Vipassana Foundation, Mumbai

Project List

	Temple Architects
	Temple Restoration
	Temple Construction
	Handicrafts

Vipassana Foundation : Mumbai (Architects)

Temple Architects, Temple Construction, Temple Restoration

Mumbai's newest landmark, the majestic 325-feet tall Global Vipassana Pagoda, the tallest pillar-less dome in the world, was dedicated as a "world monument of peace and harmony" by President Pratibha Patil on February 8, 2009.

The structure looms majestically over the GVF complex, spread over 13 acres of lush greenery, near picturesque Gorai in northwest Mumbai, barely a kilometre from the Arabian Sea. Pagodas are multi-tiered structures common in China, Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and other countries where Buddhism is followed.

The structure measures 280 feet in diameter and

90 feet in height, and is flanked by two 60-ft tall pagodas.

Designed by Chandubhai Sompura on the lines of the She Dagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar, this pagoda is a hollow structure, having a dome of 280 feet diameter. Below it is a massive 6,000-sq pillar-less meditation hall which can accommodate 8,000 people at a time. Combining ancient building principles with modern techniques of construction, Chandubhai Sompura finally guided a structure using the 'interlocking principle of construction' for the huge stones - each weighing around 600-700 kg. The dome is more than three times the size of the large masonry structure - the Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur, Karnataka, which is 90 feet in diameter.