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“A mindful city will be a sustainable city. Being mindful is about being aware—and being at your best,” said Giulia Frittoli, partner and head of landscape at BIG. ” The Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked Buddhist country in the eastern Himalayas, nestled between China and India. It covers an area of 14,000 square miles and has a population of nearly 800,000.
The Royal Family of Bhutan asked BIG, Arup and Cistri to develop a new Mindful City initiative in Gelephu in southern Bhutan, near the Indian border. The city covers 386 square miles and includes a new international airport, rail links, hydroelectric dams, universities, spiritual centers and public spaces.
“The site was chosen because it is one of the flattest areas in Bhutan.” The site was also chosen to minimize impact on the forest, which covers 70 percent of the country and makes it a biodiversity hotspot. .
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“Bhutan has great respect for nature. Forests are protected in the constitution,” Frittoli said. The flat characteristics of the site enabled Bhutan to build a new airport. “As an international gateway, it’s an ideal location.”
The planning and design team’s novel plan not only aims to protect the forest, but also makes room for rivers and elephants. “We started with a landscape perspective and then we started with an urban perspective. We started with the environment,” Frittoli said.
There are 35 rivers where the future city will be located. When glaciers in the Himalayas melt, rivers become wider and deeper. Bhutan also has a monsoon season. As climate changes, more water is expected. BIG proposes designing cities around these changing river flows. “We studied how rivers expand and contract. The landscape is not fixed; it is a living organism. We will make room for the water.”
Bhutan also has nearly 700 elephants. They migrated from the highlands to the rivers and then south to India. So Frittoli and her team proposed creating natural corridors around the river that could be up to half a mile wide.
“The corridor is nature’s retreat. This creates the space needed for water and elephants.” A series of bioswales extend from the corridor to help channel stormwater. The plan will also create water spaces to support urban rice paddies and farmland. “This will create local jobs and stimulate economic growth,” Frittoli said.
Parts of Greb are economically depressed. There are abandoned rice paddies and farms, Frittoli said. This is due to labor shortage. “His Majesty is concerned about young people leaving the country for Southeast Asia and Australia. Due to lack of education and employment opportunities, they cannot see a future path for Bhutan. His Majesty wants to bring them back.”
“Mindful City will provide white-collar jobs in research and innovation. It will open up Bhutan and bring opportunities, so young people will stay,” Frittoli said.
Mindful Cities is guided by the principles of the country’s influential Gross National Product (GNP) Index, which includes nine areas:
- mental health
- healthy
- educate
- standard of living
- time use
- Ecological diversity and resilience
- good governance
- Cultural diversity and resilience
- community vitality
Additionally, Bhutan is a carbon positive country, absorbing more carbon than it emits. Its commitment to sustainability guides planning for the new city, which will maintain carbon-positive standards and use locally sourced natural materials. The building is approximately six stories high and is made of stone, mass timber and bamboo.
The upper part of the new town will be dominated by rice paddies and farmland. Most of the urban density will be in the southern part of the new city, close to India. A series of bridges spanning the river will serve as the main hub and east-west connector. There will be nine types of bridges, reflecting the principles of the GNP of Bhutan.
The bridges will provide transportation connections, generate energy and serve as important gathering spaces. One will be a Vajrayana spiritual center, giving visitors the opportunity to experience the daily practices of monks. Other bridges will house medical centres, universities, cultural centers and markets.
The plan proposes building a new dam to generate electricity. Bhutan is 100% hydroelectric, 90% of which is sold to India. The dam will power the new city and provide additional revenue.
The first phase of the project is expected to be completed within the next two to five years. Frittoli believes the plan will be fully realized within 20-30 years, growing organically through multiple stages. This will require public-private partnerships and increased investment.
She also commented on how landscape architects from BIG, a multi-disciplinary firm with over 700 designers worldwide, led this large-scale project. “In 2021, I became a partner at BIG, which allows landscapes to be viewed as equals. Our number of global landscape architects has increased from 5 to 55. When a project begins, landscape architects are involved. Considering The challenges facing our planet require more landscape architects to lead.”
This article originally appeared in Dirt.
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