The 16.48-acre site sits directly in front of Terminal 2 with a 340m frontage to the terminal, wrapped by elevated arrivals roads and grade-level departure roads. The four-sided visibility from the airport road network makes the destination visible from every approach to the terminal, integrating it into the airport arrival and departure sequence. This visibility influenced the design response, with the development broken up into different sections, each with its own facade treatment and visual identity.

The commercial strategy team modelled user journeys prior to spatial allocation, testing how different programme distributions would affect footfall, sales and rent. The analysis modelled airport users and non-airport visitors as two distinct demand streams, sizing the commercial provision to draw from both catchments.

The destination is organised as seven districts, each drawing on one of the seven original islands that became modern Mumbai. Each carries its own material palette and design language: Parel’s craft quarter draws on the textile mills and artisan trades, Colaba’s luxury quarter takes its cues from The Taj Mahal Palace, and Worli’s entertainment district draws on the city’s Bollywood culture. A central rainforest spine takes its cue from the Colaba Causeway.

Biophilic design runs through the development, with five centrepiece biomes anchoring the scheme and providing places to pause between the city and the gate. Designed as interactive sensory spaces, the biomes give passengers a register of stillness that landside developments rarely offer.