Bhutan’s Mindfulness Masterplan Resetting How Cities Work

The brief to the architects was two words: “mindfulness city”. And in a world of big city dreams, this one is being realised. The leader of Bhutan, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, has appointed BIG, Arup and Cistri to draft how a piece of rural land can be turned into a city of the future. The masterplan includes an airport, railway connections, hydroelectric dam and new neighbourhoods across more than 2500sq km in the nation’s south. Bhutan is a small, landlocked country in the eastern Himalayas of South Asia, bordered by India and China, and has a population of about 780,000 people. Most of the population practises Vajrayana Buddhism, which deeply influences its culture, governance and daily life. The nation’s economy is primarily driven by hydropower exports, agriculture and tourism. Hydropower provides significant revenue through electricity sales to neighbouring India, agriculture supports rural livelihoods, and tourism focuses on high-value, low-impact travel in line with Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness philosophy. The new city, Gelephu Mindfulness City, is to be built in the valley of a mountainous region and will eventually be home to 150,000 people. It would provide businesses with a simplified tax system comparable to that of Singapore or Hong Kong, according to the project’s website. The value of people and the environment is to be the heart of the city, so businesses operating in the region are expected to have an emphasis on meaningful, ethical participation. ▲ Rendering of the Gelephu Mindfulness City planned for Bhutan. BIG partner-in-charge Giulia Frittoli says Bhutan can pull it off and has a precedent—the capital Thimphu was rebuilt in about two decades. “Thimphu was built really fast without a plan, so it was done a little bit organically,” Frittoli tells The Urban Developer . “Gelephu has a lot of that informal, let’s say, village-like environment and density, that we can find in Thimphu, but it is blended with the ecological network and has a lot more connection with public spaces. “I think it’ll be built in a way that is much more true to the vernacular and traditional city planning and architecture of Bhutan.” The project was announced at the end of 2023 by the king after it was realised the nation needed to retain its people and diversify away from tourism after the experience of Covid. In the 2024 financial year Bhutan was among the top five countries for people relocating to Western Australia and the ACT, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. There were 27,810 Bhutan-born residents living in Australia as of June 2023 and 13,406 international students for the country from January to September of 2024. The new city, therefore, is presented as an opportunity to retain the nation’s young people, entice those who have left to return and to attract new people to the region. ▲ Early rendering of the international airport planned for Gelephu, Bhutan. The king introduced the economic plan in December 2023 to celebrate its national day. “South Asia is experiencing an unprecedented economic transformation, this is a period of growth and a period of immense opportunities for our region,” he says. “I empathise with our youth who are at a crossroads. Given limited opportunities at home, they are faced with the challenging decision to move abroad for better incomes.” The king says if the right solution is not found, the population could fall even lower. The nation's annual population growth rate is predicted to drop significantly, from 0.99 per cent in 2017 to a projected 0.27 per cent by 2047, due to a declining birth rate and past population control measures. “Bhutan is in an enviable position. We can capitalise on the inherent strengths of small nations to be more flexible and agile,” the king said. “The purpose of establishing this special administrative region is to create a vibrant economic hub. “There are economic hubs elsewhere that invite foreign investment by providing a conducive business environment and compelling incentives. Bhutan’s economic hub will offer all that and more.” Behind the design of the city are the principles of Bhutan and Buddhism, in a kingdom that has stood for 400 years and where the concept of mindfulness is deeply embedded. ▲ Rendering of the city where trackless trams would create less vibrations than railed transport, and where walking would be encouraged. Frittoli says the team working on the project has expanded greatly from Bhutanese architects to international consultants and a directorial team. “We’ve moved to develop from ... the vision to a proper concept masterplan, and that took most of the 2024 year,” Frittoli says. “This year we moved forward to ... the detailed masterplan, so really preparing a plan that is ready for its implementation. “We’ve also started to identify where to start and what are the key projects.” Ground has been broken on the site of the new international airport that is expected to be completed in 2029. ▲ Gelephu Mindfulness City will blend innovation, technology and the environment. The next project is the revitalisation of the Old Town, a 15-minute drive from the airport. “We wanted to do something that already upgrades the lives of those who will come, and start attracting tourism. That would be also the first step to ... bring people in,” Frittoli says. “At the same time, we want to do something that gives back to the people who are already there, that can allow them to have better access to infrastructure, to facilities, to amenities. “So, we are looking at the renovation of the Old Town, providing a plaza for a market square and having offices for people like us, and everybody who’s involved, to start moving there.” The Gelephu Mindfulness City would work as a special administrative region for planning and operating, so would have its own authorities who work in line with the central government and the royal office. Frittoli says while mindfulness is a term that has been somewhat over-used and co-opted, including by yoga-inspired style courses or work-life balance classes, the brief for the city is broad. “At the beginning we thought that was a lot of freedom ... it kind of started to feel daunting because you need to understand what mindfulness actually means,” Frittoli says. “We did spend hours with the monks in Bhutan trying to understand what it meant, and we then created our own brief by looking at gross national happiness and the indicators. “Without romanticising, it did change our daily life.” ▲ A rendering of a hydroelectric dam planned as part of renewable energy sources for the new city in Bhutan. The structure will incorporate a temple. Frittoli says there’s something beautiful about what the monks taught the team. “At the beginning, it was also difficult for them to explain it with words. I think it’s not an easy explanation because it’s also a way of life,” Frittoli says. “Buddhism is a spirituality in the broader sense, it can affect your daily life as it did with myself and our team. “When you look at the nine international happiness indicators you can group them into three. “It’s about being aware of the environment, which means whatever is around you; being aware of yourself, your health and what you need; and being aware of others and the people who are around you. “It’s something that I think you keep in the back of your head every day. “Whatever you do affects what’s around you.” From that moment, the idea of a Mindfulness City started to take shape. “A place where streets don’t fight for your attention but guide it gently, where buildings don’t shout for recognition but live in harmony with each other and with the landscape, where spaces can invite both solitude and connection,” Frittoli says. “The style of architecture would evolve from Bhutan’s historic style timber frames, whitewashed walls, deep-set windows and gently sloping roof. “Streets would meander and remain narrower than in large metropolises, with few private cars. Quiet, trackless trams would carry people where they needed to go without the constant noise or vibrations.” ▲ Architecture in the new city would reflect the traditional buildings of Bhutan. Frittoli says the world needs this sort of experiment to show how cities can be done differently. “The world needs these places and, without being political, I think there is a general unhappiness of what’s happening now,” Frittoli says. “In the world, there is a lot of anger, a lot of war, a lot of issues and we are facing climate change. Even though we’ve made progress we haven’t gone as far as we wanted. “Gelephu offers what I think a lot of minds and entrepreneurs have been looking for and maybe haven’t been able to get in other places in the world. “We will end up having people who move there that believe in the same ambition, believe in the same perspective about how the world should be and I think that will be amazing.”

Bhutan’s Mindfulness Masterplan Resetting How Cities Work

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