Tata Groups reopens iconic Bombay House after renovations

Tata Group re-opened Bombay House, its headquarters in Mumbai, after a 9-month-long restoration process on Sunday, which also marked the 114th birth anniversary of its Former Chairman, JRD Tata.

Built in 1924, the 94-year-old heritage building has undergone energetic refurbishment and restoration for the first time in its history. The building was designed by the well-known architect, George Wittet, who was also the architect of the Gateway of India, the Prince of Wales Museum, now called Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya.

Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus, Tata Sons, inaugurated the iconic building in the presence of N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons and other Tata employees.

“The renovation of this 94-year-old heritage building, the first in its history, has revolved around designing for the employees a more modern, collaborative and informal workplace equipped with the best of technologies and security systems,” Chandrasekaran said.

The four floors of the building house offices of major Tata organisations. The historic boardroom on the fourth floor has been restored with only technology being a new addition.

The press release stated the new office space wears a modern look with well-designed common and collaborative spaces to meet the requirements of business today. The facade of the building remains unchanged, retaining its Edwardian neo-classical look. Each floor has been designed with agile workspaces and semi-formal collaboration zones for teams to work together.

The ground floor has been converted into a shared space housing a coffee lounge, informal breakout places, and the Tata Experience Centre (TXC), which is a digital museum aimed at giving visitors an immersive experience into the world of Tata using digital technologies for effective storytelling.

In a first for Bombay House, a kennel has been created for dogs. Each floor has digital meeting rooms with immersive technology to enable seamless collaboration. A custom-made app has been developed to bring together all the technology controls through an interface.

Bombay House was built on the two plots of land bought by Sir Dorabji Tata, the group’s second Chairman and Jamsetji Tata’s elder son, from the Bombay Municipality in 1920.