Cities are not just environments for living; they’re dynamic ecosystems that require tending, cultivating — and sometimes, complete and utter reimagination. Our two films for the Gelephu Mindfulness City in Bhutan both gave shape and form to a daring urban vision, while also conveying the project’s viability and potential.
Cascading down from the Himalayas to lush tropical plains, Gelephu Mindfulness City is a master-planned urban environment that will span over 1,000 sq. km. Designed by our longtime collaborators BIG, the city reflects Buddhist principles of kindness, compassion and inner peace. Its mandate, however, doesn’t spring solely from the spiritual realm. Gelephu is intended to catalyze Bhutan’s economic growth through investments in technology, infrastructure and education.
Gelephu was designed from day one to harmonize human industry and the region’s ecology. His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who conceived the project, required films that would both introduce his vision to Bhutanese people and the wider world, and to garner commitments from investors.
Fortunately, Journey’s no stranger to giving form and texture to worlds that don’t yet exist.
As meditative as they are visually arresting, our films respectively articulate the project vision and platform Bhutan’s progress on its masterplan. Journey worked hand in hand with the Bhutanese government to ensure cultural nuances were thoughtfully and authentically represented. The soundtrack, developed by sound-design firm Coda to Coda, integrates traditional Bhutanese instrumentation and modernized Buddhist chants. Each figure in the films was painstakingly rendered to reflect Bhutanese people with unflinching accuracy.
Through the use of infinite zoom, symmetry and mandala-inspired loops, the first film complements mindfulness principles that underpin both Bhutanese culture and the city’s design. The narrative goes on to build a sense of discovery, bridging past and future, local and global, wilderness and urbanity.
In a nod to Bhutanese mythology, the second film unfolds from the perspective of a dragon soaring through the evolving masterplan. Such an immersive storytelling device invites viewers to soar through the surrounding landscapes, city squares and work environments, all while emphasizing the liveability of the spaces created.
Consistent with Bhutanese principles around time and forward motion, nothing in the second film moves counter-clockwise. This narrative device is augmented by intricate 3D maps and visual cues designed to keep the viewer engaged and informed, while underscoring the practical aspects of the masterplan.
Journey’s relationship with BIG enabled close collaboration, resulting in work that entices as much as it inspires. Honoring the creative and concrete objectives of each film, we equipped the people of Bhutan with an aspirational blueprint that communicates tradition, project feasibility and an open invitation to the world’s investors to join in shaping a mesmerizing, bold new urbanism.
Impact
2 million+
organic views within first month
Journey’s team is geared towards idea-driven innovation. The form and content is never a stylistic exercise but rather a thoughtful and fearless pursuit of the most blatant way to embody the story of the design.