FW Stevens submitted two coloured drawings of his design, one of its exterior and one of the Council Chamber, backing it with convincing arguments. He had visited Europe to study town halls and proposed a well-ventilated building for the municipality. Steven's new design was accepted and he was awarded the project, and Chisholm's proposal was cancelled.
Animal figures feature extensively on the BMC building. They are often camouflaged within the dense floral motifs on pillar capitals. The animals are found in Mumbai and provide an important local context to the buildings, representing the ecological diversity of the region. They include squirrels, owls, herons, monkeys, snakes, peacocks, rats and other animals.
Frederick Stevens incorporated a double dome inside the main tower of the BMC building. The outer dome is visible from the street, but the inner dome is visible only from the entrance hall when the visitor looks up. The inner dome was inspired by the Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur. However, spanning just 45 feet in diameter, the inner dome is much smaller in scale compared to the Gol Gumbaz, which is the largest unsupported dome in India.
Though they are mistaken as lions, the 'lions' at the BMC building are chimeras—a mix of various animals—hence they appear with wings and a serpentine tail. The chimera has been attributed to the British dominance over land, sea and air. However, it is more likely that the motif was inspired from the flag of the Republic of Venice, which featured winged lions, one of the many elements Frederick W. Stevens incorporated from Venetian Gothic architecture.
The entrance lobby is a confluence of raw materials used in construction of the BMC building. The doorways are flanked by marble colonnettes with decorative floral capitals. In addition to iron gates, a variety of security systems are now installed here. Nowadays, this is the entrance through which visitors are screened and allowed inside the building.
Gargoyles are another design element Frederick W. Stevens incorporated from Venetian Gothic architecture. Gargoyles, chimeras and griffons became very popular motifs in cathedrals, churches and castles in the Middle Ages in Europe. In Mumbai, they appear extensively in many of Stevens’ buildings, notably more at CSMT. At the BMC building, they are used sparingly, perched on top of turrets.
The foundation stone for the BMC building was laid on December 19,1884, by the Viceroy, the Marquis of Ripon. The commemorative plaque can be seen inside the BMC building at the entrance lobby. However, work on the site started five years later, on April 25, 1889. After four years of construction, BMC building was finally completed on July 31, 1893.
Frederick W. Stevens designed the CSMT and BMC buildings within a decade of each other. As a result, both buildings have common features, design elements and building materials. Stevens described his building style as ‘...a free treatment of early Gothic with an Oriental feeling, which, I consider, the best adapted for the site the buildings are to occupy.’
Frederick W. Stevens was primarily influenced by Gothic architecture, and it is in Gothic that most of his projects were executed. Within the Gothic genre, Stevens had a particular liking for Venetian Gothic, which originated in Italy in the twelfth century. Inspired from Venetian Gothic, Stevens used stained-glass windows extensively throughout the BMC building.
Detail of brackets inside the BMC building. These were inspired from Hindu temple architecture. The amalgamation of Hindu and Islamic architectural details with the overall Gothic style was a delicate and gradual process which Frederick Stevens successfully managed to balance, thereby guaranteeing his pre-eminence in this style during the zenith of Bombay Gothic architecture.