Bharat Mandapam

Bharat Mandapam occupies the heart of Pragati Maidan, the 123.5-acre exhibition ground on Mathura Road in central Delhi that has hosted the India International Trade Fair since 1972. The current building was inaugurated in July 2023 and became the venue for the G20 Leaders' Summit that September, the clearest marker of its national role. It stands on the site of Raj Rewal's Hall of Nations, demolished in 2017 despite domestic and international protest; that structure was regarded as the world's first and then-largest space frame built in reinforced concrete, so the site carries a contested architectural history as well as a diplomatic one. The complex has a built-up area of 390,000 sqm. Its convention centre is configured for up to 7,000 delegates in a single format, and the exhibition halls — 1 to 6 plus Hall 14 — provide around 150,000 sqm of exhibition space, with individual halls between 5,000 and 10,000 sqm arranged over two levels and linked at ground level by a continuous pergola. The masterplan by Arcop and Aedas reorders the site around a large central courtyard oriented to Delhi's prevailing winds, and uses circular geometry, colonnades, stepped water features and locally sourced materials in traditional colours. The Supreme Court metro station on the Blue Line sits at the gate.