The ‘Bonjour India Experience’ was the flagship initiative of the Bonjour India 2017-2018, a festival which celebrated Indo-French collaborations through more than 300 events spread over four months across 33 Indian cities. At the heart of the festival, The Bonjour India Experience pavilion was a one-of-its-kind travelling exhibition at the intersection of art, architecture, design and urbanism. The 9 meter high, 800 square metre and 40 tonne installation travelled approx. 3500 kilometres from the iconic India Gate in Delhi to Cross Maidan Garden behind the historic Churchgate Station Mumbai to become the star attraction of the world’s largest book fair in Kolkata over a period three months. It welcomed more than 180,000 visitors over a period of 30 odd days spread over the three cities.
The Bonjour India Experience Pavilion Is A One-Of-Its-Kind Travelling Exhibition | SpaceMatters
One of the first decisions jointly taken by the clients and the design team lead by SpaceMatters was to locate the pavilion in public urban spaces. While this may seem like an obvious choice, similar cultural events in India have been largely confined to institutional spaces such as museums and cultural centres. Often perceived as elitist, these spaces cater to a small segment of the population and their ambience is in stark contrast to the diverse energy of the urban public space in Indian cities. As cultural events retreat into gated zones the access to public space in Indian cities is also shrinking, increasingly being policed and monetised.
Thus, when asked to suggest an appropriate public space in their city, associates initially suggested commercial malls! The call to locate the pavilion in truly public urban spaces presented countless challenges. It was a complex undertaking to navigate the maze of permissions needed to mount an installation of this scale in a public location. However, its interaction with the urban context became the defining characteristic of the pavilion and was instrumental to its success.
The design had to balance the functional demands of a travelling pavilion with the stringent requirements of a sealed exhibition space. It was required to safely house expensive audio visual equipment while creating create a comfortable environment for the visitors. The pavilion had to be designed to be installed in a week and dismantled in three days in crowded public spaces. All this without the use of heavy machinery (prohibited at the high security sites). With the ease of travelling halfway across the country and adapting to new sites. To reconcile the mobile and temporal nature of the pavilion alongside the ambition to leave a memorable mark on the cities it travelled to, the pavilion had to create an iconic visual presence combined with a lightness of being.
The thematic focus of the Bonjour India festival was ‘Creativity, Innovation and Partnership’ between India and France. Embodying these themes, the form of the pavilion evolved from the idea of confluence. With 6 curves rising together to embrace three pavilions that highlight various aspects of Indo-French creativity, innovation & partnership. The metal curves, arranged in a modular symmetry spiral out from a central core. It consists of a rhythmic arrangement of staggered, self-supporting steel members. They are draped with 20,000 square feet of hand woven steel mesh.
The massive self-supporting structure is designed down to the last joint. It is designed to be flat packed and largely hand installed in the shortest possible time. The design combines the precision of cutting edge engineering and unique expression of craft. It pays homage to the ingenuity and abstraction that is the hallmark of both French and Indian architecture. As an intervention in public space the pavilion is designed to integrate itself with the site conditions at each location. The metal members and mesh provide for varying gradations visual permeability. Thus, allowing the structure to weave into the urban surroundings, both emerging from and merging into the context.
Views of iconic monuments at each site, such as the India Gate in Delhi and the Churchgate Railway Terminus in Mumbai are framed within the layered silhouette of the structural contours and wire mesh. As the pavilion transforms with the play of light through day and night, its spiralling form becomes the pivot. It reorganises the nature of the urban open area while heightening curiosity amongst those outside to explore within. Twisting and turning, rising and falling from a height of 4 metres to 9 metres across its perimeter, the sculptural form of the pavilion transforms with motion as the visitors walk around it and into it.
Designed by: SpaceMatters
Project Type: Visual Arts Center Architecture Design
Project Name: The Bonjour India Experience
Location: New Delhi
Year Built: 2018
Built-up Area: 8000 sqft
Principal Architects: Amritha Ballal & Suditya Sinha
Project Architects: Divya Manaktola, Nishita Mohta
Photograph Courtesy: Hermant Chawla, Nishita Mohta & Achint Jain
Manufacturers: 3M, Asian Paints, Diakin, Losberger, Nilaya, Samsung
Category: Visual Arts Center
Team Architects: Gaurav Gupta, Sony Joshua, Pulkit Mogha, Devansh Mahajan, Sandeep Singh Rathore, Girisha Sethi, Akhilesh Yadav
Execuring Agency (External Pavillion): RK Engineering
Executing Agency (Exhibition): Paras Art Studio
Audiovisual Equipment: Shivam Video
Partners: Institut Francais en Inde, The French Embassy in Delhi, Institut Francaise de Bombay, Institut Francaise de Delhi , Institut Franciase du Bengale
Content Creation Collaborators: Rajat Nanda, Achint Jain, Vivan Kamath, Moulshri Joshi
Installation Collaborators: Ant Studio, Dynamic Signage Installation, Scenocosme, Rencontres Imaginaires Installation Art, Mosquito Massala, MandLiterature, Tryptich Tales Video Installation Art, TaggLabs.
Client: Institut Français en Inde, The Embassy of France , India
Content Partners: Agence Française de Développement, ATA Architects, Archives SONUMA, Arianespace, Atout France, Campus France, Chanakya International, Core Econ, DC Books, Diane de Selliers, Fata Morgana Editions, FIND Foundation, Fondation Le Corbusier, Fondation Pierre Bergé – Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris, Full Circle Publishing, Green Books, La Fondation Louis Vicat, Lesage Interieurs, Malraux.org, Mapin Publishing, Neemrana Music Foundation, Om Books, SNCF Gares & Connexions, the Raza Foundation, Institut Lumière, Gallimard, Niyogi Books, Rajpal & Sons, Seagull Books, Tata Central Archives, Thadagam Publishers, Vani Prakashan, Veolia, Warum Publishers, Young Zubaan, Dualist Inquiry, Chinese Man, Nirmal Sapera, Talab Khan Barna, Lucid Raaga, Ahmad Zahir, Viveick Rajagopalan & Naviin Gandharv
Source: Archdaily
Firm’s Website Link: SpaceMatters
Firm’s Instagram Link: SpaceMatters
For Similar Project >>> This Temple Architecture Design is a Spiritual Sanctuary
Set within a lush expanse of land, this sculptural house by Pranav Patel Design Studio is a poetic exploration of light, landscape, and living. Designed as a contemporary haven rooted deeply in Indian sensibilities, the project brings together sculptural architecture, organic landscape planning, and vernacular craftsmanship to create a space that is both immersive and […]
Paati Veedu, located in southern India, began with the vision of an elderly grandmother (Paati) with Terminal Cancer, whose wish was to rebuild her ancestral home and spend herfinal years in a space she could call her own. The Site is located in the outskirts of Mayiladuthurai, in Southern India. Paati set the 1200 sq […]
Modern tropical residential architecture approach that balances openness, functionality, natural ventilation, and visual connectivity. The concept focuses on creating a warm family-oriented home with a strong connection to nature through courtyards, double-height volumes, and open planning. Natural materials, wooden textures, and soft neutral tones enhance the sense of comfort, while carefully planned spatial zoning ensures […]
Project Perch is a playschool that sits along a busy secondary road in a rapidly growing urban neighbourhood, where noise, traffic and constant movement dominate the surroundings. Designing a playschool in such a setting required the architects to prioritise safety, privacy, and controlled exposure for young children. This informed an inward-facing planning strategy that shields […]
Vault House is conceived as a contemporary tropical residence that balances raw materiality with warmth, openness, and family-centric living. Designed for a multi-generational family comprising a couple, their daughter, and parents, the house responds to a clear client vision: a home that is unique, user-friendly, and deeply connected to natural light, ventilation, and greenery. This […]
Tucked into a corner of a lush 2 acre plantation off the Kanchipuram highway, this farmhouse is a quiet ode to sustainability and serenity. Surrounded by thriving groves of coconut, mango, and orange trees, the site offered a natural canvas for a home that would dissolve gently into its surroundings of rural landscapes—grounded in place […]
Located in Udaipur– Rajasthan, this residential project enjoys a unique setting with panoramic views of Roop Sagar on one side and surrounding hills on the remaining three sides. The design brief focused on creating a modern and minimalist residence that exudes serenity and understated luxury. “The designers thoughtfully planned the house to include premium lifestyle […]
This residence is a sincere exploration of how architecture can remain simple, climate sensitive, cost-effective, and emotionally grounded, without compromising on spatial quality or design intent. Conceived as a 3BHK modest home for a small family, the project stands as a testament to what is possible when thoughtful planning, craft-oriented construction, and material intelligence come […]
Located in HMT Layout, Bangalore, Isha_Srinidhi Nilaya stands as a multi-generational home designed on a compact 60×40 ft (2400 sq. ft) East facing plot, with a total built-up area of 8000 sq. ft. East Facing a lush public park, the residence responds to its urban setting through a layered design that balances privacy with a […]
Timeless architectural features, such as courtyards, are always associated with bringing the naturally public forms to the world’s heart, building the most peaceful, secluded outdoor areas. These outdoor spaces maximize the living experience with their private space feature, which gives one the option for leisurely relaxation, recreation, or gardening. Furthermore, it has also been a […]