen of suburbs decades ago. Each bungalow represented a story or defined a special connection to its birth. Similar is the story of Peace Haven. It sits on a beautiful corner plot junction of Perry Road and Kantwadi Road of Bandra.
It is said that a building or a structure is as important and valued as its surroundings. All Catholic bungalows built during that time were registered under ‘Salsette Catholic’, a community of catholic where bungalows or villas could be passed onto members of the Catholic family only. Back in the day, Bandra was largely occupied by Catholics and hence, the community affinity worked towards defining their own set of rules and regulations especially when it came to property and religious affairs.
The Architecture
The architecture of the house is largely Portuguese influenced with big windows and stained glass patterns. It is typically recognised for its Mangalorean tile roofs which is an ode to Goan homes and porches. Inside the bungalow, one would find themselves transported to the old antique stores of Chor Bazaar – another famous area in Mumbai, with immaculate metal handles, furniture items and antique jewelry pieces from the old times.
The Interior
Peace Haven was built with materials imported from England, boasts solid wooden and cast iron staircases that till date do not creak. The interior of the house is more British than usual. It has multiple small entries right from its main entrance all the way back towards the backyard. Woodens beams in the ceiling of the living room make the space exceptionally grand and cozy at the same time. There is one balcony that runs around the house and the main door opens into a large living room that is separated from the dining room room and the kitchen. ‘Peace Haven’ is a ground plus one structure where both the floors, ground and first have an identical floor plan.
Each floor has three bedrooms, a kitchen, a small pantry and a store room. The bathrooms are built right next to each bedroom , slightly unlike the Indian concept of space planning. The most fascinating feature in the bungalow is the spiral staircase in the rear of the structure which gives access to the service area of the two floors. The beautifully crafted exposed staircase built in cast iron is the highlight of the bungalow in cases of events and exhibitions.
Case Study
Peace Haven is a classic case study of heritage structures in Bandra which has an integral history attached to its construction and design. It aims to revive and emphasize the social and political importance of royal heritage. It was built in the late 1930s where bungalows were the significance of family, community and unity. The architecture of each era is distinguished by its style of design, space planning and user preference.
Sustainability as a concept was not very popular in those days however, the society always made sure that the people, children and families were always connected to a little piece of green. The bungalows and cottages were usually attached with small portions of gardens or a backyard or a porch which each family converted to a vegetable garden or flowering according to their preference.
The bungalow today is famous for being leased out for film shootings, to raise money for its upkeep and maintenance. However, in the times of massive redevelopment and urbanization, Peace Haven stands in the conquest of being taken down and being replaced into another tall glass structure.
The beauty of Bandra stands in its bungalows, the cottages, the people, the history. Peace Haven is a beautiful and historic example of not only love and relationships but it also represents the beauty and the passion of architecture, design and the society. We need more peaceful ‘havens’ and less tall buildings.
