市し全体ぜんたいでマインドフルネス追求ついきゅう、新しん空港くうこうのデザイン披露ひろう　ブータン

Hotels and spas themed around the popular mindfulness in the wellness industry can be found in various locations.

However, Bhutan, a country surrounded by the Himalayas, is going much further and has put forward the concept of a Mindfulness City where the entire city pursues this philosophy.

The city of Gelephu in southern Bhutan, near the border with India, was chosen for this project.

However, most of the details were not known.

The design of the Gelephu International Airport unveiled by the construction company Bjarke Ingels Group this time gives a glimpse of the overall concept of the Mindfulness City.

The artists impression depicts a scene with a series of diamond-shaped wooden frames.

In order to make future renovations and expansions of the airport easier, all frames are modular.

Speaking of airports, they are often places where people feel stressed.

Flight delays, lost luggage, long queues

How do you connect such an airport with mindfulness?

According to Ingels, everything lies in utilizing elements of nature within design and incorporating the concept of Gross National Happiness, which measures the quality of life by the happiness of the people.

Ingels explains that the airport determines the first and last impression of the destination.

The architecture of this airport achieves flexibility and expandability by modularly combining wooden frames, and from a distance, it looks like a series of mountains.

All the wood is carved and colored according to traditional crafts, featuring three types of dragons representing Bhutans past, present, and future.

Traditional yet avant-garde, forward-thinking yet rooted The total area is 68,000 square meters.

Up to 123 flights can be operated per day, with an annual passenger limit of approximately 1.3 million.

Compared to London or New York, it is very few, but only 316,000 tourists visited Bhutan in 2019.