Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya: Space break up among different PMs was big challenge, says Tagbin CEO

A tribute to every Prime Minister of India since Independence, the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya represents the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to create awareness and inspire India’s younger generation about the leadership, vision and achievements of all the country’s prime ministers.

“This museum is a living reflection of the shared heritage of each government,” Prime Minister Modi said when he inaugurated the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya in New Delhi on 14 April this year.

The Sangrahalaya integrates the erstwhile Teen Murti Bhawan designated as Block I with the newly constructed building designated as Block II in a combined area of over 15,600 square metres. According to a PIB release, the design incorporates sustainable and energy conservation practices with no tree felled or transplanted during the course of work on the project.

Through a total of 43 galleries, the Sangrahalaya depicts how India’s prime ministers navigated the nation through various challenges.

CEO Saurav Bhaik of Tagbin, a technology-driven service centred company that designed the museum, speaks on the challenges while executing the Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya project in an emailed interview. Edited excerpts:

How did Tagbin got selected for the Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya project?

We went through a bidding process with some leading companies in the museum industry globally and were declared the successful bidder after a bidding process which includes technical evaluation, financial screening and design presentation.

What are the major projects Tagbin has done before the museum project?

Some of our past projects include:

• Multimedia museum on life, mission and teachings of Bhagwan Shri Sathya Sai Baba, Brindavan

• Geeta Museum at Jyotisar, Kurukshetra

• Dholera Experience Centre

• Design and Development of Hologram Statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Delhi

• Concept and Execution of Rashtragaan, where more than 2 crore people came in and sang the National Anthem, making it the largest crowdsourced initiative.

How many people were involved in the project and how did the actual work for the design phase begin?

The project began in 2018 with building construction by Central Public Works Department. We got the project in 2020 for design, technology, and project management. Each masterwork had its own agency onboard for expertise. A different agency for hardware integration, one for museum fabrication, a specialised team for audio guide development, and another one for interactive software developments.

What was the kind of pressure that Tagbin faced in handling such an important project and how difficult to cope with it?

We deployed a unique strategy to get the specialised vendors for each work. This in turn increased the pressure of coordination between them as we were the Project Management Consultancy for the project. The conventional practice is to deploy a single vendor and the hired company is responsible for the work and deliverables.

We believe that a single company cannot have the diversified skill set required to make a world-class museum, therefore here we broke the work into different fields. In the end, the result came out to be the best.

Also, since we have a young and talented team, our presentations always started with a doubt as to whether we will be able to deliver and it always required some time in the beginning for stakeholders to get convinced.

What were the biggest challenges that you faced?

The biggest challenge was space break up among different prime ministers. Since we were not involved at the stage of building planning, we were given a pre-designed building. We had to retrofit the narrative and content in a chronological manner.

Also, some of the tech installations were happening for the first time. For example, levitating a 3-feet high national emblem or synchronizing 1,200 lights to form a waving flag and to make them robust. There were many challenges we faced while installing them and many trials went in before we got them perfect.

How do latest technologies like levitation, robotics holograms, virtual reality, augmented reality, multi-touch, multimedia, interactive kiosks, computerised kinetic sculptures, smartphone applications, interactive screens and experiential installations give a different experience to the visitors?

These are technologies that are new age, state of the art technologies, different from the non-interactive traditional methods of content display. Each technology has its own meaning and gives an entirely new value to content showcase by putting in the right medium of display. These technological installations increase human interactivity, break the monotony, and give an experiential way of remembering each exhibit and the content. We call this infotainment, where we blend in the right content for educational/learning purposes with the correct medium of display (Entertainment/Engagement).

The Sangrahalaya has an app-based route map. Is it mandatory to download the app for all the visitors and what about offline navigations?

No, it is not mandatory. Visitors receive the Audio Guide kit at the beginning. Once the journey is complete, they can return the guide. Downloading the app is not necessary.

Is there room for any design modifications in the future?

Yes, the design and content of the digital and interactive exhibits can be updated from time to time.

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