This week, details of a new master plan for Mindfulness City by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) for Bhutan’s forthcoming Gelephu Special Administration Region were disclosed in the South Asian country.
Render: Brick Visual
The proposal covers an area of 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) and aims to establish various infrastructures, such as a new international airport, hydroelectric dam, railway infrastructure, and university campus near Bhutan’s southern border with India. The plan envisions neighborhood-scale developments that reflect the convergence of 35 rivers and streams coursing through the site.
Render: Brick Visual
The densities of these developments will increase from the northern rural highlands to the more low-lying southern areas. The design also prioritizes biodiversity enhancement and ensures the undisturbed migratory routes of elephants and other regional wildlife.
Bjarke Ingels states that the Gelephu Masterplan is a realization of His Majesty’s vision of creating a city that encourages growth and innovation, while remaining deeply rooted in Bhutanese nature and culture. The Mindfulness City is envisioned as a unique place that seamlessly integrates nature, agriculture, and tradition. Waterways play a significant role in shaping Gelephu’s identity, transforming it into a landscape of bridges that connect nature with people, the past with the future, and the local with the global.
Render: Brick Visual
Ingels explains that livable bridges like the traditional Dzongs go beyond their functional roles and become cultural landmarks serving both as transportation infrastructure and civic facilities. The Sankosh Temple-Dam, in particular, integrates the city’s core values into a tiered landscape of steps and landings. Comparable to a 21st-century Tiger’s Nest, it will be a human-made monument, symbolizing the potential for a sustainable human presence on earth. It transforms engineering into art and harnesses the forces of nature into power.
Render: BIG
BIG has not yet disclosed a construction timeline for the project, but they claim it will result in a hybrid offspring blending Bhutan’s rich historical heritage with its promising future legacy.
