Minerva Tower becomes India's tallest completed building

Mumbai firm Architect Hafeez Contractor reveals the 301-metre-tall Minerva Tower, the tallest completed skyscraper in India, in our latest Dezeen Exclusive.

At 91 storeys, the dual-tower residential building in Mumbai is one of just two supertall structures in India – skyscrapers that exceed 300 metres in height.

The other is the upcoming Palais Royale residential skyscraper, also in Mumbai, which remains under construction but is the tallest topped-out building in India at 320 metres.

Minerva Tower contains 362 marketable apartments and was created by Architect Hafeez Contractor as part of a wider redevelopment of a 2.6-hectare informal settlement in the city.

Developed in line with the Mumbai Slum Redevelopment Policy – a scheme overseen by the government's Slum Rehabilitation Authority – the renewal project involved rehoming residents across 10 new, formal high-rise housing blocks and constructing community infrastructure to support it.

According to the studio, the Minerva Tower was developed to maximise the density of the 6000-square-metre parcel of land that remained after the rehousing process.

"When one sees the photographs of the building, or learns that it is the tallest building in India, one might assume that building that high was the ambition or the primary client brief," said the studio's founder Hafeez Contractor.

"It wasn't," he told Dezeen. "The 6.5-acre (2.6-hectare) site was largely occupied by slums, and the first mandate was to rehouse residents in permanent buildings with schools, shops and community infrastructure across nearly five acres (two hectares)."

"Only after fulfilling those obligations did the development rights and floor space index for the tower become available," added Contractor. "The tower's form is therefore a byproduct of social responsibility, regulation and land efficiency."

As of early 2026, Minerva Tower is officially the tallest completed building in India. However, according to Contractor, its design and completion are not indicative of an active drive to build taller in the country.

He straightforwardly explained that tall buildings in India are developed as "a constraint-driven response, rather than a competitive race".

"In India, height is rarely a vanity decision – it is usually an economic and regulatory outcome," said Contractor.

"In Mumbai especially, land is often accessed through slum rehabilitation, and after rehousing obligations and premiums, the remaining sale parcel becomes very small. Vertical construction is, therefore, a necessity to make projects financially viable while meeting policy requirements."

Minerva Tower is distinguished by its twin-tower form, unified by a podium, continuous curved decks and deep-set balconies. It was built primarily from reinforced concrete.

According to Architect Hafeez Contractor, all of the apartments were designed to have views of the greenery of the Mahalaxmi Racecourse and the Arabian Sea.

Studio founder Contractor said this "requirement naturally produced a slender, vertically expressed form rather than a deep, bulky tower" with inward-looking apartments.

The majority of the 362 homes are three- and four-bedroom apartments, but the tower also includes duplex penthouses and premium homes with up to five bedrooms. The podium contains parking and other amenities, including sports and leisure facilities.

Minerva Tower's final twin-tower form is an evolution of its original design, resulting from changes to Mumbai's building regulations during the construction process that related to built-up areas allowed on a given plot. 

"The tower underwent a rare mid-construction transformation due to regulatory change," said Contractor.

"Under earlier rules, large decks and common areas were exempt in the FSI (Floor Space Index), allowing expansive floor plates up to Level 51. When new regulations revoked those exemptions, the upper floors had to be redesigned with a reduced footprint, fewer apartments per floor and consolidated lift cores."

Other landmark residential buildings recently completed in Mumbai include an apartment building with pink fluted concrete facades by Nudes and a 12-storey home with a terracotta facade by Spasm Design.

The photography is by Noshir Gobhai. 

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