BMW is taking its most impressive urban-themed endeavor BMW Guggenheim Lab to India, making a new destination on the map of the 6-year initiative. After making stops in New York and Berlin, the mobile lab arrives in Mumbai, where it will be open for a month and a half, from December 9, 2012 to January 20, 2013. For the Mumbai installment, the team behind the project collaborated with the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, to launch free “design projects, participatory studies, tours, talks, workshops, film screenings and cultural activities will address challenges and opportunities related to public space and the choices Mumbaikars make to balance individual and community needs,” says BMW’s press release.
Photo: BMW Guggenheim Lab Mumbai to Open December 9, 2012, www.press.bmwgroup.com
The Mumbai Lab will include several satellite locations throughout the city (to be announced shortly), with the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum being the major site. The program of the one month and a half stop will include projects designed in the view of likes and needs of Mumbaikars, and will focus on the local thinkers, grassroots activists, commentators, innovators and the ones who can introduce game-changing solutions. Since urban living is the major theme of the project, the Mumbai “edition” will also focus on city-planning issues regarding transportation, housing, water, and governance. The program will also invite participants to get an insight into non-physical aspects of urban living, psychological effects of public space, as part of city tours.
During the Mumbai stop, the lab will also encourage public to offer their own approaches to address the city problems. “Design projects are planned to include an open competition to develop solutions for a heavily congested traffic junction in Mumbai and an exploration of ways to refit obsolete infrastructure with new public space and pedestrian functions,” notes BMW. At the dedicated locations, the team behind the Lab will also host a series of perspectives from entertainers, artists, filmmakers, storytellers, chefs, and others, who will be sharing their insights into the Mumbai’s unique urban landscape and paying tribute to the diversity and adaptability of the city’s citizens.
As to the architecture aspect, the BMW Guggenheim Lab Mumbai visually will sync with the urban environment of the location. Tokyo architects Atelier Bow-Wow have designed the lab as the Indian mandapa, an outdoor bamboo pavilion traditionally used for public celebrations and events, which perfectly fits the atmosphere. The brand notes that “the Lab’s main L-shaped structure will be situated under a canopy of shade trees in the gardens of the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum. A modified version of the Lab, which will consist of one wing of the main structure, will travel to satellite sites throughout the city.”