STATUS
IN CONSTRUCTION
SUZHOU, CHINA
CLIENT
Suzhou Harmony Development Group Co. Ltd
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
60,000 / 646,000
STATUS
IN CONSTRUCTION
SHARE
Located on the Jinji Lake in Suzhou, the 60,000 m2 Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art is conceived as a village of 12 pavilions, offering a modern interpretation of the elements that have defined the city’s urbanism, architecture, and landscape.
Designed as a reimagination of the traditional garden ‘lang’, 廊 – a line that traces a path – the museum spaces frame gardens and coalesce as pavilions. The design of the museum showcases Suzhou’s Garden tradition as part of the exhibitions, taking visitors on a journey and exploration of art, nature, and water. The museum is scheduled for completion in 2025.
The museum’s main design element is the ribbon of the roof, which extends into a pattern of eaves that double as sheltered walkways through the site. Knots in the thread of walkways frame pavilions, and as a result, the museum’s architecture entwines through the landscape, tying water to land, city to nature, and people to history. The draping walkways further extend out into Jinji Lake, which can be regarded from above while on the Suzhou Ferris wheel.
Arriving at the museum, the visitor will be met by an expansive, welcoming plaza in front of the Visitor Centre and main entrance. From here, visitors will be able to proceed with their visit inside or along the exterior, through the gardens and to the waterfront.
The museum’s landscaping acts as a public space to the front of Jinji Lake through a series of interconnected gardens, ensuring a rich public realm surrounding the museum. Sculptures by contemporary artists will offer Suzhou’s citizens a cultural experience outside the museum’s opening hours. The individual gardens will gradually change from mineral to green to finally water-themed planting, as the visitors move towards the waterfront.
Our design for the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art is conceived as a Chinese garden of pavilions and courtyards. Individual pavilions are woven together by glazed galleries and porticoes, creating a network of interconnected sculpture courtyards and exhibition spaces. Weaving between the Ferris wheel legs, the museum branches out like a rhizome, connecting the city to the lake. The result is a manmade maze of plants and artworks to get lost within. Its nodular logic only becomes distinctly discernible when viewed from the gondolas above. Against the open space of the lake, the gentle catenary curvature of the roofs forms a graceful silhouette on the waterfront. Viewed from above, the stainless roof tiles form a true fifth facade.
Four of the museum’s pavilions comprise the main gallery experience of the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art, and the five remaining feature a multifunction hall for events and lectures, a theater, restaurant, and grand entrance.
Defined by sloping roof eaves, each pavilion’s façade is made of rippled and curved glass, as well as warm-toned stainless steel that reflects the garden colors. The pavilions are connected above- and underground via bridges and tunnels, offering the museum flexibility to plan exhibition flow according to seasons and exhibited art pieces. The paths leading through the site will be covered with natural stone.
The Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art Museum follows the Chinese sustainability certification, GBEL Green Star 2, including both technical and social approaches to sustainability.
The Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art is a tribute to the rich garden heritage of Suzhou. We envision the '廊,' a traditional element of Suzhou gardens, gracefully winding through the landscapes and transforming into pavilions. In doing so, it frames the contemporary gardens, making them an integral part of the exhibition, as significant as the artwork within.
The Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art was recognized as a national landmark in China in June 2024, when it was featured on an official postage stamp issued by China Post to celebrate the successful development of Suzhou Industrial Park and the urban landscape around Jinji Lake.
Landscaping in renderings is conceptual and will differ from the final design.
Aileen Koh Andrea Hektor Andreas Bak Bjarke Ingels Catherine Huang Christian Vang Madsen Desislava Georgieva Eddie Can Filippo Cartapani Finn Nørkjær Haochen Yu Jakub Kulisa Jan Magasanik Jana Semaan Jesús Fernández Fraile Jiaqi Yang Jiawen Huang Kekoa Charlot Konstantinos Koutsoupakis Mathis Paul Gebauer Matteo Pavanello Molly Hsiao Rou Huang Ole Elkjær-Larsen Oliver Steen Paula Domka Riad Tabbara Romain Thijsen Shu Du Thomas Lejeune Tim Christensen Tomasz Jakubowski Tseng-Hsuan Wei Tyrone Cobcroft Will Chuanrui Yu Yingying Guan Zhonghan Huang Adele Scampoli Alexander Gale Heiede Amanda Lima Soares Da Cunha Arda Çinçin Athena Morella Bjarke Koch-Ørvad Chih-Han Chen Cris Guoyu Liu Cristina Minguela Federico Martínez De Sola Monereo Filip Fot Huiyao Fu Ingrid Albina Oliva Lampa Izabella Banas Janis Bronka Jason Cheuk Hei Lee Jens Max Jensen Jonathan Christian Chin Jonathan Russell Julia Wilkosz Jurica Pajic Kannan Selvaraj Maria Capuozzo Megan Nhat Xuan Dang Miles Treacy Narisara Ladawal Schröder Pei Huang Philip Kaefer Phoebe Cowen Sol Anaid Chacon Levin Tarek Shater Todor Todorov Rusev Xavier Thanki Yanis Amasri Sierra Yihan Liu Zahra Khademi Zuzana Faskova
ARTS Group Co. Ltd. [中衡设计集团股份有限公司]
Front Inc.
Shanghai Shuishi Landscape Design Co. Ltd. [上海水石景观环境设计有限公司]
Rdesign International Lighting [上海瑞逸环境设计有限公司]
BIG Landscape
BIG Engineering
KANSAS, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
University of Kansas
TYPOLOGY
Education
SIZE M2/FT2
16,598 / 178,663
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
Designed in direct response to the needs and wishes of the University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design’s 1,300+ students, faculty and board, the new mass timber building for learning and collaboration, titled the “Makers’ KUbe” consolidates all architecture and design programs into three interconnected buildings, tying together the existing Marvin Hall from 1908, Chalmers Hall from 1978 and the new six-story Makers’ KUbe. The adjacent Marvin Hall’s stone façade and beloved spaces will be historically preserved while Chalmers Hall will be renovated to bring in more daylight. The campus seeks to embody four primary principles: to become an emblem of creativity; to create a connected campus hub; to be innovative and future-proof; and to showcase environmental stewardship.
“We are excited to partner with BIG and BNIM for this generational opportunity to reimagine our home in the heart of this historic campus. From their exceptionally comprehensive response to our submission call and throughout the design process, BIG’s willingness to both listen to us and push us has conceived a project that celebrates our history and embodies the ambitious optimism that animates our academic mission.”
The Makers’ KUbe is a 50,000-sq-ft mass timber cube structure that will serve as a teaching tool, showcasing sustainable practices through its mass timber diagrid design. The KUbe’s distinct frame – engineered by structural engineer StructureCraft – is optimized to reduce material and curtail carbon-intensive concrete. Inspired by traditional Japanese joinery techniques, the building’s structure uses tight-fit dowels and notched glulam – or glued laminated timber – to create an all-wood structure with columns and beams that run diagonally, without steel plates or fasteners.
The stripped back façade – a timber structure enclosed in glass – foregoes cladding and finishing, exposing the KUbe’s MEP systems and further proving the building’s ability to remain minimal and efficient, only using what is necessary. The mix of transparent and opaque insulated glass on the exterior showcases the school’s creativity to the entire University of Kansas campus while creating moments of privacy and reducing glare. The building’s enclosure includes natural fiber thermal insulation in the form of biodegradable HempWool, which is exposed within the facade’s shadow boxes for improved thermal performance.
“Our KU School of Architecture & Design masterplan preserves the school's heritage buildings while keeping them relevant for the 21st century; extends the life and livability of the existing buildings with minimal intervention; and builds a new structure with low-carbon solutions. These programs not only showcase the next chapter of our profession, but they will also inspire the designers of tomorrow to envision a sustainable future.”
The KUbe’s massing is rotated to align with Wescoe Drive and the surrounding buildings to allow for more light and air to be brought into the existing buildings. Winter garden bridges located on the KUbe’s second floor connect it to Marvin Hall and Chalmers Hall, providing easy circulation between buildings in the colder months and enhancing interactions among students and faculty. The KUbe’s ground-level corners are angled inward, creating inviting canopied entrances that connect the building to the surrounding open spaces, while the upper–level corners are set back to allow for accessible terraces open to the sky, providing generous views of the campus and the city.
“Our design for the consolidated design studios at KU seeks to deploy all aspects of the profession in three distinct interventions: preservation, adaptation and new construction. The Makers' KUbe is conceived as a showcase in timber tectonics, traditional joinery, robotic manufacturing and sustainable materials. The timber bones of the building are exposed by stripping away all applied finishes - elevating structure to expression. A single staircase doubling as convenience stairs above and fire stairs within ties all student spaces together from park to attic. The building serves as a living curriculum, revealing all function, technology and structure as tangible elements for the students to appreciate and critique - learning solidified into built form.”
Embodying the university’s values, the proposed campus for the school preserves and adapts existing spaces while utilizing timber to minimize its carbon footprint. The Makers’ KUbe and Chalmers Hall feature rooftops with photovoltaic panels to harvest energy for the buildings. Any rainwater accumulated on the KUbe’s roof is stored and used for irrigating the site’s landscaping, which features native species that further reduce water needs.
Embodying the university’s values, the proposed campus for the school preserves and adapts existing spaces while utilizing timber to minimize its carbon footprint. The Makers’ KUbe and Chalmers Hall feature rooftops with photovoltaic panels to harvest energy for the buildings. Any rainwater accumulated on the KUbe’s roof is stored and used for irrigating the site’s landscaping, which features native species that further reduce water needs.
Alana Goldweit Bjarke Ingels Daniela Morin Dominyka Voelkle Dylan Hames Isela Liu Leon Rost Margaret Tyrpa Megan Octaviani Paola Bokobsa Tara Abedinitafreshi Thomas Christoffersen Thomas Guerra Will Chuanrui Yu Youjin Rhee Yu Inamoto Ema Hristova Bakalova Hudson Parris Nele Herrmann Praveen Lalitha Kishorekumar
BNIM
StructureCraft
Walter P Moore
Cumming Group
JE Dunn Construction
Smith & Boucher
Forza Consultants
SK Design Group
Rosin Preservation
Kilograph
SAGI ISLAND, JAPAN
CLIENT
Not a Hotel, Inc.
TYPOLOGY
Hospitality, Urbanism
SIZE M2/FT2
2,350 / 21,500
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
Japanese hospitality group NOT A HOTEL has partnered with BIG to expand the company’s existing six hospitality offerings across Japan. Located on a 30,000 m2 site on Japan’s remote Sagi Island, NOT A HOTEL Setouchi brings three villas to the island’s southwestern cape with panoramic views of the Seto Inland Sea.
The design for NOT A HOTEL Setouchi builds on the longstanding relationship between Scandinavian and Japanese design values. The luxury resort weaves naturally throughout the remote island’s mountains, incorporating natural and local materials while promoting a connection to nature.
"In the last few decades, Japan has been attracting attention as a place to experience stunning natural landscapes as well as high-end design, innovative architecture, and cutting-edge art. The Seto Inland Sea area, where NOT A HOTEL SETOUCHI will be built, brings together all of these aspects of Japanese tourism into a single site. In partnering with BIG, we are creating one of Japan’s most luxurious villas on Sagi Island, which will be a gateway for more people to experience the charm of the Setouchi region."
The relationship between Scandinavian and Japanese design began in the 19th century, when Japan opened their borders to international travellers. Soon after, Scandinavian designers began visiting the country and quickly became fascinated by the Japanese style for its simplicity, use of natural materials and connection to nature – the same principles that guided the design ethos for NOT A HOTEL Setouchi.
The masterplan for NOT A HOTEL Setouchi prioritises restoration of the undulating terrain, where grass will be harvested before construction begins, while olive trees, lemon trees and other native vegetation will be reintroduced to further enhance the site’s natural beauty. The three villas – named ‘360,’ ‘270’ and ‘180’ depending on location and corresponding views – intentionally blend into the landscape’s natural contours, aligning with existing roads and infrastructure. Spread across varying elevations, the resort appears like a ribbon winding through the site.
"Our design approach for NOT A HOTEL Setouchi wasn’t about imposing our ideas on the site; instead, it involved exploring, observing and understanding the landscape. We envisioned how to best leverage this distinctive and remarkable terrain and fixed upon a design that mirrors the elegance of traditional Japanese architecture. Japan is one of the cultures in the world where commitment to craft and care for quality remains intact. The honesty and simplicity of the structure and careful choice of materials can be said to have greatly influenced the traditional architecture of Japan and the modern architecture of Denmark. Maybe that's why when I go to Japan, I always feel like I'm coming home. NOT A HOTEL Setouchi will be an experiment in what happens when the sensibilities of both countries come together – the Danish desire for simplicity and the care and perfection of Japan."
Each villa has distinct design characteristics that fit into their specific location onsite. The ring-shaped ‘360’ is perched at the highest altitude, offering literal 360-degree views of Setouchi’s land and seascape with a central courtyard for privacy. ‘270’ captures a 270-degree panorama of the surrounding archipelago, featuring bathing spaces arranged like floating islands around the pool alongside a sauna and open firepit. At the peninsula’s tip, ‘180’ is the closest to the sea, whose curvature follows the coastal landscape. The home includes an inner courtyard with gentle slopes, mossy pathways and trees that change colour with the seasons.
The three- and four-bedroom villas reference the design of traditional Japanese single-story houses, incorporating materials local to Japan. The essential elements of the homes – the façade, roof, walls and floor – all preserve traditional Japanese architectural elements while being reimagined for modern-day use. Glass façades that connect the interior and exterior are a modern interpretation of shoji screens, while the pattern of the Genshoseki natural slate floors is inspired by the layout of traditional Japanese tatami mats. The load bearing curved clay walls are achieved using the traditional rammed earth technique, incorporating soil directly from the site.
Each villa opens into a large, unified space, with areas of functionality such as bathrooms and storage rooms consolidated into separate volumes, or pods. Skylights are placed atop these more private pods to provide views from any point within the buildings – balancing openness with solitude.
The villas all feature traditional Japanese baths, calming colour palettes, outdoor firepits and heated infinity pools that blur the boundaries between the properties and the surrounding nature.
The roofs at NOT A HOTEL Setouchi are covered on all sides with solar tiles, representing a technological and modern interpretation of a traditional Japanese roof. Rainwater collected by the elevated roofs is used to irrigate the landscaping, while the operable façades and overhangs promote passive cooling in spring and summer.
"Setouchi comprises a dense and dramatic archipelago, characterized by beautiful undulating silhouettes of mountainous islands. Our approach for this design aims to simultaneously expand and enhance the vast panoramic views of the archipelago while creating moments of intimacy and privacy through minimal architectural interventions. NOT A HOTEL Setouchi fuses, the essence of BIG and modern Danish architecture with the DNA of NOT A HOTEL and traditional Japanese culture."
Andrea Hektor Bjarke Ingels Casey Tucker Cullen Fu Don Chen Fani Christina Papadopoulou Jan Leenknegt Joanna M. Lesna Konstantinos Koutsoupakis Leon Rost Mamoru Hoshi Margaret Tyrpa Matthew Lau Naysan John Foroudi Ryohei Koike Sang Ha Jung Théo Hamy Yu Inamoto Ahmad Tabbakh Jasmine Nicholson Jeremy Felson Oskar Maly Paul Heberle Pavel Tomek Steven Op Suyue Huo
Maeda Corporation
ARUP Japan
1moku
NOSIGHT
BOCS
Mir
LIT design
NORWALK, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Manresa Island Corporation
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
23,226 / 250,000
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
Manresa Island is situated on the site of a decommissioned power plant in southeast Connecticut. The industrial peninsula, surrounded by water on three sides, will be transformed into a 125-acre publicly accessible park and a destination with diverse year-round public programs and research partnerships with local universities.
Manresa Island will reimagine the site into a new public amenity for the city of Norwalk, unlocking 1.75 miles of waterfront access for the first time in nearly 75 years. BIG was commissioned to preserve and adapt the plant’s main structures: the 22,000-sq-ft boiler building; the 22,000-sq-ft turbine hall; the 8,200-sq-ft office building; and the 350-ft-tall smokestack. Through adaptive reuse, these will be reimagined into a network of event spaces, educational and research facilities, and areas for play.
After Hurricane Sandy damaged the plant and it was decommissioned in 2013, the land has seen a resurgence in its natural environment, with a birch forest growing on the disposed coal ash and increased populations of ospreys nesting throughout the area. Immersing visitors in the site’s ecological richness, Manresa Island’s publicly accessible park, designed by SCAPE, will feature new waterfront walking paths, inviting exploration and connection with nature. The park will include living shorelines, wetland restoration, and tree canopies aimed at mitigating extreme heat and flooding, ensuring a resilient public space that celebrates and protects the island’s biodiversity.
Once home to the Manresa Institute, a retreat and recreation destination in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the site was converted into a coal-fired power plant in the 1950s. Now, Manresa Island will become a revitalized ecological habitat with educational and recreational opportunities centered around water.
The eight-story boiler building will focus on recreation, including multiple swimming areas and food and beverage options. The turbine hall will be converted into a multi-purpose space, while the adjacent office building – the smallest structure – will provide opportunities for marine and ecological learning as a laboratory with classrooms and research spaces. The design will preserve key aspects of the existing power plant, including the structural framework, smokestack, and administrative space.
"Manresa Island is set to become a much-needed foothold for the public along the otherwise rather privatized Connecticut coastline. With our vision for the powerplant, we seek to rediscover and reanimate the majestic spaces hidden within the bones of the decommissioned piece of infrastructure. Boilers, silos, and turbine halls are postindustrial cathedrals awaiting exploration and reinterpretation. As an extension of SCAPE’s resettlement of the island for the enjoyment of human life among many other forms of life, we seek to extend that resettlement into the cavernous spaces within. By editing rather than adding, we will open up and clear out the existing spaces so that the once coal-powered plant can become the framework for the social and cultural life of Manresa's future—from energy infrastructure to social infrastructure."
The park will not only protect, expand, and revive wetlands and salt marshes, but will also offer a diverse network of outdoor areas for engagement with local habitats. Key features include an expansive green lawn and meadow, a public beach with sweeping views of the Long Island Sound and New York City, and pedestrian bridges that provide opportunities to observe wildlife. Rooted in Manresa Island’s aquatic theme, visitors can also enjoy outdoor thermal pools, a rejuvenated pier, and a boat launch.
Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Daniela Morin Danna Lei Douglass Alligood Fani Christina Papadopoulou Jeremy Alain Siegel Norain Chang Rita Sio Seung Hyo Chang Sungmin Kim Thomas McMurtrie Tom Lasbrey Victoire Talien Abdallah Kamel Alejandro Guadarrama Ethan Blatt Moya Annastacia Kernan Nathaniel Buchanan Albers Yijun Yan
SCAPE
Atelier Ten
TYLin
Kohler Ronan
CCI
Tighe & Bond
E-Design Dynamics
AKRF
Directional Logic
HR&A Advisors
SEVILLA, SPAIN
CLIENT
European Commision Joint Research Center
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
9,922 / 106,800
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
The new Joint Research Centre in Seville, ‘Solar Cupola’ delivers on JRC’s commitment to sustainability, unites the European vision of the New Bauhaus initiative, and establishes a new benchmark for workspace that empowers knowledge sharing, collaboration and co-creation.
Located at the former EXPO ´92 site, in Isla de la Cartuja, the new 9,900 m2 building for the European Commission, ties into the City of Sevilla’s goal to become a global benchmark for sustainability by 2025 and the local vision of the eCity Sevilla project to decarbonize and transition Isla de la Cartuja to 100% renewable energy sources.
The building will house 12 research units and supporting functions as well as public and private outdoor spaces.
Informed by the shaded plazas and streets of Seville, BIG proposes to cover the entire project site with a cloud of solar canopies sheltering the plaza, garden, and research building underneath, akin to the pergolas typical to Seville. The canopies consist of square lightweight PV sheets supported by slender columns. The roofscape cascades down from the center to a human-scale height at its periphery, creating a variety of public spaces underneath.
"With our design for the Joint Research Centre in Seville, more than anything, we have attempted to allow the sustainable performance of the building to drive an architectural aesthetic that not only makes the building perform better but also makes it more inhabitable and more beautiful - a new Andalusian environmental vernacular."
Inside, the functions of the new JRC building are organized with public program and amenities such as dining, a conference center and social spaces on the ground floor, while the offices and research units occupy the upper floors for privacy and security. The collaborative workplaces face the plaza, while the deep-focus workspaces face the garden. The proposed layout is designed to be entirely flexible and adaptable according to any future needs of the JRC.
Following the building geometry and modularity two diagonal voids connect all levels of the building, encouraging physical movement as well as social interaction and informal meetings.
“When we visited the site in Seville and carefully reviewed JRC’s ambitious goals, we realized the potential to not only meet but exceed the requirements of the new JRC by creating a new breed of building - one that could become a beacon for sustainability, the future of public space and work environment - a single system tailored to Seville’s social and physical vernacular.”
The passive design of the building through its shallow floorplate and constant shading under the pergola cloud enables natural cross ventilation and ideal light qualities, reducing the energy consumption typically used on artificial lightening, air conditioning and mechanical ventilation.
The design prioritizes locally sourced materials, such as limestone, wood, and ceramic tiling. The structure is low-carbon concrete, reducing up to 30% of typical CO2 emissions, while the pergola cloud is made from recycled steel. Outdoor gardens, greenery from the region, and water elements reduce/eliminate the heat island effect and create a comfortable microclimate.
The JRC building is positioned diagonally across the site connecting it to the ‘Jardin Americano’ river-front and the Torre Sevilla market in a seamless continuous public space. Placing the building diagonally also creates a new public square on one side of the building and a private garden for the JRC community on the other. The floorplates of the research center step back as the building ascends, creating a series of terraces, shaded outdoor spaces for breakouts, relaxation, and informal meetings with views of the city.
Angel Barreno Gutiérrez Bjarke Ingels Giulia Frittoli Hanna Ida Johansson João Albuquerque Matthew Reger Nir Leshem Pietro Saccardi Stefani Fachini De Araujo Dino Vojvodic Elena Ceribelli Gonzalo Coronado Maceda Jose Gomez Carbonell Luca Fabbri Miquel Perez Patrycja Tomaszewska Raphaël Logan Barber Saina Abdollahzadeh Sille Foltinger Steffen Alvang
Buro Happold
HCP Architecture & Engineering
Grupo Argenia
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Amager Resource Center | Amager Bakke Foundation
TYPOLOGY
Infrastructure
SIZE M2/FT2
41,000 / 441,324
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Located in an industrial area near Copenhagen city center, CopenHill, also known as Amager Bakke, is an exemplary model in the field of waste management and energy production, as well as an architectural landmark in the cityscape of Copenhagen. The building replaces the 50-year-old Amagerforbraending plant and is the single largest environmental initiative in Denmark.
The new breed of waste-to-energy plant is topped with a ski slope, hiking trail, climbing wall, an urban recreation center, and environmental education hub, turning the power plant into a destination. The building embodies BIG’s notion of hedonistic sustainability while contributing to Copenhagen’s goal of becoming one of the world’s first carbon-neutral cities.
Located on the industrial waterfront of Amager, where raw industrial facilities have become the site for extreme sports – from wakeboarding to go-kart racing – the new power plant adds skiing, hiking, and rock climbing to the area. Expert skiers can ski down the artificial Olympic half-pipe length ski slope all year round, test the freestyle park, or try the timed slalom course, while beginners and kids practice on the lower slopes. Skiers ascend the park from the platter lift, carpet lifts, or glass elevator with views inside the 24-hour waste incineration process.
CopenHill’s continuous façade features 1.2 m tall and 3.3 m-wide aluminum boxes stacked like gigantic bricks overlapping with each other. In between, glazed windows allow daylight to reach deep inside the facility, while larger openings on the southwest façade illuminate workstations on the administrative floors.
The public can enjoy the rooftop bar, cross-fit area, or the highest observation deck in the city before descending the 490 m tree-lined hiking and running trail within the lush, mountainous terrain. The 10,000 m2 green roof, 85 m high up in the air, features a biodiverse landscape while absorbing heat, removing air particulates, and minimizing storm-water runoff.
Biologists have monitored the biodiversity of Copenhill since its inauguration in 2019. At the latest investigation in 2020, 119 different new plant and tree species were observed.
On the longest vertical façade, an 85 m climbing wall is installed making it the tallest artificial climbing wall in the world.
Beneath the slopes, whirring furnaces, steam, and turbines convert 440,000 tons of waste annually into enough clean energy to deliver electricity and district heating for 150,000 homes. The power plant’s infrastructure, from ventilation shafts to air-intakes, helps create the varied topography of a mountain; a man-made landscape created in the encounter between the needs from below and the desires from above.
Ten floors of administrative space are occupied by the Amager Resource Center team, including a 600 m2 education center for academic tours, workshops and sustainability conferences.
At the bottom of the ski slope, an après-ski bar welcomes locals and visitors to wind down once the boots are off. Formerly a piece of infrastructure in an industrial zone, CopenHill is now a destination for all citizens and visitors of Copenhagen.
Anders Holden Deleuran Andreas Klok Pedersen Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels Blake Smith Brian Yang Buster Christensen Chris Falla David Zahle Finn Nørkjær Gonzalo Ivan Castro Vecchiola Jakob Lange Jelena Vucic Jesper Boye Andersen Joanna M. Lesna Kamilla Heskje Lars Thonke Mads Engaard Stidsen Nanna Gyldholm Møller Ryohei Koike Adam Busko Adam Mahfuh Adrien Mans Alberto Cumerlato Aleksander Wadas Alexander Codda Alexander Eising Alexandra Gustafsson Alina Tamosiunaite Alvaro Garcia Mendive Anders Hjortnæs Ariel Joy Norback Wallner Armor Gutiérrez Rivas Ask Andersen Balaj Alin Iulian Boris Peianov Borko Nikolic Brygida Zawadzka Carl Pettersson Chris Zhongtian Yuan Claus Hermansen Daniel Selensky Dennis Rasmussen Ella Coco Murphy Espen Vik Franck Fdida George Abraham Gül Ertekin Helen Shuyang Chen Henrick Poulsen Henrik Kania Horia Spirescu Jakob Ohm Laursen Jean Valentiner Strandholt Jeppe Ecklon Ji-Young Yoon Jing Xu Joanna Anna Jakubowska Johanna Nenander Joos Jerne Kasper Worsøe Pejtersen Katarzyna Krystyna Siedlecka Kim Christensen Krzysztof Piotr Marciszewski Laura Wätte Liang Wang Lise Jessen Lone Fenger Albrechtsen Long Zuo Maciej Jakub Zawadzki Marcelina Kolasinska Marcos Garcia Bano Maren Allen Mathias Bank Stigsen Mathias Larsen Matti Hein Nørgaard Michael Andersen Narisara Ladawal Schröder Nicklas Antoni Rasch Nynne Brynjolf Madsen Oanh Nguyen Øssur Nolsø Pero Vukovic Richard Howis Se Hyeon Kim Sebastian Liszka Seunghan Yeum Simon Masson Sunming Lee Takahiro Hirayama Toni Mateu Tore Banke Xing Xiong Yang Zhang Yehezkiel Wiliardy Manik Zoltan Kalászi
Energy Globe National Award, 2022
World Architecture Festival Best Building of the Year Winner, 2021
World Architecture Festival Best Energy & Infrastructure Category Winner, 2021
IOC, IPC and IAKS award international architecture prize, 2021
Bundesverband GebäudeGrün Green Roof Award, 2020
IDEAT Future Award, Best Public Architecture, 2020
Popular Science Best of What’s New Award, 2020
ICONIC Awards, Innovative Architecture, Best of the Best Award, 2020
Design Educates Award, 2020
German Design Council Innovative Architecture, Best of the Best Award Winner, 2020
Architizer A+ Awards Factories & Warehouses Popular Winner, 2020
ArchDaily Building of the Year Award, Industrial Architecture, 2020
Scandinavian Green Roof Award, 2019
Architizer A+ Award, Architecture Photography, 2019
European Steel Design Award, 2017
Tekla Global BIM Awards, 2015
P/A Progressive Architecture Awards, Citation, 2015
MIPIM AR Future Projects Awards, 2012
Detail Design:
MOE
SLA
Lüchinger+Mayer
Rambøll
Zublin
Jesper Kongshaug
BIG Ideas
Competition:
AKT
Topotek 1
Man Mad Land
Realities: United
A.P. Møller Fonden
Lokale og Anlægsfonden
Nordea Fonden
R98 Fonden
Københavns Kommune
Frederiksberg Kommune
Tårnby Kommune
Dragør Kommune
Hvidovre Kommune
TOULOUSE, FRANCE
CLIENT
Région Occitanie Pyrénées Méditerranée
TYPOLOGY
Infrastructure
SIZE M2/FT2
12,000 / 129,167
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
As part of Toulouse’s Grand Matabiau Quais d’Oc masterplan, the Marengo Multimodal Transport Hub will revitalise the urban area, facilitate seamless travel, and triple the number of daily passengers travelling to and from the city. Constructed mainly in wood, the 12,000 m2 hub connects to the Gare Matabiau central train station in the west and dovetails the city’s pedestrian and bicycle flows towards the east, acting as a link between the city center, the UNESCO-listed Canal du Midi and the Périole neighbourhood.
Referencing the city’s roofscape and traditional use of the “foraine” brick, the building is characterised by a rose-colored, crystalline roof. From the main entrance canopy in the south, the hub’s structure gradually rises in a sloping movement towards the north, reaching 32 metres in height towards the railway tracks. The hub is set to attain Silver Occitanie Sustainable Buildings certification, as well as the Biodiversity Effinature, and HQE Infrastructure.
"The new Transport hub's folded roof, rising from the Marengo parvis, defines the main hall with lush greenery and ample daylight, welcoming visitors and leading them to metro and train tracks below. The building's elegant silhouette, growing northward in height, curves along rue de Périole. Ground and lower floors will offer areas for rest and retail and the Maison du Climat event space, while upper floors accommodate regional offices. Pursuing low carbon solutions in the design, we employed mass timber, low carbon concrete, and natural ventilation throughout, with photovoltaics on the roof. This simple yet multifunctional design transforms the roof into Toulouse's new landmark."
As the structure grows in height, each level gradually recedes, creating a triangular shape. This enables visual connections across floors and pulls daylight down to the hub’s lowest levels, accommodating comfortable and easy navigation for travellers throughout the day.
Passing the bus station and entering through the main entrance, travellers are led below ground to Gare Matabiau, railway, metro lines, and the transport hub’s hangout areas. The ground floor and two sub-levels will feature flexible and informal public spaces open to all, including areas for rest as well as commercial and cultural activities. Here, Maison du Climat, an initiative to further the public’s knowledge on environmental topics, will manage an event space for exhibitions, conferences, and workshops.
Floors one through six will function as an office space for the 350 employees of the Occitanie Region. The roof, composed of photovoltaics, is punctured by skylights, allowing in natural light. Local plants and trees are planted in the building and bike station to echo the vegetation of the Haute-Garonne region.
Agla Egilsdottir Bjarke Ingels Charles Vidal Claudia Bertolotti Gerhard Pfeiler Giulia Frittoli Giulia Orlando Gustavo Alejandro Lopez Rodriguez Hyojin Lee Jakob Sand Johannes Alexander Hackl Martyna Kloda Mathieu Michel Cardinal Raphael Ciriani Sasha Spasic Will Chuanrui Yu Charlie Laran Dervan Ahmed Dong Joo Jo Ebba Kristina Andersson Marco Sartoretto Maria Capuozzo Oliwia Jagla Tomáš Chrástecký Yanis Amasri Sierra
A+Architecture
A+R Paysages
ALTO
CLDesign
Cronos Conseil
dUCKS scéno
Systematica
Franck Boutté
LASA
les éclaireurs
l'Echo
schlaich bergermann partner - sbp
Span
MBacity
FER-PLAY
OGI
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Sundmolen BIG aps (BIG HQ Building) | By & Havn (Landscape)
TYPOLOGY
Work, Interiors
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The 7-storey HQ is architecturally anchored in Copenhagen harbor’s heritage of warehouses and factories. The small footprint at the end of the pier became the main design dilemma: how to organize a single work environment for all of us when we would have to be split between a minimum of four levels. In a counterintuitive decision, we split all the floors in half and doubled the amount of levels.
BIG HQ is BIG’s first example of fully integrated LEAP design – a collaboration between Landscape, Engineering, Architecture and Product designers. Everything from door handles to concrete columns – from urban design to glass facades has been given form by the BIG LEAP team. The building is designed to achieve the Danish sustainability certification, DGNB Gold, through use of FutureCem concrete, which reduces CO2 emission with approx. 25% reduction as well as integration of solar and geothermal energy systems, and natural ventilation of the office spaces.
Upon entering the main entrance through a 3 m tall glass door, BIGsters and guests will find themselves in a dramatic Piranesian space, where the inner life of the building reveals
itself through diagonal views all the way up to the top floor.
A single stone column of eight different types of rock – ranging from dense granite at the bottom to a porous limestone at the top – form a totem pole to gravity at the heart of the open
space. An open stair ricochets from level to level all the way from the basement to the penthouse.
A series of half floor plates overlap to create a cascading environment of interconnected levels that unite the entire seven-storey building visually and physically into a single space. The floor plates are carried by 20-m-long concrete beams stacked on top of each other, which make the exterior façade appear as a checkerboard of interchanging solid beams and transparent windows.
Each floor has direct access to a balcony connected to the balcony above and below, forming a continuous ribbon of outdoor spaces, spiraling from the roof to the quayside like a mountain path. The ribbon doubles as the additional fire escape freeing up the interior from the obstruction of the traditional core.
At the foot of BIG HQ, BIG’s Landscape team has transformed a former parking area into a 1,500 m2 public park and promenade, inspired by the sandy beaches and the coastal forests of Denmark. Towards the north, native forest trees, such as pines and oaks, create shelter from the harsh winds of the harbour. Towards the south, areas with planting, rocks and woods support habitat creation for biodiversity. At the heart of the park, tucked away between the trees, a sculpture by American artist Benjamin Langholz titled “Stone 40” will surprise and engage visitors of all ages.
Agla Egilsdottir Anders Fønss Andrea Hektor Andreas Bak Andreas Klok Pedersen Annette Jensen Bartłomiej Lew Bjarke Ingels Brian Malig Collado Celia de la Osa Muñoz Danyu Zeng David Zahle Eddie Can Fernanda Furuya Filip Rozkowski Finn Nørkjær Frederik Lyng Frederik Skou Jensen Giulia Frittoli Ioannis Mathioudakis Jakob Lange Jesper Boye Andersen Jonathan Udemezue Juhye Kim Justas Zabulionis Lars Thonke Lisbet Fritze Trentemøller Louise Mould Mads Engaard Stidsen Mads Primdahl Rokkjær Marius Tromholt-Richter Martyna Kloda Matthew Thomson Michael James Kepke Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard Nanna Gyldholm Møller Ole Elkjær-Larsen Paula Madrid Shu Zhao Søren Martinussen Ulla Hornsyld Adrianna Szmidt Ahmed Badra Alda Sol Hauksdóttir Alexander Jacobson Alexandra-Madalina Nita Andrea Angelo Suardi Andy Coward Anna Bertolazzi Anna Lindgaard Jensen Anna Wiktoria Wozniak Anne-Charlotte Wiklander Arthur Martinevski Atibadi Brugnano Aya Fibert Barbora Hrmova Bart Ramakers Bjarke Koch-Ørvad Celina Holck Christian Eugenius Kuczynski Cris Guoyu Liu Dina Brændstrup Dobrochna Anna Klimczak Ewa Zapiec Fabiana Cortolezzis Felicia Olufsson Gabrielle Nadeau Giulia Genovese Graham Forrest Jordan Gül Ertekin Hanne Halvorsen Helen Shuyang Chen Helena Hammershaimb Henrik Jacobsen Hilda Heller Høgni Laksafoss Ines Zunic Irie Meree Jannik Albæk Jesper Kanstrup Petersen Jialin Liang Jiewei Li Johan Fredrik Lindqvist Jonas Rask Jonathan Russell Joos Jerne Kaja Terze Kanetnat Puttimettipanan Kaoan Hengles De Lima Katrine Juul Kim Christensen Kim Lauer Krestian Ingemann Hansen Kristian Mousten Kristoffer Negendahl Lenya Nikola Schneehage Lone Fenger Albrechtsen Louise Brøndbjerg Luca Pileri Magni Waltersson Marah Wagner Margarita Nutfulina Maria Natalia Lenardon Mariana De Soares e Barbieri Cardoso Marija Cvijović Mathieu Jaumain Mathilde Jeppesen Mikki Seidenschnur Milan Moldenhawer Mussa Algasra Nandi Lu Narisara Ladawal Schröder Natasha Lykke Lademann Østergaard Omar Mohamed Nabil Mohamed Saad Mowafy Petra Hajdu Ricardo Candel Sergiu Calacean Sherief Al Rifal Sille Foltinger Snorre Nash Steen Kortbæk Svendsen Thor Larsen-Lechuga Timo Harboe Nielsen Tobias Hjortdal Tommy Bjørnstrup Tore Banke Tristan Harvey Xavier Thanki Xingyue Huang Xinyi Chen Xinying Zhang Yehezkiel Wiliardy Manik Yunyoung Choi
Copenhagen Municipality Architecture Prize, 2024
LM Byg
Pihl & Søn
Aalborg Portland
Centrum Pæle
Connex
El Team Vest
Energy Machines
Skel.dk
Paschal Stillads
Kjellerup VVS
HB Trapper
Eiler Thomsen
Deko
Brønnum
Primatag
Optimus
Krak Bau
Alt om Fugning Aps
YOUR PARTNER
Kvadrat Acoustics
GOTESSONS
Akustik Miljø
Dansk Belægningsenterprise
NO.BA Studio
Ceramica Cielo
TONI Copenhagen
Dinesen Floors A/S
Influit
Helden
Artelia Group
Fritz Hansen
Muller van Severen
Aluflam
Artemide
Kristoffer Negendahl
Windowmaster
Viasol
Schüco
Anker & Co.
E. Nielsens Mekaniske Stenhuggeri A/S
Allremove
Miele
SHURE
Shack Trapper
BALTIMORE, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Johns Hopkins University
TYPOLOGY
Education
SIZE M2/FT2
13,935 / 150,000
STATUS
IN CONSTRUCTION
SHARE
The Hopkins Student Center will form a new social engagement hub for all members of the Johns Hopkins University community. The 143,000 sq ft building includes spaces for relaxation and socializing, student resources and support, a digital media center, performance space with seating for 200 people, and a dining hall.
Located at the intersection of 33rd and Charles Streets, the Hopkins Student Center will foster greater connectivity between the campus and the neighboring community by creating a prominent point of entry. As a natural gateway, the area will connect Charles Village and the 3,500+ Johns Hopkins students who live in the neighborhood to the heart of the Homewood campus.
The Hopkins Student Center is conceived as a central living room – a dynamic hub – surrounded by a collection of spaces tailored to the needs of the Hopkins community. The building negotiates the sloping grade of the site to allow direct entry from all four levels of the building, while maintaining a human scale and providing several accessible routes across the site. Arriving on Charles Street, students and visitors are greeted by an open building façade with dining areas spilling out onto a plaza.
The mass timber structure provides a warm and acoustically comfortable environment as light filters in through clerestory glazed windows. A circular staircase allows for a continuous connection to the building’s perimeter under 29 cantilevered roof planes, which provide shading for the building. The roofs are covered in photovoltaic panels that generate up to 40% of the building’s yearly energy consumption – a design strategy that contribute to the University’s larger sustainability goals, including LEED Platinum Certification.
The design transforms the landscape around the building to create outdoor spaces for student activities and events. A central plaza can host pop-up exhibits or performances, as well as vendors and food trucks to enliven the North Charles Street corridor.
Alan Maedo Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Bryan Hardin Chia-Yu Liu Cynthia Wang Elizabeth Mcdonald Emily Chen Gabriel Jewell-Vitale Jakub Kulisa Jan Leenknegt Jason Wu Jialin Yuan Juan Diego Perez Diez Lawrence-Olivier Mahadoo Leon Rost Luca McLaughlin Margaret Tyrpa Matthew Lau Mike Munoz Ryan Henriksen Tom Lasbrey Agne Rapkeviciute Alejandro Guadarrama Alex Wu Alexander Jacobson Andres Romero Christopher Pin Corliss Ng Deb Campbell Ema Hristova Bakalova Florencia Kratsman Frederic Lucien Engasser Guillaume Evain Jamie Maslyn Larson Jesper Kanstrup Petersen Josiah Poland Kaoan Hengles De Lima Ken Chongsuwat Kevin Pham Kig Veerasunthorn Mengzhu Jiang Oliver Thomas Terrence Chew Tony-Saba Shiber Tore Banke Tracy Sodder Veronica Watson Xi Zhang
Clark Construction
Lindner
StructureCraft
Shepley Bulfinch
Rockwell Group
MVVA
WSP-NYC
WRA
Knippers Helbig
Charcoal Blue
L’Observatoire
Point of Reference Studio/POR
Thornton Tomasetti
Acentech
Ricca
Code Red
Lerch Bates
WJE
Campbell-McCabe
Kalin Associates
Squint/Opera
JEVNAKER, NORWAY
CLIENT
Kistefos Museum Jevnaker
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
1,000 / 10,764
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The Twist is a contemporary art museum situated in the Kistefos Sculpture Park, located around a one hour drive from Oslo. The sculpture park, built around an old paper mill, occupies both embankments of the Randselva river and features sculptures by Olafur Eliasson, Lynda Benglis, Yayoi Kusama, Jeppe Hein, and Anish Kapoor, among others.
BIG was invited to design an intimate art museum to transform the visitor experience and add 1,000 m2 of indoor exhibition space to the park. After a careful study of the site, BIG proposed a raw and simple sculptural building across the Randselva river to tie the area together and create a natural circulation for a continuous art tour through the park.
Completed in 2019, The Twist is conceived as a beam, warped 90 degrees to create a sculptural form within the park and connect the two riverbanks: a museum, bridge and sculpture in one.
"The Twist is a hybrid spanning several traditional categories: it’s a museum, it’s a bridge, it’s an inhabitable sculpture. As a bridge, it reconfigures the sculpture park turning the journey through the park into a continuous loop. As a museum it connects two distinct spaces - an introverted vertical gallery and an extraverted horizontal gallery with panoramic views across the river. A third space is created through the blatant translation between these two galleries creating the namesake twist. The resultant form becomes another sculpture among the sculptures of the park."
The museum is placed as an abstract shape in the landscape. Its sculptural form is spanning between perfect geometry and specific bridge technology: on one side, it’s a simple box structure; on the other side, it’s a huge warping sculpture. A simple twist in the building volume allows the bridge to lift from the relatively lower forested area towards the south, and up to the hillside area in the north.
As a continuous path in the landscape, both sides of the building serve as the main entrance. From the south entry, visitors cross a 16 m aluminum-clad steel bridge to reach the double-height space, with a clear view to the north end, similarly linked with a 9 m pedestrian bridge.
The double-curve geometry of the museum is comprised of straight 40 cm-wide aluminum panels arranged like a stack of books, shifted ever so slightly in a fanning motion. The same principle is used inside, with white painted 8 cm-wide fir slats cladding the floor, wall, and ceiling as one uniform backdrop for Kistefos’ short-term Norwegian and international exhibitions.
The museum is comprised of a series of generic gallery spaces where, due to the curved form of the glass windows, the variety of daylight entering the museum creates three distinctive galleries. Stacked vertical, dark galleries with artificial lighting are found to the south, and a large horizontal, naturally-lit gallery with panoramic views is located on the north side. In between these spaces is the sculptural gesture, creating a twisted sliver of roof light.
From either direction, visitors experience the twisted gallery as though walking through a camera shutter. The ability to compartmentalize, divide, or merge the gallery spaces creates flexibility for Kistefos’ artistic programming.
The main entrance to the building is from the south, with the information center and visitor facilities such as a cloak and locker room, museum shop, and restrooms located nearby. From this entrance, there is a clear view to the other end of the building, including the sloping gallery which is located along the main circulation ramp – guiding visitors to the panoramic gallery.
The panoramic gallery is a large open space suitable for sculptures and large installations, with the ability to be subdivided for special occasions and events. On the north end, a full-height glass wall offering panoramic views to the pulp mill and river tapers while curving upwards to form a 25 cm-wide strip of skylight. A café is situated at this end of the gallery, where guests can enjoy snacks while taking in the view of the historic pulp mill and surrounding landscape. During the summer months, the café service area spills onto the plateau just outside.
A glass stairway leads down to the museum’s lower level on the north river embankment, where the building’s aluminum underside becomes the ceiling for the basement and restroom area. Another full-width glass wall brings visitors even closer to the river below, enhancing the overall immersive experience of being in the idyllic woodlands just outside of Oslo.
The art delivery and reception area is shared with the main entrance. Art can be delivered discreetly and securely after hours, and the art shipping crates are stored in the exhibition storage room once the art has been installed in its respective gallery.
Aimee Louise Desert Alberto Menegazzo Bjarke Ingels Brian Yang Carlos Ramos Tenorio Casey Tucker Catherine Huang David Zahle Finn Nørkjær Frederik Lyng Jakob Lange Joanna M. Lesna Kamilla Heskje Kekoa Charlot Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard Naysan John Foroudi Ola Sobczyk Roberto Fabbri Ryohei Koike Tomas Karl Ramstrand Tyrone Cobcroft Ulla Hornsyld Aleksandra Domian Alessandro Zanini Alina Tamosiunaite Andre Enrico Cassettari Zanolla Balaj Alin Iulian Brage Hult Carlos Suriñach Penella Channam Lei Christian Dahl Christian Eugenius Kuczynski Claus Rytter Bruun de Neergaard Dag Præstegaard David Tao Edda Steingrimsdottir Espen Vik Eva Seo-Andersen Katrine Juul Kei Atsumi Kristoffer Negendahl Lasse Lyhne-Hansen Lone Fenger Albrechtsen Mads Mathias Pedersen Mael Joseph Jaques Barbe Marcelina Kolasinska Martino Hutz Matteo Dragone Maxime Le Droupeet Nick Adriaan Huizenga Norbert Nadudvari Ovidiu Munteanu Rasmus Rosenblad Richard Mui Rihards Dzelme Sofiia Rokhmaniko Steen Kortbæk Svendsen Sunwoong Choi Tiina Liisa Juuti Tommy Bjørnstrup Tore Banke Xin Chen
LCD Berlin Leading Culture Destinations of the Year Award, 2020
Building Awards International Project of the Year, 2020
Architizer A+ Awards Architecture + Engineering Jury Winner, 2020
Architizer A+ Awards Gallery & Exhibitions Jury and Popular Winner, 2020
AKT II
ÅF-Belysning
AS Byggeanalyse
Baumetall/Zambelli Group
Bladt Industries
Brekke & Strand
David Langdon
DIFK
ECT
Element Arkitekter
Erichsen & Horgen
Fokus Rådgivning
GCAM
Grindaker
Lüchinger&Meyer
Max Fordham
MIR
Rambøll
BIG Ideas
DOHA, QATAR
CLIENT
UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation and the National Projects Office
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
450 / 4,800
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The UAE Pavilion at the 2023 International Horticultural Expo in Doha, Qatar is designed to showcase the region’s environmental preservation and agricultural innovation.
Inspired by the deep roots and intertwined branches of the local Ghaf Tree, the pavilion is conceived as a dome-shape, gradually rising towards its center. Its rammed earth structure frames a series of exhibition galleries and 32 gardens, creating an immersive experience of the UAE’s diverse landscape from desert to oasis, and sea to the mountains.
“The UAE Pavilion draws on the natural systems and centuries-old vernacular architecture of the UAE to respond to the world’s current climate challenges. Inspired by the deep roots and intertwined branches of the drought resistant Ghaf Tree, the Pavilion is designed as a network of rammed earth walls framing a series of exhibition galleries and gardens of indigenous species. Walls, floors and roofs are formed by soil, stone and vegetation, creating a physical link to the ground they come from. Meandering paths lead to an outdoor oasis, which is organized as a series of thematic gardens that explore the power of plants as a source of food, health and energy. By weaving together architecture and landscape into a seamless experience, the UAE Pavilion shares the story of humanity’s inseparable bonds with nature."
A network of paths within the pavilion takes the visitors on a journey through thematic gardens that explore the power of plants as a source of food, health, and energy.
The Pavilion is primarily made from locally sourced materials with walls constructed in rammed earth, which includes 90% soil and 10% cement for binding. The roof structure is formed by wooden beams topped with palm leaves for shading and limestone rocks are used for paving surfaces.
Throughout the gardens, guests can explore native and non-native plants that are cultivated or found in the wild. The landscaping and greenhouse include 65 species and 6,609 plants with edible plants, fruit trees, medicinal plants, a bee garden, flowers, spices, shrubs, grasses, industrial plants, and perennials. The greenhouse is filled with fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, bell peppers, figs, and citrus fruits. The plants are selected to highlight species that contribute to the UAE’s agricultural legacy, from past, to present and future.
Alvaro Novás Filgueira Andrea Hektor Anna Beatrice Maria Ambrosi Bartłomiej Lew Bjarke Ingels Dace Gurecka Giulia Frittoli Hansen Zhu Jae Yoon Lee Jakob Lange Jan-Hendrik Schrader Jesús Fernández Fraile Mónica Galiana Rodriquez Rihab Soukkarieh Seyederfan Masoumzadeh Søren Martinussen Thomas Lejeune Carrie Tam Giancarlo Albarello Herrera Jens Max Jensen Kannan Selvaraj Malka Logo Marco Sartoretto Nicolas Vincent Robert Carlier Nouran Wael Mohamed Rashad Mohamed Sherif Sofia Papadopoulou Xavier Thanki Zhiyuan Zhang
International Horticultural Expo 2023: Gold for Self-Built Pavilion
Conmarble Design Studio
Atelier Brückner
Mace
CEG
LAS VEGAS, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Athletics
TYPOLOGY
Sports
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
The new ballpark for the Athletics Major League Baseball team in Las Vegas, Nevada will echo the vibrancy of the ‘Entertainment Capital of the World,’ exuding an outdoor feel with panoramic views of the city’s skyline.
Situated on the Las Vegas Strip, the new home for the Athletics – a 33,000-capacity covered ballpark designed by BIG in collaboration with HNTB – will sit on nine acres between Tropicana Avenue and Reno Avenue. The project builds on a longstanding collaboration between BIG and the Athletics dating back to a different ballpark design in Oakland, California in 2018.
The new ballpark’s roof is accentuated by five overlapping shells resembling baseball pennants, paying homage to the sport. For players, these arched “pennants” will attenuate direct sunlight glare while welcoming indirect natural light through northern oriented clerestory windows.
The domed ballpark is designed to feature the world’s largest cable net glass wall. The structure’s exterior metal cladding shimmers in the natural daylight and reflects the surrounding Las Vegas lights at night.
"BIG's revolutionary design, created in collaboration with HNTB, represents a captivating ballpark concept, seamlessly blending innovation and technology with an enhanced fan experience. We are very excited to share the work of our design team with the entire Southern Nevada community."
“Our design for the new Vegas home for the A’s is conceived in response to the unique culture and climate of the city. Five pennant arches enclose the ballpark - shading from the Nevada sun while opening to the soft daylight from the north. A giant window frames a majestic view of the life of The Strip and the iconic New York New York hotel skyline. All direct sunlight is blocked, while all the soft daylight is allowed to wash the field in natural light. The resultant architecture is like a spherical armadillo - shaped by the local climate - while opening and inviting the life of The Strip to enter and explore. In the city of spectacle, the A’s ‘armadillo’ is designed for passive shading and natural light - the architectural response to the Nevada climate generating a new kind of vernacular icon in Vegas.”
An elevated outdoor plaza connects to the bridges over Las Vegas and Tropicana Boulevards, directing fans to the ballpark’s main concourse, where a large glass atrium pulls the city into the venue. This entrance sequence will immediately orient fans in the ballpark, allowing views of the entire field and seating bowl upon entry while optimizing wayfinding and circulation.
Secondary north and south entrances are marked by “bouncing” arches to increase visitor accessibility and promote a connection to the outdoors. Once inside, fans are met with bright, open atria, which will also serve as multipurpose exhibition spaces to showcase international and local artists.
The Athletics Ballpark is an immersive fan experience. Its tiered design and intimacy, inspired by historic ballparks like Fenway and Wrigley – with split upper and lower bowls – bring fans closer to the action than traditional ballparks and provide clear sight lines from every seat.
The ballpark is currently designed to feature an 18,000-sq-ft jumbotron, which would make it the largest screen in Major League Baseball. An air-conditioning system distributes at the seats rather than from above, making cooling more efficient and energy conscious.
The Athletics Ballpark will have the potential to double as a venue for hosting concerts, conferences and other events. Future development is expected to surround the venue, including an onsite hotel and casino.
The ballpark has an expected opening date of spring 2028.
Alan Maedo Aran Coakley Bernardo Schuhmacher Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Don Chen Douglass Alligood Frankie Sharpe Hongye Wu Jan Klaska Jeff Yinong Tao Leon Rost Luca McLaughlin Margaret Tyrpa Matthew Lau Pooya Aledavood Ricardo Palma Prieto Sunghwan Um Thomas McMurtrie Yuzaburo Tanaka Ahmad Tabbakh Ashley O'Neill Catrina Nelson Ema Hristova Bakalova Hudson Parris Paul Heberle
HNTB
Thornton Tomasetti
Henderson Engineers
CAA ICON
Mortenson
McCarthy
Atelier Ten
RWDI
Kimley-Horn
Systematica
WJHW
Jensen Hughs
HKA
WSP
FP&C
Chicago Flyhouse
Duray Duncan
Ed Roether Consulting
Morean
Negativ
Mir
JAMMERBUGT, DENMARK
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
2,500 / 26,910
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
BIG is set to transform a former supermarket building into the new Museum for Paper Art in the North Jutland region of Denmark. The current 900 m2 museum space, located in a former Aldi supermarket, will be transformed and expanded to double the museum’s annual number of visitors as well as embrace paper as an art form and expertise. BIG reimagines the museum as a 2300 m2 building building with space for workshops, events, teaching rooms, storage, and office facilities.
The adaptive reuse project is pursuing DGNB Gold or Platinum certification.
The Museum for Paper Art is conceived as a new lightweight roof structure. Like a single sheet of paper, the roof lands on the existing building and creates space for the new functions around it – uniting the new and old under one roof. The existing building walls will get a new acoustic-regulating layer of paper art on the exterior, inspired by origami and designed in collaboration with several paper artists.
“Paper art is deeply embedded in our cultural heritage, showcased through Denmark's paper art tradition through iconic designs such as Le Klint's folding lamps and H.C. Andersen's paper clips. Carrying this legacy into the future is something that this museum has at its heart. We are also proud of recycling an existing building.”
Inside, the focal point of the museum is reflected in the architecture as surfaces are draped with a timber construction made from the wood that is used to make paper.
“Paper art is about creating three-dimensional shapes and complex images from a monochromatic two-dimensional material - a sheet of paper. By treating the roof surface as such - a single sheet of folded paper - existing and new functions are brought together in one unifying gesture. The expressive is accentuated by the clear, complexity arises from simplicity. And an obsolete supermarket finds new life under the floating curved roof."
The Museum for Paper Art will offer spaces for a variety of public activities. A meandering path with plants and trees native to the area will invite the public to explore the surroundings and create a welcoming public realm to pull the visitors into the museum.
Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Jesper Ullbing Kai-Brith Kalda Mantas Povilaika Matthew Goodwill Tomas Karl Ramstrand Kannan Selvaraj Neele Maree Ohlrogge
CLAREMONT, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Claremont McKenna College
TYPOLOGY
Education
SIZE M2/FT2
12,542 / 135,000
STATUS
IN CONSTRUCTION
SHARE
In September 2022, Claremont McKenna College – one of the top U.S. liberal arts colleges – broke ground on its 135,000 sq ft Robert Day Sciences Center. It will be home for the College’s next-generation Kravis Department of Integrated Sciences – a powerful, multi-disciplinary, computational approach to advance gene, brain, and climate knowledge.
Expected to complete in 2025, the Robert Day Sciences Center launches a series of campus developments and improvements to prepare Claremont McKenna for its next chapter, and represents an educational evolution in how the College will prepare its students – one that deliberately and coherently integrates sciences and computation with the humanities and social sciences to address big thematic priorities in scientific discovery and application.
The building’s structure is designed as a stack of two volumes, or rectangle ‘blocks’ – two per floor – with each pair rotated 45 degrees from the floor below. The exterior facade uses board-formed panels of glass fiber reinforced concrete, which create a wood-like texture.
On the interior, each individual volume is expressed as a rectangular wood-clad truss on the long edges, and as a floor-to-ceiling glass facade on the shorter sides. The continual rotation of each floor creates a sky-lit, central atrium at the heart of the building that provides direct views into classrooms and research spaces from all levels.
Students, professors, staff, and visitors will be able to access the new center from two main entrances – at the ground floor and the first floor – located at different elevations due to the north-south slope of the campus. Students entering through the south side will be met by a cafe and the open auditorium’s grand staircase that leads up towards the atrium. The full-height atrium with open spaces invite collaborative activity – embodying both the architectural and educational approach of the center.
“The confluence of previously distinct disciplines: breakthroughs in computer and data science lead to breakthroughs in the natural and life sciences. The architecture for the new Robert Day Sciences Center seeks to maximize this integration and interaction of these previously siloed sciences. The labs and classrooms are stacked in a Jenga-like composition framing a column-free, open internal space with the freedom and flexibility to adapt the ever-evolving demands of technology and science. Each level of the building is oriented towards a different direction of the campus, channeling the flow of people and ideas between the labs and the classrooms as well as externally between the integrated sciences and the rest of the campus. It is our hope that the building will provoke new conversations between scientists and also stimulate the rest of the liberal arts students to take a deeper interest in the sciences and vice versa. The analytical embracing the experimental – rationality intersecting with creativity.”
The instructional and research spaces are organized around the perimeter of the building – providing classrooms with picturesque views while keeping the quieter instructional spaces farther away from the more social atrium. Overall, the interior’s materiality is defined by the marriage of the warm wood cladding, concrete floors, and functional research surfaces found within the integrated sciences labs.
Eight outdoor roof terraces located on the corner perimeters of each ‘bar’ offer sweeping 360-degree views of the mountains to the north, the campus to the west, and the Roberts Campus to the east. Designed with a mix of hardscape and softscape areas featuring native plantings, these “green roof” spaces are multi functional, designed to be used for outdoor classrooms, study areas, or places to meet classmates and professors.
Approximately 9,000 SF of solar panels on the Robert Day Sciences Center roof will provide between 200-230 megawatt hours of energy production per year.
“Today more than ever, an interdisciplinary approach to the sciences is vital to tackling the world’s biggest challenges such as health, climate, and misinformation. By literally stacking disciplines together, the building becomes an expression of collaboration and a crossroads for scientific thought. The parallel wings extend the historical framework of the campus mall, then pivot diagonally to face the future of the CMC campus expansion.”
With views of Mt. Baldy, the building is positioned on the eastern edge of Claremont McKenna College, at the corner of Ninth Street and Claremont Boulevard – creating a strong gateway to the campus. This strategic position will facilitate strong connections to other academic departments on campus.
Alan Maedo Alvaro Velosa Amir Mikhaeil Aran Coakley Beat Schenk Bella Yanan Ding Bernardo Schuhmacher Bianca Blanari Bjarke Ingels Casey Tucker Chris Tron David Holbrook David Iseri Dylan Hames Emily Chen Gary Polk Jan Leenknegt Janie Green Joseph Veliz Leon Rost Minjung Ku Pooya Aledavood Ryan Duval Thomas McMurtrie Won Ryu Ahmad Tabbakh Alex Wu Ana Luisa Pedreira Angela Lufkin Carlos Castillo Francesca Portesine Gus Steyer Jose Lacruz Vela Kam Chi Cheng Lorenz Krisai Melody Hwang Montre'ale Jones Neha Sadruddin Ololade Owolabi Peter Sepassi Seung Ho Shin Sinam Hawro Yakoob Sue Biolsi Terrence Chew Tracy Sodder Yasamin Mayyas
Saiful Bouquet
Acco Engineered Systems
Atlas Civil Design
MRY
Rosendin Electric
WSP USA
Jacobs
ARUP
KGM Architectural Lighting
Heintges
KOA
EWCG
KPRS
Herrick
Misty Gonzalez
IDS
Kleinfelder
Salamander
Code Consultants Inc
FORT WORTH, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Juneteenth Museum
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
7061 / 76,000
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
With ‘The Grandmother of Juneteenth,’ Ms. Opal Lee, at the helm, the National Juneteenth Museum is dedicated to preserving the history of Juneteenth and legacy of freedom. Declared a federal holiday in the U.S. on June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act with Ms. Lee by his side, Juneteenth (June 19th) commemorates the Emancipation Proclamation’s enforcement and the liberation of the remainder of the enslaved both in Texas and throughout the newly reformed United States, which happened on June 19, 1865.
Located in the Historic Southside of Fort Worth, Texas which was divided by the I-35W highway in the 1960s and is one of the South’s most underserved communities – The National Juneteenth Museum will be the epicenter for the education, preservation and celebration of Juneteenth nationally and globally, hosting exhibitions, discussions, and events about the significance of African American freedom. The new 76,000 square foot building is designed by BIG alongside architect-of-record KAI Enterprises.
“Seeing the national museum moving forward is a dream fulfilled. I’ve had a little Juneteenth Museum in that very spot for almost 20 years, and to see it become a central place for discussion, collaboration and learning seems to be the providential next step – from my walking campaign to Washington, D.C., the petition, and having Juneteenth declared a federal holiday. It’s mind-boggling, but I’m glad to see it all come to pass.”
The National Juneteenth Museum, designed in close collaboration with the local Fort Worth community, seeks to provide a cultural and economic anchor for this neighborhood and act as a catalyst for ensuring its future vitality, including immersive galleries, a business incubator, food hall for local vendors, Black Box flex space, and a theater.
The museum’s undulating roof creates a series of ridges, peaks, and valleys of varying heights that combine to create a ‘nova star’ shaped courtyard in the middle of the museum. Meaning ‘new star,’ the nova star represents a new chapter for the African Americans looking ahead towards a more just future. The publicly accessible courtyard will be the anchor for the museum and its activities. At the center of the courtyard, the ‘five point’ star is engraved into the terrazzo pavement. In addition to representing Texas, the last state to adopt and acknowledge the freedom of African American slaves – the star nods to the American flag’s 50 stars that represent all 50 U.S states, representing the freedom of African Americans across the country.
While five street-level entrances allow the galleries and exhibitions to be accessed as individual spaces, two publicly-accessible covered ‘portals’ connect directly to the courtyard and main gallery entrances, welcoming visitors from both the north and the southwest of the site via generous entryways defined by warm, vibrant colors. The mass timber structure that defines the design’s materiality continues into the interior, visually connecting the two realms.
In addition to this visual continuity of the materiality, the building’s public and private realms are also interconnected through the museum’s circular layout; on the ground floor, the two portals that connect to the courtyard are flanked by each of the programs: one portion of the galleries, the business incubator, food hall for local vendors, Black Box flex space, and theatre. To access the museum galleries, which begin on the ground floor, guests enter the generous reception area, and are guided to the light-filled mezzanine level via staircase or wheelchair-accessible elevator.
“The National Juneteenth Museum came to BIG looking for a design that captures the social, cultural, and spiritual importance of Juneteenth celebrations for black people while expressing its historic significance and relevance to all Americans. Our hope is that this building will become a gateway to the Historic Southside community of Fort Worth while serving as a national and global destination. Our engagement with Ms. Opal Lee and members of the community, to really understand their needs, is what informed a lot of the design principles. As a black architect, this project is one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.”
The mezzanine level reveals the rest of the gallery spaces, which are connected by a ring of circulation that wraps the courtyard. Glass is utilized as the interior wall of both the ground and mezzanine floors to create a sense of openness and transparency while complementing the pared-back timber and concrete materials. Similarly, the ‘nova star’ cut out of the roof at the center of the building of which the mezzanine wraps around allows light to travel through the entire space. Wrapping around the nova star shape above, the mezzanine galleries physically connect each of the programs while being literally elevated – providing visitors an above perspective of the public courtyard below, and those in the courtyard with views of the galleries above.
Outside the museum building, a network of plazas provides wayfinding opportunities, extending the sense of community of the interior to the outdoor spaces. Polished concrete and terrazzo flooring continue out to the exterior spaces, creating visual continuity between the public and private realms. Generous lawns, native landscaping, and wood seating are dispersed throughout the plaza areas, providing places for outdoor exhibitions, large-scale installations and gatherings.
Abdur-Rahman Harunah Alejandra Cortes Alvaro Velosa Andrea Hektor Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Douglass Alligood Foad Sarsangi Linus Saavedra Mama Qicheng Wu Pooja Annamaneni Yumiko Matsubara Florencia Kratsman Marcus Wilford Montre'ale Jones Ololade Owolabi Terrence Chew Yasamin Mayyas
KAI Enterprises
EDSA
StructureCraft
GreeNexus Consulting
WSP
KAI Engineering
Simon Engineering
Local Projects
Vermeulens
MAGNOR, NORWAY
CLIENT
Vestre A/S
TYPOLOGY
Infrastructure
SIZE M2/FT2
7,000 / 75,000
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Designed for furniture manufacturer Vestre, The Plus is a factory, visitor center, and 300-acre park located in Magnor, Norway near Vestre’s HQ and steel factory. Norway’s single largest investment in the furniture industry in decades, the 7,000 m2 production facility is dedicated to the cleanest carbon-neutral fabrication of urban furniture in the world.
Constructed in just 18 months, the building is made of local mass timber, low-carbon concrete, and recycled steel, and is set to become the first industrial building to achieve the highest environmental BREEAM Outstanding rating. The factory doubles as a public park for hiking and camping and aligns with the region’s mission to establish a green manufacturing hub outside of Oslo.
The Plus is conceived as a radial array of four main production halls – a warehouse, color factory, wood factory, and the assembly – that connect at the center and generate the ‘plus’ shape at its intersection. The layout enables an efficient, flexible, and transparent workflow between the manufacturing units and an intuitive visitor experience.
Like a flowchart, the entire interior is organized with the color of each machine overflowing to the floors. Exploring The Plus feels like moving through an archipelago of colorful islands where the experience and overview of the factory’s activities are unified.
Inside the factories, each wing has one alternating ceiling corner lifted to create inclined roofs that allow views into the production halls as well as the forest outside. Along the color and wood factory, the sloping roofs are extended to form a pathway for visitors and staff to hike up and down the building while observing the production processes inside. All four production units are built with 21 m free-spanning, cross-laminated timber, creating flexible column free–spaces.
"The radical transparency invites visitors and hikers to enjoy the whole process of creation while providing Vestre’s team with the thrill of working in the middle of the forest. To us, The Plus is a crystal-clear example of Hedonistic Sustainability - showing us how our sustainable future will not only be better for the environment, but also more beautiful to work in and more fun to visit."
From all four sides of the buildings, visitors and staff will be invited to hike around the facility and end their walk on the roof. Here, 900 photovoltaic panels are placed and angled according to optimal solar efficiency while effective construction and materials methods, rainwater collection systems, heat and cooling systems, green roofs, and electric vehicles contribute to ca 90% lower energy demand than that of a conventional factory. An ADA-accessible ramp will allow wheelchairs and strollers to enjoy the serpentine path and the experience of being surrounded by pine trees on all sides.
All materials were carefully selected for their environmental impact, with the façade constructed from local timber, low-carbon concrete, and recycled reinforcement steel.
Every aspect of the design is based on principles of renewable and clean energy to match Vestre’s eco-friendly production, such as ensuring a minimum of 50% lower greenhouse gas emissions than comparable factories.
The heart of The Plus draws visitors into the exhibition centers Vestre Energy and Clean Water Center where the public can learn about energy, water and circular design. A logistics office with direct connections to all four production halls allows Vestre’s team to process logistical traffic with maximum efficiency. The central hub wraps around a public, circular courtyard where the latest outdoor furniture collections are displayed according to the changing seasons. The courtyard doubles as a panopticon for visitors and staff to fully experience the factory’s production processes.
"Playfulness, democracy, and sustainability are at the heart of the Vestre brand and everything they do; our wooden, colorful factory in the middle of the Norwegian woods - surrounded by a 300,000 m2 public forest park where the local community can come to experience the gigantic Vestre furniture pieces sprinkled throughout - lives and breathes this philosophy."
Proving that production can be sustainable and profitable even in a high-cost country like Norway, The Plus – a hybrid of a transparent and open production facility, a public park, and a literal green landmark for the manufacturing industry – exemplifies how advancements in fabrication and manufacturing can help shape both the factories of the future, and the way we experience them.
Andrea Hektor Andreas Bak Bjarke Ingels Claudia Bertolotti David Zahle Frederik Skou Jensen Giulia Frittoli Jens Majdal Kaarsholm Nanna Gyldholm Møller Ole Elkjær-Larsen Paula Madrid Ulla Hornsyld Viktoria Millentrup Agnieszka Wardzińska Ákos Márk Horváth Alexander Jacobson Andy Coward Ariana Ribas Ariana Szmedra Bjarke Koch-Ørvad Cæcilie Søs Brandt-Olsen Camille Breuil Cheng-Huang Lin Duncan Horswill Eduardo Javier Sosa Trevino Edward Durie Eva Seo-Andersen Ewa Zapiec Filip Fot Frederic Lucien Engasser Jean-Sébastien Pagnon Jenna Hukkinen Jesper Kanstrup Petersen Jonas Rask Julia Novaes Tabet Julien Bernard Jacques Picard Julius Victor Schneevoigt Kaoan Hengles De Lima Katrine Juul Katrine Sandstrøm Kristoffer Negendahl Ksenia Zhitomirskaya Luca Pileri Magni Waltersson Marcel Götz Miles Treacy Neringa Jurkonyte Ningnan Ye Palita Tungjaroen Rron Bexheti Steen Kortbæk Svendsen Sui King Yu Thor Larsen-Lechuga Tobias Hjortdal Tommy Bjørnstrup Tore Banke Tristan Harvey Xingyue Huang Zuzanna Eugenia Montwill
BREEAM Awards, Best New Building, 2024
DOGA-merket for Architecture and Design, 2023
Scandinavian Design Awards for Architecture of the Year, 2023
DETAIL Reader's Choice Awards, 2022
Interior Design Magazine Best of Year Awards for Greater World Sustainability, 2022
Bollinger+Grohmann
Gade & Mortensen
Nordic Architects AS
Asplan Viak
Erichsen og Horgen AS
Norconsult AS
Foyn Consult AS
Fokus Rådgivning
Multiconsult AS
ØM Fjeld AS
Woodcon AS
Reflex
Hallas AS
Loe VVS Prosjekt AS
Cowi AS
Fokus Rad AS
Melby Maskin AS
EMV Construction AS
YC ROR AS
Energima Prosjekt SA
Minel Elinstallasjon US
Solcellespesialisten AS
TKS Heiser AS
Bygganalyse AS
Evotek AS
2024
CLIENT
Lonestar Data Holdings
TYPOLOGY
Products
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Traditional data centers account for about 1% of global electricity consumption and up to 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions – with an expected 50% increase in their electrical footprint by 2025.
In collaboration with Lonestar Data Holdings, BIG designed a 3D-printed data center to travel to the Moon on a future NASA space mission – marking the first time that data will be stored on the Moon and signifying the initial step in space becoming a recognized home for data management.
The equipment – nicknamed the Freedom Payload and measuring 26 x 17 cm – can store up to eight terabytes of data and will be entirely solar-powered. The device is designed to feature the profiles of two U.S. astronauts – Charlie Duke and Nicole Stott – whose faces will cast changing shadows on the Moon throughout the day.
The space mission will last one Moon day, the equivalent to 14 Earth days. The data center will rely on solar energy during the lunar day and will cease operation at lunar nightfall, while the profiles of Duke and Stott continue to leave an everlasting shadow on the surface of the Moon.
The Lonestar Data Center is representative of both everything that humanity has accomplished in space and how much more opportunity exists. By storing data on the Moon, we can create a greener future here on Earth.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Jan-Hendrik Schrader Jason Wu Linus Saavedra Martin Voelkle Philip Andersson Tom Pracert Schrader
MOUNTAIN VIEW, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
55,277 / 595,000
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Situated on an 18-acre site in the North Bayshore area of Mountain View and adjacent to Charleston Park, Google’s Gradient Canopy includes workspace for Googlers and 10,000 sq ft of space open to the public, comprising restaurant, retail and community event spaces. The campus also features the Google Visitor Experience – a new destination for Google employees, visitors and neighbors.
The site has achieved LEED-NC v4 Platinum certification – taking the title from Bay View as being the largest LEED v4 BD+C: NC Platinum-certified project in the world – and is also one of the largest facilities ever to attain the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) Living Building Challenge (LBC) Materials Petal Certification.
On the exterior, the Gradient Canopy building features the same “dragonscale” solar skin roof as Google Bay View, equipped with silver solar panels that use the latest building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) technology and generate approximately 40% of the building’s annual energy use. Coupled with the canopy’s pavilion-like rooflines, the panels capture the power of the sun from multiple angles. Unlike a flat roof, which generates peak power at the same time each day, the dragonscale solar skin generates power for an extended amount of daylight hours.
Like Bay View, Gradient Canopy’s 120-ft canopy rests on cruciform beams. Rather than being segmented by excessive columns and support walls, the structural innovation of the canopy roof allows for a hangar-like typology with a wide-open and connected workspace. Access to natural light and views with reduced glare during working hours were priority design elements, achieved through the use of carefully placed clerestory windows.
Designed from the inside out, the Gradient Canopy building begins with the Googler. By providing glare-free light, fresh filtered air, natural materials, biophilic elements and soothing acoustics, the architecture of Gradient Canopy ensures a happy and productive Googler. The wood-clad interiors of the building are entirely procured from responsibly managed forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and are supported by a steel frame.
The Gradient Canopy building is split across only two floors, with desks and team spaces on the upper level and the amenity spaces below. A variation in floorplates on the upper level offers highly flexible “neighborhoods” for teams, with desks clustered into groups that can be either enclosed within studios using flexible partitions or left open for break-out spaces and other teams. A series of twenty indoor “courtyards” throughout the building connect the two levels, giving teams easy access to cafes, kitchenettes, conference rooms and all-hands spaces. The courtyards also encourage physical movement when circulating between levels and different modes of work, and double as wayfinding devices.
The Gradient Canopy site design and native landscaping provide critical support for wildlife and builds resilience in the landscape. Across the 18-acre site, four acres of which are vegetated, landscape designs mimic natural habitats native to the region yet largely gone from Silicon Valley today. The landscape palette consists primarily of native species, including 380 native trees, while over 90% of the plants at Gradient Canopy provide nectar for native pollinators.
During the construction of Gradient Canopy, an onsite waste management process diverted over 90% of construction waste from landfills, while a closed-loop wallboard initiative meant that 530,000 pounds of drywall waste was recycled. Thousands of materials used at the campus went through a rigorous sourcing and review process using the LBC Red List as a framework to minimize chemicals harmful to human and environmental health.
To promote a circular economy, Gradient Canopy’s design incorporates salvaged materials and 100% FSC-certified timber. Today, a bioretention area captures and filters stormwater and urban runoff that are reused onsite.
Anchored in three themes defined by Google’s design brief – innovation, nature and community – Gradient Canopy provides an opportunity to take human-centered, sustainable design to a new scale. Together, Google, BIG and Heatherwick have created a campus that fosters community and creates a healthy, inclusive space that benefits everyone.
The public plaza in Charleston Park, which will be programmed with public events throughout the year, such as farmers markets, food trucks and live music, connects to the interior community spaces on the west side of Gradient Canopy. The plaza welcomes the public to the Google Visitor Experience and new food and retail outlets, like the West Coast’s first ever Google Store and a year-round neighborhood partnership center.
A casual spot for day-to-day interactions, this neighborhood center hosts a pop-up shop and a range of events and workshops to highlight local small businesses and community organizations. The space offers an inclusive setting for dialogue and learning while serving as a social node for Gradient Canopy and the broader North Bayshore neighborhood.
A pedestrian and bicycle path, part of the larger North Bayshore Green Loop, weaves around the southern portion of the site for Googlers, neighbors and visitors to enjoy the site’s native landscaping, public art and exterior gathering spaces.
Beat Schenk Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Blake Smith Daniel Sundlin David Iseri Douglass Alligood Dylan Hames Jan Leenknegt Jason Wu Leon Rost Linus Saavedra Pauline Lavie-Luong Rita Sio Ryan Duval Ryan Harvey Sebastian Claussnitzer Shane Dalke Shu Zhao Thomas Christoffersen Veronica Acosta Zhonghan Huang Aaron Mark Alice Cladet Anton Bashkaev Armen Menendian Ashley O'Neill Athena Morella Barbara Stallone Bernard Peng Cheyne Owens Christi Farrell Corliss Ng Cristian Lera Silva Danielle Kemble Deb Campbell Dong-Joo Kim Filip Milovanovic Florencia Kratsman Francesca Portesine Gabriel Hernandez Solano Gabriella Den Elzen Gaurav Sardana Guillaume Evain Hacken Li Helen Shuyang Chen Jennifer Dudgeon Jennifer Kimura Jennifer Wood John Hilmes Jonathan Fournier Jonathan Pan Joshua Burns Joshua Plourde Kiley Anne Feickert Lina Bondarenko Ludwig Ebert Luke Lu Mahsa Malek Manon Otto Meghan Bean Melissa Jones Mirco Amstad Mo Zhou Omer Hadar Pablo Costa Fraiz Pantea Tehrani Patricia Correa Velasquez Patrick Hyland Peter Kwak Sebastian Grogaard Simon David Taylor Fulton Terrence Chew Valentina Mele Vincenzo Polsinelli Xi Zhang Ziad Shehab
Heatherwick Studio
Adamson
Arup
CCI
EWCG
FMS
Mott MacDonald
Hathaway Dinwiddie
HJLA
HLW
Hortscience
H.T. Harvey Associates
Iris environmental
Kleinfelder
Loisos + Ubbelohde
Sera
Sherwood
Vital
AKT II
Front
Atelier Ten
Devcon
T.S. Krumholz
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Soloviev Group and Mohegan
TYPOLOGY
Culture, Civic, Residential, Hospitality, Retail, Urbanism, Space Planning
SIZE M2/FT2
384,548 / 4,139,237
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
Freedom Plaza will create a new civic and cultural hub along Manhattan’s East River, just south of the United Nations headquarters. The development will bring a 4.77-acre public waterfront open space to an area historically lacking green space, with plans for an in-park Museum of Freedom and Democracy, much-needed affordable housing, two hotels, retail and restaurants. With a below-grade gaming area connected to the hotels, Freedom Plaza is one of several projects vying for three downstate gaming licenses in and around New York City.
Freedom Plaza will extend BIG’s contribution to New York City’s waterfront, alongside adjacent coastal projects that include the East Side Coastal Resiliency project, the Battery Park City Resiliency project and River Ring in Brooklyn.
“Our plan is to develop this site in a way that delivers benefits for the local neighborhood and the city as a whole, worthy of its skyline and waterfront location, and befitting New York City's key role as a leader in the global cultural economy. We value the community input that we have received throughout the planning process and are proud to help meet the need for residential and affordable housing and public open space, as well as providing a daycare, food market, and an array of new dining and retail offerings.”
The Freedom Plaza towers align with the orthogonal grid of Manhattan to extend the view corridors from Midtown eastward to the East River and Queens. The design respects the celebrated UN complex to the north while also adding playful and sculptural elements to the waterfront. The two residential towers pay homage to modernist New York City buildings of the 1950s and 1960s, with striped glass and aluminum facades connected at the base by a podium that will house a food market and retail. The two hotel towers, clad in a warm metal finish, connect at the roof, creating visual unity between the buildings.
"When Le Corbusier, Niemeyer and Harrison designed the UN Secretariat Building, they grafted an oasis of international modernism onto the dense urban grid of Manhattan, creating a park on the river framed by towers and pavilions. Due to the nature of the work of the UN, access to that park - although open to all nations - remains necessarily restricted, for good reasons. With our design for Freedom Plaza, we continue to build on these architectural principles by uniting three city blocks to form a public green space reaching from 1st Avenue to the East River overlook, creating a green connection all the way to the water's edge. Bookending the park are two pairs of towers, joined at base or top and each framing a corner plaza: one showcasing the life of the city and the other forming an urban gate from the city to the upper park and East River beyond. Balanced on a perch overlooking the river, the Museum of Freedom and Democracy neighbors the towers and celebrates the origin and evolution of one of the most impactful inventions of mankind and our continuous struggle to build, maintain and protect the institutions that uphold it. We are incredibly honored and thrilled to be part of the team that can envision a new major public space in this great city, to contribute to the iconic skyline of Manhattan's riverfront, and to imagine the architecture of the museum celebrating one of mankind's greatest inventions: Democracy."
The buildings within Freedom Plaza are placed at the perimeter of the site to maximize space for the multilevel, universally accessible green spaces – roughly the size of Bryant Park – which include a children’s play area, dog run and event lawn with a bandshell for hosting al fresco events. The landscaping is designed to host a native botanical overlay and climate-adaptive species, with gardens providing food and habitat for pollinators year-round. The sculpture program and an amphitheater below the museum will offer cultural experiences for visitors and neighborhood residents alike, while educational programs centered around the native flora and sustainable practices emphasize the park’s commitment to environmental consciousness. Restaurants, a food market, community spaces, a daycare and other amenities line the northern and southern edges of the park.
At the heart of Freedom Plaza’s green space will be the Museum of Freedom and Democracy. Taking the shape of a Möbius strip, the museum winds on top of itself, allowing for outdoor walking paths. The museum forms a spiraling and infinite geometry over the amphitheater as a symbol of unity, and takes cues from the traditional Greek theater as a nod to those who created democracy thousands of years ago.
“Urban developments of this scale usually feature a multistory podium with parking and inaccessible private amenities on a podium rooftop. Freedom Plaza, however, breaks free from that stereotype by integrating all podium programs such as parking, retail, ballroom, gaming and entertainment below-grade, which allows us to create a generous green space accessible to everyone.”
Freedom Plaza intends to be an operational net-zero carbon development. The site is designed to use the East River as a heat sink and heat source to supplement the buildings’ heating, cooling and domestic hot water systems, which will reduce potable water demand by 24.5 million gallons annually. Stormwater capture and retention, as well as the park’s mature trees, will help minimize urban heat island effect. Freedom Plaza will also utilize a minimum of 20% electric vehicle charging stations for its onsite parking with capacity to scale to 60%.
Freedom Plaza draws inspiration from New York’s many celebrated dual interior-exterior public spaces, including the nearby Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice. As hotel guests arrive, they enter a light-filled “forest atrium” that brings the outdoor public space inside through skylights and floating planters. From this atrium, guests can access the various food and beverage outlets, convention and event spaces, gaming facilities, and street-level retail. To further ease traffic concerns, a special entrance to the resort facility will be established on the 41st Street side of the property.
The two hotel towers connect via a skybridge cantilevered over the East 41st St. and 1st Avenue corner of the site. The skybridge lobby features a dramatic multistory viewing platform with a glass floor and ceiling and the Soloviev Foundation Art Gallery, while a 150,000-gallon infinity pool – one of the largest rooftop pools in North America – will be perched on the roof. Banyan Tree hotel amenities, including a spa and wellness center, restaurants and bars, and private gaming are also located in the bridge interior.
Alvaro Velosa Andreas Buettner Beat Schenk Bjarke Ingels Brendan Murphy Cheng Zhong Douglass Alligood Jan Klaska Jeff Yinong Tao Joanne Zheng Johannes Alexander Hackl Kristian Hindsberg M. Omer Khan Margaret Tyrpa Martin Voelkle Otilia Pupezeanu Rafael Alvarez Sang Ha Jung Sunghwan Um Will Chuanrui Yu Youjin Rhee Ahmad Tabbakh Alejandro Guadarrama Hudson Parris Megan Sousa Moya Annastacia Kernan Paul Heberle Sparsh Gandhi
Langan
Rizzo Brookbridge
Herrick Feinstein
Adamson
Friedmutter Group
OJB Landscape Architecture
Thornton Tomasetti
WSP
HBA
2024
CLIENT
ICON
TYPOLOGY
Residential
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
CODEX is a digital catalog of ready-to-print homes by construction technology company ICON that was unveiled at the South by Southwest Festival in 2024. The catalog features five 3D-printed home collections each based on a different program, with more than 60 designs across a range of price points.
Within CODEX, BIG designed the weather-resistant Storm and Fire homes, with design elements that mitigate damage and loss due to storms and wildfires; the TexNext collection, which reinterprets four beloved Texan housing typologies; and House One, a 3-bedroom home that celebrates indoor and outdoor living within the Exploration collection.
Every home in CODEX is designed to be 3D printed with ICON’s newest advanced material, CarbonX. When paired with ICON’s wall system and robotic construction methods, the CarbonX formula is the lowest carbon residential building system ready to be used at scale. New collections will continue to be added to CODEX, which aims to be the most extensive digital catalog of buildable home designs in the world.
The Storm collection is ICON’s response to the growing need for hurricane and storm-resilient homes. This series includes aerodynamic 3D-printed forms, elevated sites and impact-resistant windows.
The form finding for Storm included extensive testing and simulation to find the best fluid forms to withstand wind forces. The collection includes two approaches – one design features fully 3D-printed domes while the other includes traditional, non-3D-printed roofs. The Storm Cell homes are conceived as fully 3D-printed envelopes with windows and skylights carved out. Designed to minimize wind pressure and lift forces, the Capsule homes, meanwhile, demonstrate aerodynamic design features to create a circular living experience while ensuring privacy for the bedrooms.
Four-and-a-half million U.S. homes are at high or extreme risk from wildfires. The Fire collection takes advantage of ICON’s 3D-printed wall system’s inherent fire resiliency and adds in additional protective strategies to mitigate the damage and loss due to wildfires. These homes are designed to comply with wildfire prevention practices and feature passive prevention with landscaping plus active protection though noncombustible envelopes and shutters.
CODEX’s TexNext collection honors Texas heritage and its traditional architectural vernacular while reimagining and renewing it for the future. TexNext aims to provide the highest design quality at the lowest price. Each of TexNext’s eight typologies feature design elements typically unavailable for entry-level homes – all made possible through 3D-printing.
A “shotgun house” is a narrow, rectangular residence with rooms arranged one behind the other and doors to the exterior at each end of the home. Known for its affordability and efficient use of space, CODEX’s Shotgun typology is modernized for a unique design made possible only through 3D printing.
The Arc Ranch model elevates indoor/outdoor living to create a seamless and transparent connection from the front to the back of the house. A vaulted ceiling in the central living space adds a sense of openness and grandeur. Dogtrot, a style of home originating in the 19th-century Southern United States, features a central breezeway dividing the house into two living spaces, offering natural ventilation and relief from heat – much like its historic namesake. The Porch house features a spacious, covered porch that wraps around the home’s exterior, providing additional living space and opportunities for outdoor enjoyment.
House One is one of two models within the CODEX Exploration collection demonstrating new, divergent design languages and architectural vernaculars based on the opportunities created by innovative construction-scale 3D-printing.
A three-bedroom luxury home, House One celebrates indoor/outdoor living forming a radially organized floor plan. The design integrates sustainability strategies and utilizes 3D printing in the construction of the foundation, the wall system and roof – providing a fully 3D-printed home. This home also offers a one-bedroom guest house.
CODEX comes on the heels of a longstanding relationship between ICON and BIG, having also worked on projects including the forthcoming El Cosmico in Marfa, Texas and the 3D-printed Wolf Ranch residential development outside of Austin.
Alan Maedo Ana Gabriela Loayza Andrea Hektor Artem Chouliak Beat Schenk Bjarke Ingels Blake Smith Cheng Zhong Chia-Yu Liu Cynthia Wang Daniela Morin Isela Liu Jaeho Park Jan Leenknegt Jenna Dezinski Jeremy Jackson Jialin Yuan Juan Diego Perez Diez Margaret Tyrpa Martin Voelkle Matthew Lau Michelle Stromsta Nai Wong Nojan Adami Ricardo Palma Prieto San Yoon Siqi Zhang Thomas McMurtrie Veronica Acosta Vi Madrazo Won Ryu Ahmad Tabbakh Alexander Jacobson Ashley O'Neill Ema Hristova Bakalova Hudson Parris Jonathan Russell Julian Ocampo Salazar Karim Daw Mana Ikebe Mateo Fernandez Mengzhu Jiang Oliver Thomas Paul Heberle Peter Sepassi Zuzanna Eugenia Montwill
Storm Collaborators:
STG Design
WGI Engineering
FORT Structures
ICON
Fire Collaborators:
ICON
TexNext Collaborators:
FORT Structures
ICON
House One Collaborators:
Logan Architecture
FORT Structures
ICON
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Tishman Speyer
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
260,129 / 2,800,000
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Located on West 34th Street between Hudson Boulevard and 10th Avenue, The Spiral neighbors the elevated High Line and Bella Abzug Park on Manhattan’s west side. The tower extends the parks’ green space up and around its exterior in a spiraling motion towards the sky – from the High Line to the skyline.
Developed by Tishman Speyer and built by Turner, the commercial high-rise was designed by BIG in collaboration with Adamson Associates and structural engineer WSP Cantor Seinuk. The tower measures 66 stories and 2.8 million square feet, reaching a height of 1,031.5 feet. The Spiral is pursuing LEED Silver certification. The tower is BIG’s first completed supertall, and first completed commercial high-rise in New York.
From street level, the striking tower draws the eye upwards to the ribbon of greenery that extends the High Line beyond West 34th Street and into the Manhattan skyline. Reminiscent of a conservatory, the tower’s glass panel façade offers passersby a look into the building’s bright and spacious lobby, adorned with artwork by Dutch studio DRIFT and lush foliage, which can be accessed via entrances on both Hudson Boulevard and 10th Avenue.
As a gesture to the building’s surroundings, The Spiral’s lobby incorporates seven different metals to honor the area’s industrial history, with floor panels measured to the exact dimensions of the precast concrete planks spanning the High Line.
The Spiral slowly reduces in volume as it rises, following the zoning envelope of the site. Its stepping language resonates with the design aesthetics of classic Manhattan skyscrapers such as the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center, while its slender proportions and use of modern materials and detailing speak to the design features of contemporary high-rise architecture.
“The Spiral punctuates the northern end of the High Line, and the linear park appears to carry through into the tower, forming an ascending ribbon of lively green spaces, extending the High Line to the skyline. The Spiral combines the classic Ziggurat silhouette of the premodern skyscraper with the slender proportions and efficient layouts of the modern high-rise. Designed for the people who occupy it, The Spiral ensures that every floor of the tower opens up to the outdoors, creating hanging gardens and cascading atria that connect the open floor plates from the ground floor to the summit into a single uninterrupted workspace. The string of terraces wrapping around the building expands the daily life of the tenants to the outside air and light. As the trees and grasses, flowers and vines have taken root over the last two summers, The Spiral is slowly becoming an ascending ribbon of green wrapping around the entire silhouette of the tower - like a 1000-foot-tall vine at the scale of the city’s skyline.”
Cascading landscaped terraces and hanging gardens climb the tower in a spiraling motion to create a unique, continuous green ribbon that wraps around the façade of the building and supplies each office floor with readily accessible terrace space.
With approximately 13,000 square feet of outdoor space, a landscape of The Spiral’s size has never been installed at or above 300 feet elevation in New York City. Most of the plant species on the ground cover are native to the American prairie, making them resistant to high winds and droughts.
As the building rises, a second layer of shrubs and taller bushes that blossom in winter are introduced, and finally, the landscape is crowned with single- and multi-stem trees that flower as early as February, along with vertical trellises with English and Boston ivy that keep their leaves through the winter. The plant palette differs on each side of the building depending on sun orientation and endurance against high-velocity winds.
“The Spiral pioneers a new landscape typology by bringing gardens to a high rise. Its continuous cascade of greenery from one level to another provides office spaces with a new vertical dimension of social and biophilic connectivity. Designed to strengthen collaboration and wellbeing, each terrace hosts plantings specific to the varying daylight, winds and temperatures at every floor of the tower. These gardens will welcome neighboring birds, bees and butterflies to expand New York's biodiversity to the city skyline.”
As The Spiral ascends, each floor’s accessible terrace offers impressive views over Manhattan, the Hudson River and New Jersey. Select floors offer a double height amenity space and the option to connect adjacent floors via a grand staircase, suggesting an alternative to elevators and encouraging interaction amongst colleagues.
On the 66th floor, The Spiral offers its very own ZO Clubhouse, reserved exclusively for people to gather, connect and recharge in the private lounge or open-air terrace.
The Spiral promotes a contemporary workplace where nature becomes an integrated part of the office environment and spatial features are continuously adaptable to the changing needs of its occupants. To foster a connection to the outdoors and support The Spiral’s interior foliage, a generous ceiling height and specially selected exterior glass coating enables a deeper incursion of natural light. The building’s water management system collects overflow rainwater to treat and redistribute throughout the tiered landscaping, allowing it to save approximately 4.5 million gallons of water annually. This not only allows for sustainable irrigation – it also further cements The Spiral as a green addition to the Manhattan skyline.
Agla Egilsdottir Alvaro Velosa Andreas Buettner Beat Schenk Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Chris Tron Daniel Sundlin Dominyka Voelkle Douglass Alligood Dylan Hames Emily Chen Gabriel Jewell-Vitale Giulia Frittoli Haochen Yu Hung-Kai Liao Jan Casimir Jan Leenknegt Janie Green Julie Kaufman Lawrence-Olivier Mahadoo Lisbet Fritze Trentemøller Margaret Tyrpa Otilia Pupezeanu Ryan Duval Sarkis Sarkisyan Thomas Christoffersen Veronica Acosta Won Ryu Adam Sheraden Adrien Mans Agne Rapkeviciute Ali Chen Andrew Lee Anton Bashkaev Armen Menendian Benjamin Johnson Brian Rome Cadence Merrie Bayley Carolien Schippers Cheyenne Vandevoorde Christopher White Daniele Pronesti David Brown Davide Maggio Deb Campbell Denys Kozak Dong-Joo Kim Erin Yook Florencia Kratsman Francesca Portesine Gabriella Den Elzen Gaurav Sardana Ibrahim Salman Jack Lipson Janice Rim Jennifer Wood Joshua Burns Josiah Poland Juan David Ramirez Kate Cella Kelly Neill Kristoffer Negendahl Kurt Nieminen Lucio Santos Luke Lu Mackenzie Keith Manon Otto Marcus Wilford Maria Eugenia Dominguez Martynas Norvila Mateusz Rek Matteo Gawlak Maureen Rahman Megan Van Artsdalen Michael Zhang Morgan Mangelsen Nicholas Potts Peter Lee Phawin Siripong Rachel Coulomb Ruo Wang Seo Young Shin Simon David Simon Lee Stephen Kwok Terrence Chew Thea Gasseholm Tony-Saba Shiber Tore Banke Tracy Sodder Ute Rinnebach Varat Limwibul Veronica Moretti Wells Barber Will Fu Yaziel Juarbe Yenhsi Tung Zoltan Kalászi
Beacon Awards, 2024
Engineering News-Record, Best of the Best Award, 2024
NYCxDESIGN Awards, 2024
CTBUH Award of Excellence, 2023
CoStar Impact Award, 2023
ASLA NY Design Merit Award, 2017
Adamson Associates
WSP Cantor Seinuk
Turner Construction
Cosentini
Langan
Edgett Williams Consulting Group
Thornton Tomasetti
Heintges
Vidaris
Entek Engineering
FMS
Pandiscio Green
Doyle Partners
Squint Opera
Siteworks
Northern Designs
Space Copenhagen
Michaelis Boyd
Studio Drift
Banker Steel
Roger & Sons Construction
Permasteelisa
CMI
Vitrocsa
W + W
Top Shelf Electric
Otis Elevator Company
National
Bamco
Garcia
Jacobson & Company
Cooper Plastering
Sponzilli
JBB
BIG Landscape
BIG Ideas
GELEPHU, BHUTAN
CLIENT
The Kingdom of Bhutan
TYPOLOGY
Infrastructure, Public Realm, Civic, Urbanism, Sustainability
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
In the 116th National Day address to the Bhutanese people on December 17th, 2023, His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck unveiled his vision for a new economic hub in Bhutan, the world’s first carbon-negative country. Located in the town of Gelephu in Southern Bhutan, the 1000+ km2 masterplan titled ‘Mindfulness City’ by BIG, Arup, and Cistri is informed by Bhutanese culture, the principles of Gross National Happiness index (GNH), and the country’s strong spiritual heritage.
Located on the Indo-Bhutan border to the south of Bhutan, Mindfulness City will leverage its location and connectivity to South Asia and Southeast Asia to lay the foundation for the country’s future growth and create economic opportunities for its citizens through investments in green technology, education, and infrastructure. The masterplan includes a new international airport, railway connections, a hydroelectric dam, public spaces, and a language for local building typologies, based on the nine domains of GNH: Psychological Wellbeing, Health, Education, Living Standards, Time-Use, Ecological Diversity and Resilience, Good Governance, Cultural Diversity and Resilience, and Community Vitality.
Nestled between mountains, forests, and rivers, Bhutan stands as one of the last biodiversity hotspots in the world, with 70% of the country covered in forest. Mindfulness City aims to amplify the country’s abundant biodiversity by emerging as a vibrant tapestry of interconnected ecosystems and lively neighborhoods shaped by the flow of the 35 rivers and streams that run through the site. The resulting ribbonlike neighborhoods resemble paddy fields, forming urban terraces that cascade down from the hills to the valley. The city increases in density from the rural and recreational highlands to the urban and dense lowlands.
The natural elements and the existing infrastructure, agriculture, and utilities of Gelephu naturally create 11 distinct neighborhoods across the 1000 km2 area. Each of the 11 neighborhoods is designed based on the principles of the Mandala; defined by a series of repeating typologies organized symmetrically around a central public space, a gradual transition in density is created, from small buildings dispersed in the landscape in the north to larger footprints within an urban environment in the south.
To protect existing and future development against flooding in the monsoon season, paddy fields will be established along the site’s rivers and tributaries, running from north to south. By allowing the river to naturally expand its space, minimizing the reliance on engineered flood control solutions. The rivers will further function as biodiversity corridors for local flora and fauna, leaving the migratory routes of elephants and other wildlife undisturbed.
“The Gelephu Masterplan gives form to His Majesty’s vision to create a city that becomes a cradle for growth and innovation while remaining founded on Bhutanese nature and culture. We imagine the Mindfulness City as a place that could be nowhere else. Where nature is enhanced, agriculture is integrated, and tradition is living and breathing, not only preserved but also evolved. Shaped by waterways, Gelephu becomes a land of bridges, connecting nature and people, past and future, local and global. Like the traditional Dzongs, these inhabitable bridges turn into cultural landmarks, doubling as transportation infrastructure combined with civic facilities. Among these, the Sankosh Temple-Dam embeds the city’s fundamental values into a cascading landscape of steps and landings, that like a 21st century Tigers Nest will be a manmade monument to the divine possibility of a sustainable human presence on earth. Turning engineering into art and turning the forces of nature into power."
Intimate streets, paved with permeable pavers, provide resilience by allowing stormwater seep into the ground rather than the sewage system. Local materials including wood, stone, and bamboo will be used in the new buildings, inspired by vernacular motifs such as rabsel, cornices, ornaments, and roofscapes. Building heights are limited to a maximum of 6 meters, reducing the need for structural concrete or steel.
The neighborhoods within the city, divided by rivers, are tied together by three main mobility connections, which occasionally double as transportation infrastructure combined with civic and cultural facilities, creating a series of ‘inhabitable bridges’ that are tailored to each of the nine Gross National Happiness domains.
Each of the bridges house key destinations within the city: the new airport; a Vajrayana spiritual centre, which allows glimpses into the daily practices of the monks and masters of mindfulness; a healthcare centre as a meeting between Eastern and Western medicine; a university that exposes its academic activities; a hydroponic and aquaponic greenhouse putting ancient farming practices and modern agro-science on display for the daily commuters; a cultural centre to immerse and educate visitors about Bhutanese culture and customs; and a market adorned with Bhutanese textiles.
“Inspired by the Bhutanese culture of respect and compassion for others and nature, the Mindfulness City is designed to enhance ecological systems, through an urban development that connects flora and fauna, as well as people and ideas. It becomes a testament of humanity's inseparable bond with nature, and a global example of how to build a sustainable human presence on Earth.”
The final bridge, a hydroelectric dam, will be constructed on the city’s western border with a step-well retaining wall that offers viewpoints, staircases for meditative walks, and a temple. Visitors and pilgrims can ascend and descend along countless individual routes to the visitor centre and temple nested on the face of the manmade cliff. The Sankosh Temple-Dam embodies in architectural form of all the foundational elements of Gelephu: the harmonious coexistence of culture and nature, conceived as a hybrid child of Bhutan’s rich past heritage and its prosperous future legacy.
Ahmad Tahhan Anastasiia Golub Bjarke Ingels Claudia Jaegerman Dace Gurecka Filip Radu Frederik Lyng Giulia Frittoli Konstantinos Koutsoupakis Marius Tromholt-Richter Matthew Goodwill Monika Dauksaite Nanna Gyldholm Møller Per Bo Madsen Stefan Victor Delvoye Teresa Albedi Thomas Lejeune Will Chuanrui Yu Xinyu Zhao Xu Lian Adrianna Szmidt Anna Sofie Kirstine Krøyer Julius Atibadi Brugnano Camille Castillo Floris Dreesmann Giancarlo Albarello Herrera Graham Forrest Jordan Hancong Ding Job Schobre Krisha Arunkumar Laura Wätte Miles Treacy Neele Maree Ohlrogge Praveen Lalitha Kishorekumar Sophie Andrews Sophie Høg Stine Daude Tara Ghesmatiaghkand Xian Chen
MQDC
NACO
Cistri
Arup
CDR
ERM
BILLUND, DENMARK
CLIENT
Kirkbi A/S | LEGO Foundation | LEGO Group
TYPOLOGY
Culture, Interiors
SIZE M2/FT2
11,960 / 128,737
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The LEGO brand House in Billund, Denmark is as playful and inviting as the world’s famous LEGO toy itself. Applying the ratio of the famous LEGO brick throughout the architecture, LEGO Brand House embodies the culture and values at the heart of all LEGO experiences. Simultaneously, the colorful building cements Billund’s status as the home of the LEGO brick and the children’s capital of the world.
Due to its central location in the heart of Billund, sitting at the site of the city’s former town hall, LEGO House is conceived as an urban space as much as an experience center. Consisting of 21 overlapping architectural blocks, a 2,000 m2 public square allows visitors and citizens of Billund to spend time inside or simply shortcut through the building.
The LEGO square is energized by an urban character, welcoming locals and visitors to the café, restaurant, LEGO store, and conference facilities. The plaza appears like an urban cave without any visible columns and is illuminated through the cracks and gaps between the volumes above.
Above the square, a cluster of galleries overlap to create a continuous sequence of exhibitions. Each gallery is color-coded in LEGO’s primary colors so wayfinding through the exhibitions becomes a journey through the color spectrum.
"LEGO house is a literal manifestation of the infinite possibilities of the LEGO brick. Through systematic creativity, children of all ages are empowered with the tools to create their own worlds and to inhabit them through play. At its finest, that is what architecture - and LEGO play - is all about: enabling people to imagine new worlds that are more exciting and expressive than the status quo, and to provide them with the skills to make them reality. This is what children do every day with LEGO bricks - and this is what we have done at LEGO House with actual bricks, taking Billund a step closer towards becoming the Capital for Children."
The first and second floors include four play zones arranged by color and programmed with activities that represent a certain aspect of a child’s learning: red is creative, blue is cognitive, green is social, and yellow is emotional. Guests of all ages can have an immersive and interactive experience, express their imagination, and not least be challenged by meeting other builders from all over the world.
The top of the building is crowned by the Masterpiece Gallery, a collection of LEGO fans’ beloved creations that pay tribute to the LEGO community. The Masterpiece Gallery is made of the iconic 2×4 LEGO brick and showcases art beneath eight circular skylights that resemble the studs of the brick. Like the golden ratio, the proportions of the brick are nested in the geometries of everything man-made in the building, from the glazed ceramic tiles in the steps and walls to the overall 21 block scheme. Atop the Masterpiece Gallery, citizens and visitors can get a 360° panoramic view of the city. Some of the rooftops can be accessed via pixelated public staircases that double as informal auditoria for people watching or seating for performances.
The History Collection at the lower level is where visitors can experience an archival immersion into the LEGO company and brand’s story. The Vault – located underneath LEGO Square – is where children and AFoLs (Adult Fans of LEGO) can witness the first edition of almost every LEGO set ever manufactured, including the new 774-piece, 197-step kit replicating the stacked-block formation of the LEGO House.
"All activities in the house are related to our LEGO philosophy that learning through play promotes innovation and creativity. Play runs through the LEGO Group’s DNA, and it is really brought to life in LEGO House. Everything from experience zones and outdoor areas to our restaurant concepts is based on play and creativity, so no matter what you do in LEGO House, it will have something to do with playing."
Andreas Klok Pedersen Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels Brian Yang Chris Falla David Zahle Finn Nørkjær Jakob Lange Jakob Sand Jesper Boye Andersen Kamilla Heskje Kekoa Charlot Lorenzo Boddi Mads Engaard Stidsen Michael James Kepke Ryohei Koike Agne Tamasauskaite Ariel Joy Norback Wallner Ask Hvas Birgitte Villadsen Christoffer Gotfredsen Daruisz Duong Vu Hong Esben Christoffersen Franck Fdida Høgni Laksafoss Ioana Fartadi Scurtu Jakob Andreassen Jakob Ohm Laursen Jakub Wlodarczyk Jesper Bo Jensen Julia Boromissza Kasper Reimer Hansen Katarzyna Krystyna Siedlecka Katarzyna Stachura Katerina Joannides Leszek Czaja Lone Fenger Albrechtsen Louise Bøgeskov Hou Magnus Algreen Suhr Manon Otto Marta Christensen Mathias Bank Stigsen Ole Dau Mortensen Sergiu Calacean Snorre Nash Søren Askehave Stefan Plugaru Stefan Wolf Thomas Jakobsen Randbøll Thomas Richard Hart Tobias Hjortdal Tommy Bjørnstrup
EU Mies van der Rohe Award, Shortlist, 2019
Civic Trust Awards, Winner, 2019
IDEAT Future Awards Shortlist, Best Architecture in Commercial Design, 2018
INSIDE World Festival of Interiors, Civic, Culture & Transport Category Finalist, 2018
Danish Design Award Winner, Feel Good Category, 2018
Architizer A+ Award, Jury and Popular Choice Winner for Architecture + Branding, 2018
COWI
Dr. Lüchinger + Meyer Brauingenieure AG
Jesper Kongshaug
Gade & Mortensen Akustik
E-Types
LE BRASSUS, SWITZERLAND
CLIENT
Audemars Piguet
TYPOLOGY
Culture, Interiors
SIZE M2/FT2
2,373 / 25,543
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet is a spiral-shaped pavilion, reminiscent of the spring in a timepiece movement, entirely supported by curved glass walls. The contemporary spiral flanks the original workshop where the Audemars Piguet story began in 1875 and where an earlier version of the museum was housed from 1992 to 2019. The vernacular architecture of the historical building has been fully recovered based on a thorough study of archival materials.
With a design that marries tradition and innovation, the Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet offers visitors a unique opportunity to delve into the history of watchmaking in the Vallée de Joux and explore how the brand’s timepieces are crafted in Le Brassus.
Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet is informed by the convergence of form and content in clockwork. It is conceived like the coils of a watch, ticking and advancing in perpetuity like the gallery visitors and watchmakers moving cyclically with the structure. Every element is governed by the functional requirements of the exhibition while appearing as a sculpture conceived in a single gesture. The all-glass structure is made up of two spirals that seamlessly integrate into the existing landscape. The museum’s collection, which showcases some 300 timepieces, is displayed alongside two in-situ production workshops, creating a living museum.
Visitors can observe watchmakers working within the curved glass walls of the museum and experience their expertise first-hand.
"Unlike most machines and most buildings today that have a disconnect between the body and the mind, the hardware and the software, for the Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet we have attempted to completely integrate the geometry and the performance, the form and the function, the space and the structure, the interior and the exterior in a symbiotic whole. It's an architecture in which the form is inseparable from its content, exposed like the gears and springs in a skeletonized open work."
As viewers circle the building, the rich collection of watches illuminates the history of Audemars Piguet and of watchmaking in the valley. The visit culminates at the center of the spiral with the display of some of the Manufacture’s most complicated watches. The spiral also includes two workshops, where Haute Joaillerie creations and Grandes Complications are crafted.
With the materials, more is less – an approach that takes inspiration from the art of watchmaking: miniaturization, making the elements as small as possible; “skeletonization,” excavating or subtracting all the unused material so the object becomes like a wireframe; and complication, loading as many functions as possible in the smallest amount of space.
The building fulfils the latest Swiss Minergie® requirements in terms of energy efficiency and high quality construction.
Beat Schenk Bjarke Ingels Blake Smith Claire Thomas Spiller Daniel Sundlin Jakob Sand Jan Casimir Jason Wu Kristian Hindsberg Marie Lancon Matthew Oravec Otilia Pupezeanu Simon Scheller Thomas Christoffersen Adrien Mans Alessandra Peracin Ashton Stare Dammy Lee Eva Maria Mikkelsen Evan Wiskup Høgni Laksafoss Iva Ulam Ji-Young Yoon Julien Beauchamp-Roy Marcin Fejcak Maureen Rahman Maxime Le Droupeet Natalie Kwee Ming Yie Pascal Loschetter Rune Hansen Sara Ibrahim Abed Teodor Javanaud Emden Tore Banke Ute Rinnebach Veronica Lalli Vivien Cheng Yaziel Juarbe
MIPIM Best Cultural and Sports Infrastructure, 2022
Ernst & Sohn Ingenieurbaupreis, 2022
Kyoto Design Award, Environment Design of the Year, 2021
AIA NY, Honor Award in Architecture, 2021
Prix Bilan de l’immobilier Public Buildings, 2020
German Design Award, 2020
Interior Design Best of Year Winner Museum/Art Gallery, 2020
Architizer A+ Awards Museum Popular Winner, 2020
CCHE
Atelier Brueckner
Luchinger und Meyer
HG Merz
Muller Illien
BIG Ideas
ARLINGTON, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Arlington Public Schools
TYPOLOGY
Education, Interiors
SIZE M2/FT2
16,722 / 180,000
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The Heights School opens as a cascade of green terraces fanning from a central axis, addressing the academic needs of Arlington’s two county-wide school programs while forming a vertical community within its dense urban context. By merging two existing secondary schools – the H-B Woodlawn Program and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Program into a new 180,000 sq ft building, the school expects enrollment of up to 775 students.
BIG worked closely with Arlington Public Schools (APS), WRAP (West Rosslyn Area Plan), and the Arlington community, to ensure that the design supports both H-B Woodlawn’s focus on trust and self-governance and Shriver’s extensive resources for students with specialized educational needs. The Heights has been designated LEED Gold certification.
The Heights building is situated within a compact urban site bounded by roads on three sides and a portion of Rosslyn Highlands Park. Conceived as a stack of five rectangular floorplates that rotate around a fixed pivot point, BIG maintains the community feeling and spatial efficiencies of a one-story school.
Green terraces above each floor become an extension of the classroom, creating an indoor-outdoor learning landscape for both students and teachers – an educational oasis rather than a traditional school setting. A rotating central staircase cuts through the interior of the building to connect the four-tiered terraces, allowing students to circulate outside and forge a stronger bond between the neighborhood and the school. While the upper terraces are more suitable for intimate classes and quiet study areas, the spacious first terrace and 18,700 sq ft recreation field also serve as public event venues for school-wide and neighborhood activities.
From Wilson Boulevard, students, teachers and staff are greeted by a triple-height lobby with stepped seating that doubles as an indoor gathering space for both student assemblies and public meetings. Many of the school’s common spaces, including the 400-seat auditorium, main gymnasium, library, reception, and cafeteria are centrally located and directly adjacent to the lobby.
Easy accessibility to the community-oriented programs hosted in the school encourages public interaction throughout the building, creating a welcoming environment while heightening the visual connectivity between the shared spaces. Other specialized student spaces include an art studio, science and robotic labs, music rehearsal rooms, and two performing arts theaters.
The classroom bars serve as the primary organizing elements, surrounding a central vertical core that contains the elevators, stairs and bathrooms. As students enter from the central staircase, they are greeted by an expanded gradient of the color spectrum: each classroom bar is defined by its own color, combining intuitive wayfinding with a vibrant social atmosphere from the ground to the sky.
The Shriver Program providing special education for students aged 11 to 22 occupies two floors of the building accessible from the ground floor, and has specialized spaces dedicated to support APS’ Functional Life Skills program as well as privacy and ease of accessibility; the gymnasium, courtyard, occupational physical therapy suite, and sensory cottage are designed to aid in sensory processing.
The Heights’ exterior is materialized in a graceful white glazed brick to unify the five volumes and highlight the oblique angles of the fanning classroom bars, allowing the sculptural form, and the energy and activity of the inside to take center stage. Keeping the surrounding neighborhood and former Wilson School in mind, the building’s material palette pays homage to the historical architecture of Old Town Alexandria.
Aran Coakley Beat Schenk Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Douglass Alligood Jan Leenknegt Julie Kaufman Ricardo Palma Prieto Shu Zhao Thomas Christoffersen Adam Sheraden Amina Blacksher Anton Bashkaev Bennett Gale Benson Chien Cadence Merrie Bayley Cristian Lera Silva Daisy Zhong Deb Campbell Elena Bresciani Elnaz Rafati Evan Rawn Francesca Portesine Ibrahim Salman Jack David Gamboa Janice Rim Ji-Young Yoon Jin Xin Josiah Poland Kam Chi Cheng Ku Hun Chung Margherita Gistri Maria Sole Bravo Mark Rakhmanov Mateusz Rek Maureen Rahman Nicholas Potts Pablo Costa Fraiz Robyne Some Romea Muryn Saecheol Oh Sean Franklin Seth Byrum Sidonie Muller Simon David Tammy Teng Terrence Chew Tony-Saba Shiber Valentina Mele Vincenzo Polsinelli Zachary Walters Ziad Shehab
American Institute of Steel Construction IDEAS2 National Award for Steel Construction in the $75-200 million category, 2021
DESIGNArlington Award of Excellence, 2019
Washington Building Congress Craftsmanship Award, Winner in Structural Steel Framing, 2019
American Planning Association National Capital Area Chapter Award, Outstanding Implemented Plan, 2018
Leo A Daly
Robert Silman Associates
Interface Engineering
Gordon
Theatre Projects
Jaffe Holden
Faithful+Gould
GHD
Hopkins Food Service
GeoConcepts
Haley Aldrich Inc.
The Sextant Group
Tillotson Design Associates
EHT Traceries
Lerch Bates
Sustainable Design Consulting
WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES
CLIENT
MGAC
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
25,080 / 270,000
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
The planned state-of-the-art National Museum of the United States Navy is envisioned as a home for both Naval veterans and the public, a living memorial to the U.S. Navy’s heritage and a lighthouse in the community for education and public events.
The 270,000 sq ft campus includes a new building and ceremonial courtyard, as well as the potential renovation of existing historical buildings. BIG’s competition proposal, developed in collaboration with landscape architects Olin Studio and digital media agency Squint/Opera, seeks to reflect the historical context of the Navy Yard, while referencing the scale, materials and details of Navy vessels. An array of large-scale vitrines open up towards a public street, welcoming visitors and locals with an impressive glimpse into the museum’s collection of artifacts inside and outside, conveying the mission, lineage and breadth of operations that constitutes the US Navy.
"As a Dane and a resident of a houseboat – a Norwegian ferry I converted into my family home – to imagine a museum for the United States Navy is a true labor of love! Our concept for the National Museum of the United States Navy is informed by the beautiful heritage of the buildings in the Navy Yard. The Navy belongs in the water, so we put the museum in the water. A series of long slender buildings line up abreast to the main street showing off life-size artifacts from the 5 branches of the Navy: Surface, Subsurface, Expedition, Aviation and Space. The 5 buildings flow together to form an epic atrium cascading from the roof to the ground where all exhibitions will be visually and physically accessible upon arrival. This massive space will also serve as the majestic setting for ceremonies honoring those who served. As imagined, the Museum will be of the Navy as well as for the Navy."
BIG’s vision is developed with flexibility and utility in mind to allow for different events simultaneously in and around the building. Rather than closing or compromising the museum due to events, the visitor experience is enhanced by the varying spectacles playing out during the day allowing visitors glimpses of events while enjoying full access to the galleries.
The final concept will be chosen from a total of five concepts from the Naval Heritage History and Command’s Artistic Ideas Competition for the National Museum of the U.S. Navy (NMUSN).
The planned new museum is set to become a destination amongst the vast offerings of exhibition experiences in D.C, while also being a welcoming place of remembrance and contemplation for enlisted sailors, Navy Veterans and their families.
Bjarke Ingels Douglass Alligood Jasmine Idiakhoa Julie Kaufman Kristian Hindsberg Ryan Henriksen Thomas Christoffersen Yu Inamoto Ema Hristova Bakalova Hudson Parris
Kyoto Global Design Award for RealEstate, 2023
Squint Opera
Olin Studio
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
CLIENT
Prague Institute of Planning and Development
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
49,715 / 535,120
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
In May of 2022, the City of Prague unveiled BIG’s design for the country’s first national concert hall in over 100 years: The Vltava Philharmonic Hall. The new concert hall will become the home of the world-class philharmonic for 1800+ audiences, celebrate the Czech music tradition and cement the country as a cultural capital in Europe.
The Vltava Philharmonic Hall is composed as a cascade of outdoor destinations from the waterfront on the river to the city’s iconic skyline. By raising and lowering the corners of the building at multiple touch points, the public spaces connect and allow activities to spill in and out of the building on every side: towards the river, the square, the street, and the alley. Visitors will be drawn in from all forms of arrival, with carefully chosen programs inviting them to explore the music venues inside or climb the elegant, arced roofs of the new concert hall.
The new Philharmonic is conceived as a contemporary extension of Prague’s dramatic urban topography, as a cascade of outdoor destinations. A series of grand public plazas will become a new symbol of inclusionary architecture, welcoming a multitude of Prague’s vibrant urban life to flow across, around, through, under and over the new concert hall.
The site is bound by four key traffic corridors, the character of which informs the public space programming around the Philharmonic. Along the Western side, Bubenská passes the site and continues across the Vltava on the Hlávkův Bridge. Here, several modes of mobility are accommodated within the public realm. Along the North, the tram line runs adjacent to the new neighborhood development. As a car-free zone, this corridor becomes an important pedestrian and soft mobility connection to the surrounding neighborhoods. The new ecological corridor extending down from Stromovka Royal Game Reserve passes by the Eastern side of the site, creating a lush green buffer between the Philharmonic and the train line.
Most importantly, the Vltava River runs along the Southern side of the site, connected to the streetscape by a new waterfront promenade.
An essential public building for the Holešovice district and a new focal point for Prague, the new Philharmonic extends horizontally and vertically in all directions to create key urban connections and form a recognizable landmark for surrounding communities near and far.
The roofs are conceived as a continuation of the grand public plaza at the foot of the building. The undulating stepped form of the roofs allows visitors to meander to the summit of the building, as if climbing a hill. Slender vertical colonnades support the building’s roof terraces while undersides of warm timber from the Bohemian Forest provide shade and shelter. A space to sit and to gather, spaces for informal outdoor performances and views inward to the Philharmonic’s lively musical environment.
Arriving in the grand foyer, guests are greeted by a striking interior inspired by Czech Glass Artists which lead them into the music venues for a truly contemporary music experience. Arranged like petals of a pinecone turned inside out, the seats of Prague Hall are rotating within the compactness of a perfect square. The seating rakes meet at their corners to allow physical connectivity between every seat in the audience, providing a greater sense of unity and shared experience. Warm timber interiors provide balanced acoustics with a natural material, and form an environment designed to strengthen the intimate connection between the audience and orchestra.
"The Vltava Philharmonic Hall is composed as a meandering journey from riverbank to rooftop. Public flows and belvedere plazas unite the city life of Prague to the music within. Its halls are formed for sight, fine-tuned for sound, and orchestrated for functionality and connectivity. From this rhythmic structure, a symphony of colonnades and balconies extend as platforms for public life. Expressive yet pragmatic, the new Philharmonic will ascend to form a key landmark for Prague - from river to roof."
“The new Vltava Philharmonic Hall will be a symbol of openness, accessibility, and exploration. From the Vltava square, streets ascend upward connecting interior balconies with exterior colonnades and terraces. Like eighth, quarter, half and whole notes, the steps the benches, façade, and colonnade are perfectly on beat offering its resident orchestras effective and extroverted rehearsal areas, while bringing the audiences within the halls closer to the source in an environment that is both majestic and intimate.”
Beyond being a major cultural destination for Prague, the building is crafted to maximize its potential to host external uses and special events. The venues are carefully designed to maximize flexibility for a range of uses – from the boldness of contemporary music styles to theater performances and digital exhibitions.
At the buildings summit, an elegant hyperbolic structure spans over the Vltava Hall and forms the iconic ceiling of a restaurant and event ballroom with views of the historic city center of Prague.
Agla Egilsdottir Aimee Louise Desert Alberto Menegazzo Alicia De Nobrega Andreas Bak Anisoara Crilic Bjarke Ingels Brian Malig Collado Brian Yang Camila Alzate Riano Charles Vidal Christian Vang Madsen Dace Gurecka Dana Furmaneková Derya Dogan Dominik Mateusz Wawrzyniak Eddie Can Fernanda Furuya Finn Nørkjær Giulia Frittoli Giulia Orlando Giulia Vanni Hyojin Lee Ioannis Mathioudakis Jan Goebel Jan Kyselý Jan Magasanik Jesús Fernández Fraile Louise Mould Luca Nicoletti Lucrezia Picinali Mads Primdahl Rokkjær Marius Tromholt-Richter Matteo Baggiarini Matthew Goodwill Matthew Oravec Nathan Angelo Osena Nikol Maraj Ole Elkjær-Larsen Oliver Steen Paola Yepes Bocanegra Paula Madrid Per Bo Madsen Peter Høgenhaven Rihab Soukkarieh Rohit Nandakumar Sarkis Sarkisyan Sasha Spasic Shane Dalke Shu Zhao Sorcha Burke Søren Dam Mortensen Thomas Lund Tyrone Cobcroft Will Chuanrui Yu William Emil George Abdou Yao Tong Adrianna Szmidt Ali El Moussawi Anastasia Papaspyrou Andrija Basic Anna Mesiariková Camille Castillo Carolina Agostinelli Casper Klarén Clara Elma Margareta Karlsson Cristina Minguela Dagmara Anna Obmalko Efstratios Sakellariou Eleanor Gibson Eliška Slaměna Eugenio Superchi Floris Dreesmann Heinrich Froese Neto Henrik Kania Hong-Bin Petingo Yang Iveta Jakubčíková Izabella Banas Jakub Misař Jeremias Sas Iros Jialin Liang Jonathan Chester Jonathan Christian Chin Joos Jerne Kajetan Maciej Lasota Karim Daw Khaled Magdy Zaki Ahmed Elfeky Laura Popa Lukas Hirz Boivin Mahmoud Nagy Elsayed Maja Anna Kordalska Maria Capuozzo Mariia Husak Nicolò Carlini Nouran Wael Mohamed Rashad Mohamed Sherif Ondrej Slunecko Pearlyn Mei Fen Chang Pernille Uglvig Sangvin Polina Galantseva Sandra Šuránková Sandrino Jan Deiana Santtu Johannes Hyvarinen Stine Daude Tania-Cristina Farcas Tomáš Chrástecký Xian Chen Yanis Amasri Sierra
Theatre Projects & Nagata Acoustic
Buro Happold
AED
ETC
Systematica
Front
Mozses
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
noma
TYPOLOGY
Hospitality
SIZE M2/FT2
1,290 / 13,886
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
In 2015, restaurant Noma – known as the “World’s Best Restaurant”- closed its doors to the 16th century warehouse that had been its home for fourteen years. After more than three years of planning and collaboration, Noma reopened in 2018 on the outskirts of autonomous district Christiania – this time at the protected site of an old fortification once used to store mines for the Royal Danish Navy.
BIG’s design for Noma 2.0 dissolves the traditional idea of a restaurant into its constituent parts and reassembles them to put the chefs at the heart of the restaurant.
Noma’s new home, a historic fortification from 1917, was once used to store mines for the Royal Danish Navy. Abandoned for several years and covered in graffiti, Noma acquired the linear warehouse named Søminedepotet and had to take into account the strict guidelines for preserving the historically significant site.
“When we found the location for the new Noma, we knew we had to come up with an architectural solution which made sense for our guests, the team and the surroundings. I believe that Bjarke and the BIG team came up with the ideal non-pretentious solution that we enjoy calling our home for years to come. To say that we are thrilled with the end result would be an understatement.”
Guests have the opportunity to walk through each of the surrounding buildings and to experience a variety of Nordic materials and building techniques: the barbecue is a giant walk-in steel chimney, and the lounge looks and feels like a room-sized cozy fireplace made entirely of brick – inside and out.
A collection of 11 separate yet connected buildings are tailored to their specific needs and are densely clustered around the restaurant’s heart: the kitchen. Designed like a panopticon, the kitchen allows the chefs to oversee the staff and guest areas, while every guest can follow what would traditionally happen behind-the-scenes.
The raw shell of the historic warehouse is preserved and used for back-of-house functions, including the prep kitchen, fermentation labs, fish tanks, terrarium, ant farm, and break-out areas for staff.
Each building within the building is connected by glass covered paths that reveal the changes in weather, daylight, and seasons – making the natural environment integral to the culinary experience.
The greenhouses serve as food production, arrival lounge and experimental kitchen. A permaculture garden designed and planted by Piet Oudolf serves as a garden for the senses, transforming the former military facility into an urban farm for the production, preparation and consumption of new Nordic cuisine.
Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Finn Nørkjær Frederik Lyng Jakob Lange Michael James Kepke Nanna Gyldholm Møller Ole Elkjær-Larsen Ryohei Koike Tomas Karl Ramstrand Aleksander Wadas Allen Shakir Andreas Müllertz Angelos Siampakoulis Athena Morella Borko Nikolic Carlos Soria Claus Rytter Bruun de Neergaard Dag Præstegaard Duncan Horswill Enea Michelesio Eskild Schack Pedersen Geoffrey Eberle Giedrius Mamavicius Gökce Günbulut Hanne Halvorsen Hessam Dadkhah Hugo Yun Tong Soo Jinseok Jang Jonas Aarsø Larsen Joos Jerne Kim Christensen Kristoffer Negendahl Kyle Thomas David Tousant Lasse Lyhne-Hansen Manon Otto Margarita Nutfulina Morten Roar Berg Nina Vuga Ningnan Ye Olga Litwa Ren Yang Tan Simona Reiciunaite Stefan Plugaru Tiago Sá Timo Harboe Nielsen Tobias Hjortdal Tore Banke Vilius Linge Yan Ma Yehezkiel Wiliardy Manik Yoko Gotoh Yunyoung Choi
Berlingske Byens Bedste Award for Construction, Winner, 2019
AIA Institute Honor Awards for Interior Architecture, Winner, 2019
INSIDE World Festival of Interiors, Restaurant Category Winner, 2019
Wallpaper* Design Award for Best New Restaurant, Winner, 2019
Danish Carpentry Award, 2018
Den Danske Lyspris, Winner, 2018
Interior Design Magazine Best of Year Award for Hospitality: Fine Dining, Finalist, 2018
Snedker Craftsmenship Prize, 2018
Architizer A+ Award for Hospitality: Restaurant, Jury + Popular Choice Winner, 2018
NT Consult
Studio David Thulstrup
Thing&Brandt Landskab
BIG Ideas
VOLLEBAK ISLAND, CANADA
CLIENT
Vollebak
TYPOLOGY
Hospitality
SIZE M2/FT2
620 / 6,674
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Located one quarter mile off the Nova Scotia mainland in the spectacular Jeddore Harbour, the 11-acre Vollebak Island will include a 597 m2 ‘Earth House’, which will consist of nine interconnected buildings, and a 88 m2 ‘Wood House’, a standalone garden suite on the island’s eastern shoreline.
Each room in the village is made from its own unique material – stacked seaweed, compacted earth, hemp, glass brick or locally sourced stone – tailored for the specific use and experience of that particular room. On Vollebak Island, BIG incorporates local tradition elevated by global innovation in a self-sustained manmade ecosystem off the coast of Canada.
Earth House, the village-like cluster of bespoke buildings, will gently rise from the ground at the heart of the island, resembling land art as much as architecture. The permeable layout will create various open spaces for socializing, allowing nature to intertwine with architecture. The structures will represent specific fragments of nature, each intentionally built with a different material and playful elements of surprise interwoven throughout. All buildings are fully powered by carbon neutral energy, offshore wind and solar power with energy stored in Tesla power walls.
"Vollebak is using technology and material innovation to create clothes that are as sustainable and resilient as they are beautiful. In other words, the fashion equivalent of BIG's architectural philosophy of Hedonistic Sustainability. For Vollebak Island, we have imagined the rooms as a manmade mount of individual volumes rising out of the ground and a separate outpost at the edge of the breaking waves."
Complementing Earth House will be the Wood House annex, a standalone two-bedroom, two-bathroom residence with a durable exterior made entirely of wood from the island, essential for extreme climate conditions. The monolithic façade will be able to open and close toward the seaside, showcasing a vast eight-meter triangular vista over the water.
For recreation, guests will rejuvenate in a Japanese-style bath house with soaking tubs cut from the stone bedrock or have a first-class view of the galaxy in the sunken hempcrete stargazing room and meditation space. A greenhouse made entirely of glass brick will grow food for the island; energy will be stored in a building with a solar roof and submarine door; and the boat house will honor a local tradition of using regenerative seaweed as insulation. The roofs will incorporate shrubs and other flora to reduce storm-water runoff and ease the burden on sewers and water treatment systems.
Every design detail at Vollebak Island will help to foster the closest possible connection to nature, acting as a curated extension of the island’s organic topography and creating a living environment that blurs the boundaries between inside and out. The beach, the woods, the cliffs, the landscapes and the sunsets will all be part of the house on Vollebak Island.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Ania Agnieszka Podlaszewska Bjarke Ingels David Vieira Agostinho Ryohei Koike Théo Hamy Will Chuanrui Yu Ayham Kabbani Harish Karthick Vijay Isabelle Doumet Jan Zawadzki Sara Najar Sualdea Weronika Zareba
FBM
LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
BIG
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
465 / 5000
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
To support BIG’s growing portfolio in the western United States, BIG L.A. officially opened its doors in Los Angeles’s Santa Monica neighborhood in 2023.
Led by BIG Partner Leon Rost – a California native – the studio is located a few blocks from the beach within the Santa Monica Central Business District, joining BIG’s global network of studios in Copenhagen, New York, London, Barcelona, Shenzhen, Zurich and Oslo.
The BIG L.A. team works from the Edwin Building located at 310 Wilshire Boulevard, designed by Los Angeles-based architect Paul R. Williams.
A recognized historic site, the two–story building was constructed in 1928 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style and features elaborate Plateresque detailing on the exterior.
BIG converted the industrial second floor from a gallery to a studio space – with meeting rooms, a model shop and a canteen. The floor features two large skylights that allow a generous amount of natural light to enter the workspace, with views of the water and surrounding city.
Alan Maedo Amir Mikhaeil Aran Coakley Bjarke Ingels Christina Bliss Hongye Wu Joseph Veliz Leon Rost Linqi Dong Pooya Aledavood Yuzaburo Tanaka Angela Lufkin Daria Du Takashi Ohira
AARHUS, DENMARK
CLIENT
Aarhus Municipality, Anpartsselskabet Kilden & Mortensen
TYPOLOGY
Public Realm, Residential
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Denmark’s second largest city, Aarhus, is in the process of rediscovering its historic port. Asked to masterplan an entire island on the decommissioned pier known as Bassin 7, BIG proposed to design the public space first and then turn the leftover areas into plots for future housing developments.
A new public promenade ties together the bay in east and leisure harbor in west. The meandering shape of the promenade defines a series of new public spaces on land and water weaving together the two and extending the new public realm into the water earlier reserved for industrial purposes. The promenade brings life to the area through a sports plaza, harbor bath, theater, restaurants, cafés, and beach huts which all together create a new vibrant waterfront in Aarhus.
Similar to BIG’s first harbor bath in Copenhagen – which has come to define the Danish capital as one of the most livable cities in the world – Aarhus Harbor Bath provides new ways for the public to enjoy the water during all seasons.
Together with urban life expert Jan Gehl, BIG’s strategy was to create a framework for maximum amount of activity with the minimum amount of built substance. The harbor bath zig-zags gently into the island, extends all the way out into the harbor pool and back again. The swimmers can enjoy the circular diving pool, a children’s pool, the 50-meter lap pool or one of the two saunas that are tucked underneath the public boardwalk which doubles as a viewing platform for who those who prefer to stay dry.
"Rather than building all the housing and then activating the leftover space with public programs, we proposed to design the public space first and then turn the leftover areas into plots for future housing developments."
Next to the harbor bath are the Urban Life houses – a row of 13 individual units that host cafés, bars, and restaurants, acting as a year-round meeting spot for residents and visitors to further activate the waterfront.
Each house has its own distinct architectural character, with materials ranging from cork, charred or reused wood to thatched straw.
In addition to the Urban Life houses, BIG designed 21 Beach Houses in front of the 26,000 m2 residential development, AARhus. The Beach Houses sit directly on the waterfront with unobstructed views of the harbor and bring a mix of scale and program to the new neighborhood, creating a sense of community among the locals.
Taking cues from the traditional fisherman hut typology, the Beach Houses are built side by side with floor-to-ceiling windows, creating panoramic views towards the harbor. The façade can fully open, extending the interior space to the outdoor promenade.
The houses include small kitchens and space for dining and relaxing. The bedrooms, located on top of the bathrooms, let residents wake up to views of the sea from their bed.
Each owner is committed to hosting minimum 10 public activities every year including lectures, exhibitions, coffee making, yoga classes, and sub board lessons, ensuring a buzzing urban life all year round. Two of the units are owned by the local church adding a more religious aspect to the program of the public promenade.
A 150-seat theater, home to the local theater group Teatret Gruppe 38, is located at the end of the public promenade, which meanders along the harbor edge. In addition to hosting performances, BIG designed the space to accommodate cultural events, workshops and block parties.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels Finn Nørkjær Jakob Lange Jakub Kulisa Lucian Tofan Michael James Kepke Raphael Ciriani Ryohei Koike Søren Martinussen Ulla Hornsyld Agne Rapkeviciute Alberte Danvig Ali Arvanaghi Anne-Charlotte Wiklander Ariel Joy Norback Wallner Axelle Bosman Bogdan Chioran Clara Elma Margareta Karlsson Enea Michelesio Franklin Natalino Simao Giedrius Mamavicius Jacob Lykkefold Aaen Jakob Ohm Laursen Jesafa Templo Jesper Bo Jensen Jesper Nislev Johan Bergström Jonatan Hulterström Joos Jerne Katerina Joannides Kristoffer Negendahl Mie Eusebi Nicolas Millot Richard Howis Simon Feldtmose Thunholm Sofie Maj Sørensen Soo Woo Spencer Hayden Teodor Javanaud Emden Tore Banke Victor Corazza Yasamin Mayyas
World Architecture Festival Highly Commended Future Masterplan, 2024
International Urban Planning Association and BAUWELT International Urban Project Award, 2024
MIPIM Best Urban Regeneration Project, 2024
Licitationen's Building Awards, 2023
Anpartsselskabet Kilden & Mortensen
Gehl Arkitekter
MOE
SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE
CLIENT
CapitaLand Group
TYPOLOGY
Work, Hospitality
SIZE M2/FT2
93,351 / 1,004,830
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The 280 m tall CapitaSpring is located in the heart of Singapore’s financial district on the site of a 1980s car complex and a hawkers market. As the second tallest tower in Singapore, the 93,000 m2, 51 story mixed-use development continues Singapore’s pioneering vertical urbanism by creating a diverse neighborhood of places to work, live, and play.
Entirely defined by zoning rules, street walls, and setback requirements, the volume is a complex composition of polygonal shapes. The program, which includes premium Grade A office space, Citadines serviced residences, retail, and public spaces, is similarly strictly defined with offices sitting on top of residences that in turn rest on a podium of food markets and parking.
Due to the unique character of Singapore’s urbanism – both very dense and verdant – BIG pursued the design challenge as a vertical exploration of tropical urbanism, reinforcing Singapore’s reputation as a garden city. The building’s recognizable exterior façade consists of vertical elements that are pulled apart to allow glimpses into the green oases blooming from the base, core and rooftop. A dynamic interplay of orthogonal lines and lush greenery presents itself in the contrasting textures of steel and glass, interweaved with tropical vegetation.
At the ground floor, visitors are met by a new linear public rainforest plaza and park. Meandering garden paths and covered passages create natural entryways into the City Room, a 19 m high generous open space at the foot of the tower.
Nestled on the second and third levels of CapitaSpring is the new hawker market with 56 food stalls offering local delicacies and an abundance of lunch options for the CBD’s workers.
The first eight floors of the tower contain 299 serviced residences with a wide range of amenities – a swimming pool, jacuzzi, jogging track, gym, social kitchen, lounges, and barbeque pits.
A vertical park is inserted in the middle of the tower in the form of a spiraling promenade ascending among tropical tree trunks and canopies.
"As someone with Singaporean heritage, I have been honored and humbled by the opportunity to contribute to the ongoing evolution of architecture in Singapore as a distinct blending between the contemporary and the tropical. In our design, this manifests as a seamless transition between the garden and the city, articulated in the facades and a series of lush spiraling gardens connecting between various programs and amenities."
The top 29 floors of the tower offer premium office spaces with panoramic views of the Singapore River and Marina Bay. At the core of the building between the hardscapes of the offices and residences are four connected levels of organic softscape, called the Green Oasis – a mesmerizing 30 m open-air garden for work, casual strolls, relaxation, exercise and events.
CapitaSpring’s rooftop garden is home to 1-Arden Food Forest. Currently, over 150 species of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers, are grown across five thematic plots to supply the building’s restaurants with fresh greens.
Aimee Louise Desert Anders Holden Deleuran Bjarke Ingels Brian Yang Dalma Ujvari Eric Li Francisco Castellanos Frederik Skou Jensen Jakob Lange Matilde Tavanti Roberto Fabbri Ryohei Koike Sorcha Burke Teodor Cristian Fratila Ulla Hornsyld Viktoria Millentrup Vinish Sethi Aleksander Wadas Aleksandra Domian Alessandro Zanini Andrew Lo Anke Kristina Schramm Antonio Sollo Augusto Lavieri Zamperlini Bartosz Kobylakiewicz Cris Guoyu Liu David Schwarzman David Vega y Rojo Davide Tarditi Dimitrie Grigorescu Dina Brændstrup Dominika Trybe Elise Cauchard Eriko Maekawa Espen Vik Ewa Natalia Szajda Federica Locati Filippo Lorenzi Gabrielė Ubarevičiūtė Gorka Calzada Medina Günther Edwin Weber Helen Shuyang Chen Hongduo Zhou Jacek Baczkowski Jakub Wlodarczyk Jonas Käckenmester Joseph James Haberl Julieta Muzzillo Kirsty Badenoch Kristoffer Negendahl Luca Pileri Luis Wagenführer Lukas Kerner Malgorzata Mutkowska Maria Teresa Fernandez Rojo Martino Hutz Moa Carlsson Nataly Timotheou Niu Jing Orges Guga Patrycja Lyszczyk Pedro Savio jobim Pinheiro Philip Rufus Knauf Praewa Samachai Qamelliah Yusuph Nassir Rahul Girish Ramon Julio Muros Cortes Rebecca Carrai Samuel Rubio Sanchez Shuhei Kamiya Sofiia Rokhmaniko Song He Steen Kortbæk Svendsen Szymon Kolecki Talia Fatte Tore Banke Vilius Linge Weijia Lu Xin Su Xinying Zhang Zari Van de Merwe Zhen Tong
International High-Rise Award 2024/25
FIABCI World Prix d'Excellence Awards, Silver Award in Mixed Use Category, 2024
ArchDaily Office Building of the Year, 2023
ULI Asia Pacific Awards for Excellence, 2023
CTBUH 2023 Awards of Excellence: Best Tall Building Asia & Best Tall Building 200–299 Meters, 2023
World Architecture Festival Honorable Mention
International Building Beauty Prize, 2023
President's Design Award 2023: Design of the Year, 2023
International High Rise Award, 2023
Structural Steel Excellence Awards, Structural Steel Project of the Year, 2023
DFA Design for Asia Awards, Silver Award, 2023
ASEAN Energy Awards, 1st Runner-up in the Energy Efficient Building – New and Existing Building category, 2023
Landscape Architecture Awards, Outstanding Award, 2023
GBC-BCA Leadership in Sustainability Awards, 2023
MIPIM ASIA’s Silver Award, Best Mixed-Use Development, 2022
President's Design Awards, 2022
SILA Singapore Landscape Architecture Awards, 2022
World Architectural Festival, Honorable Mention, 2022
Carlo Ratti Associati
RSP Architects
Dragages Singapore
COEN
BIG Ideas
BIG Landscape
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Downtown Brooklyn Partnership
TYPOLOGY
Public Realm, Urbanism
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Downtown Brooklyn is a uniquely multifaceted 240-acre central business district. Since the 2004 rezoning Downtown Brooklyn has experienced enormous growth with 30% population increase (45,000 new residents) and 26% job growth. The area remains one of the busiest retail districts in New York City and is experiencing a boom in residential development.
Since early 2019, BIG’s Landscape team and WXY Architects have co-led the The Downtown Brooklyn Public Realm Action Plan which draws upon the District’s existing conditions, systems, land uses and policies to create a bold design vision that is uniquely Brooklyn, provides a greener, safer pedestrian and bicycle experience, and unlocks projects, initiatives and pilots for a more vibrant public realm largely focused on the pedestrian experience.
Inspired by European cities with fully pedestrianized streets and the Danish approach to greenery and sustainability, the vision reduces parking wherever possible to find room for larger tree canopies and flowering planters to create shade and a comfortable microclimate, reducing urban heat islands.
The colorful and playful character is borrowed from graffiti and street art rooted in the history of Brooklyn, defining its unique identity. The proposal can be implemented in several alleyways and low trafficked local streets that can be transformed into shared streets or fully pedestrianized streets.
By reshaping the sidewalk curbs and changing the ground treatment into a colorful “carpet”, Downtown Brooklyn Public realm is re-animated into a playful environment.
Over time, the streets will be filled with furniture, planting and murals, creating a place where residents, workers and visitors can enjoy gathering outdoors, practice sports and play, celebrate the diverse culture of Downtown Brooklyn.
BIG and WXY’s vision paints the already lively character of the neighborhood with a distinct color palette offering Brooklynites a cohesive streetscape experience with improved walkability, increased pedestrian and cyclist safety, twice as much greenery and new art beacons.
Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Giulia Frittoli Martin Voelkle Veronica Acosta Yi Lun Yang Benson Chien Carson Fisk-Vittori Erik Kreider Fernando Longhi Pereira da Silva Jacob Karasik Jamie Maslyn Larson Jeffrey Shumaker Kate Cella Ken Chongsuwat Mackenzie Keith Manon Otto Melissa Jones Mo Li Morgan Mangelsen Paul Clemens Bart Sijia Zhou Sophie Elias Terrence Chew Tracy Sodder
ASLA NY Honor Award, 2022 Fast Company World Changing Ideas Awards, 2022 Fast Company Most Innovative Design Awards, 2022
WXY
Sam Schwartz
MNLA
VJ Associates
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Private Client
TYPOLOGY
Residential
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
A decommissioned ferryboat, once used as a passenger ferry connecting Copenhagen with nearby islands and smaller towns around Denmark, has been transformed into a 126-foot-long floating family home in the historic harbor of Copenhagen.
In an effort to preserve the nautical features of the ferry and align with the structure’s original proportions, the renovation process focused on restoring symmetry along both axes.
At each end of the main deck, previously an open driveway for up to 25 cars, sliding window walls were installed, creating a loft-like living space with direct access to an outdoor terrace.
Inspired by the two large original chimney stacks and navigation bridges, a glass-enclosed pavilion was added to house the main bedroom suite, nestled among the original structures. Above it, a rooftop terrace offers 360-degree views of the harbor and city, including the Royal Palace.
The master bathroom features a hinoki cypress soaking tub, sink, and shower, inspired by traditional Japanese ryokans.
Descending below deck via a bright red stairwell, the basement has been transformed into a futuristic playroom for all ages, stripping away additions to reveal streamlined curves. Porthole windows and a circular skylight were added to let in natural light.
Bjarke Ingels Finn Nørkjær Hyojin Lee Kamilla Heskje Andy Coward Cæcilie Søs Brandt-Olsen Dag Præstegaard Eva Seo-Andersen Ian Omumbwa Richard John Burns
MARFA, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
ICON and Liz Lambert
TYPOLOGY
Hospitality
SIZE M2/FT2
8,983 / 96,700
STATUS
IN CONSTRUCTION
SHARE
BIG, ICON, and Texas-based hotelier Liz Lambert have joined forces to reimagine the infamous nomadic campground hotel El Cosmico in Marfa, Texas. The new 62-acre community will feature large-scale 3D-printed structures including domes, arches, vaults, and parabolic forms, enhancing the guest experience with a pool, spa, and shared communal facilities. Currently under construction, El Cosmico will continue to celebrate the convergence of creative culture and the minimalistic natural environment of the Marfa landscape.
To celebrate the project, a partnership with The Long Center for the Performing Arts brings a taste of El Cosmico to Austin, Texas during SXSW. The 3D-printed pavilion combines the architectural design themes planned for El Cosmico in Marfa in a single, sculptural space for culture and community in the heart of downtown Austin.
“Our collaboration with El Cosmico and ICON has allowed us to pursue the formal and material possibilities of cutting-edge 3D printed construction untethered by the traditional limitations of a conventional site or client. Liz Lambert’s legacy for reimagining hospitality and her pioneering of a contemporary Texan aesthetic combined with the Minimalistic nature and culture, art, and landscape of Marfa has been the perfect fit to pursue a new architectural vernacular language for El Cosmico in Marfa. Organic shapes, Euclidian circular geometries, and a color palette born from the local terroir makes El Cosmico feel as if literally erected from the site it stands on.”
The design is informed by the unique connection between the high desert landscape and cosmic organizations. The new hotel and homes feature organic curves and domes, a primordial architectural language that can only be achieved by 3D-printing. ICON’s technology excels at creating soft shapes and curved surfaces, making it possible to bring this design vision to life. The project provides a natural continuation of unique experiences, building on El Cosmico’s legacy at the intersection of art, nature, and hospitality in Marfa, TX. Another facet of the project will be to assess the opportunity to 3D-print affordable housing in Marfa to serve the evolving needs of the town.
As an outpost of El Cosmico, a permanent pavilion for music and performances emerges from the natural slope of The Long Center’s front lawn in Austin, Texas.
The adobe-like color and texture of the horizontally layered wall appears like geological strata in an exposed cliff. Inspired by the Uruguayan engineer and architect Eladio Dieste, the sinuous curves at the foot of the pavilion provide both structural stability and social niches for the audience and performers. Organic form as structural function.
Agla Egilsdottir Bjarke Ingels Cynthia Wang Jaeho Park Jeremy Jackson Jialin Yuan Margaret Tyrpa Martin Voelkle Michelle Stromsta Ricardo Palma Prieto San Yoon Siqi Zhang Veronica Acosta Ahmad Tabbakh Jennifer Ng Julian Ocampo Salazar Mateo Fernandez Peter Sepassi
LE BRASSUS, SWITZERLAND
CLIENT
Audemars Piguet
TYPOLOGY
Hospitality
SIZE M2/FT2
7,000 / 75,347
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Watchmaking, architecture, and nature are celebrated at Hôtel des Horlogers which zigzags through the Vallée de Joux town just outside of Geneva. The 8,700 m2 hotel marks the second collaboration between BIG and luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet following the opening of the neighboring Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet in 2020.
The Hôtel des Horlogers builds on the history of the Hôtel de France, established in Le Brassus in 1857 by members of the Audemars Piguet family. The hotel became an important stop on the Chemin des Horlogers – the watchmaking route that connected the Vallée de Joux workshops to Geneva, where timepieces were sold by retailers. Audemars Piguet hired BIG to design a new hotel in line with the luxury brand’s values and sustainability mission.
Guided to the hotel entrance from the main access road, guests approach the hotel through a generous driveway. From this entrance, the hotel appears as a single slab, with the four additional floors tucked into the landscape below. Defined by timber and concrete, the exterior entrance introduces the materiality of the hotel-at-large – authentic, pared-back materials that complement the natural landscape enveloping the building.
The system of interwoven wood louvers inspired by the log cabin overlay aesthetic provides shading for the façade, enhancing the building’s energy performance. The shading system is fully integrated with the stepping geometry of the wooden slabs, keeping the transparency from the main access road to the valley, and re-establishing the connection between the village and the pastoral landscape.
The hotel’s interior design scheme, led by AU*M, draws inspiration from the architecture’s indoor/outdoor vernacular – created through the architecture’s tilting slabs that provide the interior spaces with framed views of the surrounding valley. As guests transition from the main entrance into the reception area, the visual language becomes more sinuous and rustic, with materials such as glass, concrete, stone, and wood blurring the delineation of the constructed and the natural.
One level below the entry, a spa, conference center, and two restaurants are orientated towards the valley – providing sweeping views and natural light while also acting as individual destinations along the continuous interior path. Giving pride of place to gastronomy, the Hôtel des Horlogers’ restaurants are overseen by three-Michelin-starred French Chef, Emmanuel Renaut.
On the interior, the building’s five slab-layout forms a single, continuous ramping corridor – connecting the interior programs and facilitating both guest and service circulation. This layout also provides all guestrooms with views of the surrounding Risoud Forest.
Certified Minergie-ECO, a label for new and refurbished low-energy consumption buildings, the hotel addresses the local ecological and social sustainability requirements to reduce its environmental impact – from the building’s design and construction to its day-to-day operations. Similarly, the hotel is equipped with 86 photovoltaic panels that provide part of the building’s energy needs.
The zigzagging slabs gradually descend towards the valley, tilting slightly to embrace the site and create a visual path between nature and architecture. While the Audemars Piguet museum located just steps away defines a visitor experience inspired by the centripetal and centrifugal forces of time through the spiral form, the hotel welcomes its guests into the ‘time’ journey by reimagining the historic winding watchmakers’ trail that the region is known for.
Beat Schenk Bjarke Ingels Casey Tucker Claire Thomas Spiller Daniel Sundlin Gaurav Janey Gil Kilmo Kang Haochen Yu Jan Leenknegt Jason Wu Matthew Oravec Otilia Pupezeanu Simon Scheller Thomas Christoffersen Aaron Mark Amro Abdelsalam Aurelie Frolet Catalina Rivera Rothgaenger Claire Wadey Deb Campbell Derek Wong Ethan Duffey Eva Maria Mikkelsen Evan Wiskup Francesca Portesine Ibrahim Salman Il Hwan Kim Ji-Young Yoon Josiah Poland Karolina Bouros Ku Hun Chung Lou Arencibia Lu Zhang Malcolm Rondell Galang Manon Otto Martynas Norvila Melissa Jones Morgan Mangelsen Nicolas Gustin Nicolas Lapierre Pantea Tehrani Pascal Loschetter Phawin Siripong Rasmus Streboel Rune Hansen Seth Byrum Shidi Fu Sijia Zhou Stephanie Choi Supakrit Wongviboonsin Teodor Javanaud Emden Terrence Chew Tracy Sodder Veronica Watson Xinyu Wang Yvette Liu
World Luxury Hotel Awards: Continent Winner - Luxury Design Hotel, 2022
World Architecture Festival Future Hospitality Category Winner, 2019
BUILD’s 2018 Global Excellence for Future Leisure Project of the Year, 2018
CCHE Architecture
Ingphi SA
Pierre Chuard Ingenieurs-Conseils SA
Sorane SA
Duchein SA
MAB-Ingineurs SA
Ignis Salutem
EcoAcoustique SA
Alterego Concept SA
Jean Pitteloud
Thorens et associes SA
Societe Denogent
OKSBØL, DENMARK
CLIENT
Varde Museum
TYPOLOGY
Culture, Interiors
SIZE M2/FT2
2,123 / 22,852
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Following the opening of Tirpitz Museum on the West Coast of Denmark – FLUGT – Denmark’s new Refugee Museum, is BIG’s second museum for Vardemuseerne: a local institution dedicated to the archaeology, dissemination, and collection of historical knowledge about the region.
Located at the site of Denmark’s largest Refugee camp from World War II, BIG has adapted and extended one of the camp’s few remaining structures – a hospital building – into a 1,600 m2 museum.
FLUGT gives a voice and a face to refugees worldwide and captures the universal challenges, emotions, spirit, and stories shared by displaced humans.
With approximately 35,000 World War II refugees staying at the Oksbøl refugee camp, the camp became the fifth-largest city of Denmark at the time. The camp’s hospital is one of the few remaining structures.
From outside, the abstract volume welcomes visitors into what appears to be a closed entry hall. Upon entering, a floor-to-ceiling curved glass wall reveals a view of a sheltered green courtyard and the forest, where the refugee camp used to be. The courtyard lets light flow into the entry hall that functions as a lobby or a temporary exhibition space for guests to experience before continuing their journey into one of the museum wings.
"From the very beginning of the design process, it was vital for us and our client, Vardemuseerne to preserve the two hospital buildings. The buildings are some of the last remaining physical manifestations of the former refugee camp, and not only is their preservation invaluable for future generations to understand the past and the present, the buildings also directly informed our design of the extension by means of their unique elongated form, structure and materiality. FLUGT is a great example of how adaptive reuse can result in sustainable, functional buildings that preserve our shared history while standing out architecturally."
The courtyard creates a peaceful sensory experience both inside and outside the museum. A small mirror pool in the heart of the courtyard reflects the sky above it. Around the basin, heath planting known from the region emphasizes the identity of the area.
The exhibition area in the north wing contains gallery spaces organized according to the original flow/circulation in the hospital. While most of the hospital room walls were torn down, some of the inside walls are kept intact and stabilized by three cross sections, creating larger exhibition spaces.
The south wing features a flexible conference room, smaller exhibition spaces, café. The back-of-house functions with the same character and materiality as in the north wing: white walls and intersections covered in white painted wood boards oriented according to the angle ceiling line, as well as yellow bricks across the entire museum floor, connecting past and present structures.
"The Refugee Museum of Denmark explores an important part of our history and a theme that is more relevant than ever, with millions of refugees currently displaced from their homes. We have designed an architectural framework that connects the past with the present - with a new building directly shaped by its relationship to the historic hospital buildings of the WWII refugee camp. We went into this project with all our heart to address one of the world’s greatest challenges - how we welcome and care for our fellow world citizens when they are forced to flee. The project is a continuation of our collaboration on Tirpitz Museum with Vardemuseerne and Claus Kjeld Jensen whose uncompromised design vision once again inspired our design for FLUGT."
In addition to preserving and reusing the hospital buildings for historical value, extending the lifespan of the existing structures supports BIG’s mission of reducing waste, conserving resources, and creating a smaller carbon footprint as it relates to materials manufacturing and transport.
Anders Holden Deleuran Bjarke Ingels Danyu Zeng David Zahle Eddie Can Finn Nørkjær Frederik Lyng Frederik Skou Jensen Giulia Frittoli Jonathan Udemezue Mads Primdahl Rokkjær Marius Tromholt-Richter Michael James Kepke Nanna Gyldholm Møller Ole Elkjær-Larsen Oliver Siekierka Peter Høgenhaven Sascha Leth Rasmussen Tomas Karl Ramstrand Ulla Hornsyld Ákos Márk Horváth Andy Coward Anne Søby Nielsen Arthur Martinevski Barbora Hrmova Cheng-Huang Lin Gabrielė Ubarevičiūtė Hanne Halvorsen Høgni Laksafoss Katrine Sandstrøm Kim Lauer Kristian Mousten Laura Wätte Lone Fenger Albrechtsen Lukas Molter Muhammad Mansoor Awais Nikolaos Romanos Tsokas Richard Howis Sofiia Rokhmaniko Thor Larsen-Lechuga Toni Mateu Tore Banke Tristan Harvey
Danish Building of the Year Awards 2022
Luigi Micheletti Award 2023
INGENIØR'NE
Tinker Imagineers
Gade & Mortensen Akustik
HB Trapper
BIG Landscape
BIG Ideas
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
Danish music trio, WhoMadeWho, known for their forward-thinking sounds and performances, enlisted BIG to create the stage centrepiece for their live world tour, completing an immersive audiovisual experience.
The Sphere is conceived as a 3.50-metre-wide inflatable orb suspended above the stage and used as a projection surface to create a three-dimensional experience for the audience. Complementing The Sphere, we developed reflective, inflatable covers for their tables to add depth to the stage.
For effortless transport, The Sphere is crafted as a portable, lightweight structure that is easily inflated and deflated to fit into a standard-size luggage.
"The WhoMadeWho scenography draws inspiration from our previous ventures into inflatable creations, like SKUM and THE ORB. With maximum visual impact, the inflatable sphere serves as a canvas for captivating three-dimensional video projections, elevating the concert experience to a new level."
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Jan-Hendrik Schrader Johannes Becker Peter van der Beek Anca Molonfalean
HOUSTON, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Skanska Commercial Development USA
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
62,866 / 676,682
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The Norton Rose Fulbright Tower, also known as 1550 on the Green, is a 28-story cluster of six connected office towers in downtown Houston, Texas. The 676,682-sq-ft structure completes the western edge of Discovery Green – one of Houston’s most beloved parks – incorporating elements of the green space throughout.
The site constraints – curved on one side and angular on the other – inform the development’s final form. To fit the program, the towers, sized to the ideal office floorplate, fan radially along Crawford and Lamar Streets at varying heights.
The Norton Rose Fulbright Tower features a 48,000-gallon rainwater collection tank for flushing and irrigation, with district cooling that reduces the need for a central plant. The building is projected to use 21% less energy than comparable towers, while 30% more fresh air flows through it than a typical Class A building. The project is LEED Platinum v4 certified, and targeting WELL Platinum, Fitwel® Three Star, and WiredScore® Platinum certification. Close collaboration with the client and cost estimator throughout all phases of design and construction, paired with peer reviews of the structural design, allowed us to maintain cost efficiency while upholding design integrity.
“It has been a true privilege to work with the renowned minds of Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) to bring this one-of-a-kind architectural statement to a prominent location in Houston. From the start, our core design priorities for the project were placemaking energy and world-class architecture, and BIG helped us achieve that. The building is sensitively designed to integrate into the existing urban fabric of the community. It blurs the boundaries between park space and office space while serving as a distinctive architectural statement at a prominent location on Discovery Green. The project embraces Skanska’s tenant-first approach with Houston’s most forward-thinking building.”
On the ground floor, the towers lift to form shaded overhangs over the walkway, creating a spatially dynamic public area that seamlessly connects to the adjacent Discovery Green. Vertical fins double up to form an opaque, warm-toned soffit on the building’s exterior that differentiates the office space from the storefronts below. At the base, the retail outlets, restaurant, and cafe invite Houstonians to enjoy a business lunch or grab dessert for the park or a beer before a baseball game. The public area’s broad leafy canopy provides intimate outdoor rooms and multiple seating options in an extra-wide pedestrian zone.
Designed to feel like an extension of Discovery Green, the lobby features a fully glass façade, intentionally shallower depth, and angled walls at the interior that widen to the park.
"On a site with a complex footprint and an existing hotel, we have designed six connected and pivoting towers to complete the framing of Houston’s Discovery Green. At ground level, the towers lift to unite the building with the park, while smaller retail volumes below offer a human-scale experience. The stepped tower volumes create three large terraces with views of downtown, adding a striking silhouette to the Houston skyline."
The towers step down on the north side of the site to create double-height terraces that appear to hover over the park. The landscaping design is based on three unique Texas biomes: woodland forest, floral gardens, and arid gardens. Each terrace has a shaded outdoor porch that opens directly to a garden.
The unique side core configuration of the building maximizes views of the park and allows for a greater amount of natural light than a traditional office floor plate. This layout also allows for windows into the elevator lobby and restrooms – providing connections to the outdoors in unexpected locations.
Offices have multiple windowed corners, further blurring the boundaries between green space and workspace. Amenities include a fitness center on level two nestled into the tree canopy; a 9,400-sq-ft rooftop lounge with a conference room and two terraces; and onsite parking.
Alana Goldweit Bjarke Ingels Blake Smith Cynthia Wang Danna Lei Emily Chen Frankie Sharpe Gil Kilmo Kang Hector Romero Jan Leenknegt Janie Green Jenna Dezinski Margaret Tyrpa Martin Voelkle Nojan Adami Sang Ha Jung Sebastian Claussnitzer Siqi Zhang Thomas McMurtrie Tom Lasbrey Veronica Acosta Autumn Visconti Brandon Cappellari Catrina Nelson Christian Salkeld Christopher Pin Corliss Ng Deb Campbell Florencia Kratsman Francesca Portesine Guillaume Evain Jamie Maslyn Larson Julian Ocampo Salazar Kate Cella Kig Veerasunthorn Mackenzie Keith Marcus Wilford Mattia Locci Morgan Mangelsen Oliver Thomas Rasam Aminzadeh Sinam Hawro Yakoob Stephen Kwok Terrence Chew Tracy Sodder Weronika Siwak Yushan Huang Ziad Shehab Ziqi Wang
Kendall/Heaton Associates
Skanska USA Building Inc
Michael Hsu Office of Architecture
Walter P Moore
Wylie Engineering
SWA Group
HWA Parking
Persohn/Hahn Associates
NORESCO LLC
Ulrich Engineers
Morrison Hershfield
Lerch Bates
Risher Companies
Cerami & Associates
HMA Consulting
DG Studios
Dot Dash
CPP Wind
Cogent Commissioning
SHENZHEN, CHINA
CLIENT
Shenzhen Metro Qianhai International Development Co., Ltd. (深圳地铁前海国际发展有限公司)
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
330,000 / 3,552,090
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
BIG’s ‘leaning’ Qianhai Prisma Towers, featuring a 300m2 tall residential tower and a 250m tall office tower, will complete the new Qianhai Bay development, solidifying Qianhai’s position as the burgeoning financial and cultural center of Shenzhen. Expected to begin construction in 2025, the project – won in a global architectural competition – will be BIG’s second in Shenzhen following Shenzhen Energy Mansion’s completion in 2017.
Situated in the Guiwan District within the metropolitan city of Qianhai, the BIG-designed Qianhai Prisma Towers will flank each side of the Shenzhen Hong Kong Plaza – also known as the ‘green belt’ – marking the entrance to the neighborhood. New workspaces, residences, and 20,000+ m2 of multi-level public spaces will be positioned steps from an integrated regional transport hub and the Qianhai Bay.
"Both towers are conceived as simple prismatic building envelopes split open to make room for public space on the ground where they stand. The open seams and gaping corners allow the green spaces to ascend from the ground to the sky leaving wedges for outdoor gardens and terraces for the life of the people living and working within. With its timeless simplicity and inviting openness - the architecture of the two towers is firmly rooted in the urban values underpinning Shenzhen - a vertical modern city of 1000 parks.”
Peeking through the building envelope openings, cascading green terraces are introduced from the street level and up to the roof, where office workers and visitors can enjoy 360-degree views of Qianhai Bay. PV cells are integrated in the slightly tilted office tower’s West and East façade spandrel to maximize the PV efficiency. To better respond to the local climate achieving and improving thermal performance, double-skin closed-cavity façade (CCF) is used for the most exposed orientation of office tower. The apartment tower units have operable ventilation inlets built into the window frames to allow for natural ventilation.
“As the tower footprints open to the ground, they celebrate the connectivity to the transit infrastructure, retail and adjacent buildings. Pedestrian walkways connect multiple stories to provide seamless transitions between the towers and the surrounding public programs, forming a pedestrian network that leads up to the Qianhai Bay Waterfront Park.”
Both towers are defined by gently leaning volumes that taper towards the sky – a subtle gesture that adds structural efficiency while creating verdant openings between the volumes and a generous ground-floor public realm. The lush biophilia on the balconies and ledges contrasts the glass facades that shimmer subtly throughout the passing of the day.
The ground plane of the towers opens up to create a dynamic and welcoming urban living room while connecting the towers to the ‘green belt’ and nearby shopping mall. A meandering biophilic pedestrian skybridge functions as a canopy, providing shade and protection from the rain while connecting the shopping mall, the retail podium, and the surrounding neighborhood.
The tripod footprint of the 130,760 m2 residential tower is a radial array of three rectangular volumes that step up at different heights – providing multiple views towards the city and the ocean while creating beautiful living spaces, ‘sky garden’ terraces, and a roofscape. Between the volumes, the envelope opens up to create a subtle crevice of green balconies, from the ground level to the roofs.
The ground floor wayfinding takes inspiration from the Qianhai Bay, oftentimes appearing as a series of ripples while facilitating the flow of people through the entrances in and around the towers. The public realm of the ground floor office tower includes an amphitheater, tree–shaded social spaces, and an under–porch bar. In response to the climatic characteristics of the region, activities are located under the canopy, trees, and overhangs of the building. Rainwater is collected via the sloped curtain walls, utilized for irrigation system and maintenance of the public space.
From the interior of the tower, the corners peel open to create outdoor terraces on every floor. The west tower wall extends slightly skywards to reiterate the leaning gesture – delicately joining the remaining three walls/envelopes to create a sculptural addition to the skyline.
Both towers are strategically positioned between the two intercity railways; the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Intercity Railway is at the east side of the site, and the proposed Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Express Railway will be at the west side of the residential tower. An adjacent below-grade retail corridor will provide both towers with direct access to the Transportation Hub via the below-grade lobbies. To complement the accessibility of the transport hub, an additional 966 long-term bicycle parking spaces will be available for building occupants.
Bella Yanan Ding Bianca Blanari Bjarke Ingels Chengjie Jacob Li Chris Tron David Holbrook Douglass Alligood Flora Bao Mama Qicheng Wu Martin Voelkle Ricardo Palma Prieto Ryan Duval Shu Du Sungmin Kim Yao Tong Zhonghan Huang Ahmad Tabbakh Ashley O'Neill Michelle Duong Vidisha Kumar
Supplier Conference, Diamond Supplier Award, 2024
CADG
RFR
BPI
Brandston Partnership Inc.
Buro Happold
Turenscape
Thornton Tomasetti
Arup
Atchain
RJ Model
MILAN, ITALY
For the Salone del Mobile 2024, BIG designed a site-specific installation for Interni Magazine’s annual exhibition during the design fair in Milan’s Piazza del Quadrilatero courtyard.
Titled ‘Reflaction’ and developed in collaboration with German car manufacturer Audi, the installation is informed by the symmetry of the site and conceived as two intersecting walls of mirrored steel, dividing the courtyard into four individual spaces. Through the reflections of the mirrored walls, the exhibition spaces are extended, creating the illusion of a cohesive space.
Referencing the four rings of the Audi logo, each space represents a thematic cornerstone in the installation: Community, Knowledge, Innovation, and Performance.
In the Community space, four Japanese maple trees are placed in planters with integrated seating and tables, offering a natural canopy of shade where visitors can socialize and connect. The Knowledge space features an amphitheater for talks, lectures, and discussions. In the Innovation and Performance areas, visitors can interact with the newest advancements of Audi’s light technology and experience the new Q6 e-tron.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Jan-Hendrik Schrader Jiyoung Choi Johannes Becker Peter van der Beek
Point.Architects
STP srl
Beyond The Line
Interni Magazine
Artemide
Portrait Milano
MOUNTAIN VIEW, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
102,192 / 1,100,000
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Google Bay View is Google’s first-ever ground-up campus with the mission to operate on carbon-free energy 24 hours a day, seven days a week by 2030. The buildings deliver on Google’s ambition to create human-centric, sustainable innovations for the future of Google’s workplace and scalable, replicable solutions for the construction industry and beyond.
Located on a 42-acre site at the NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, the 1.1 million sq ft Google Bay View Campus brings three new buildings, 20 acres of open space, a 1,000-person event center, and 240 short-term employee accommodation units to the area. All three buildings are constructed as lightweight canopy structures optimized for interior daylight, views, collaboration, and activities.
Anchored in three themes defined by Google’s design brief at the beginning of the project – innovation, nature, and community – the design is driven by flexibility and extraordinary user experience that inspires collaboration and co-creation. Team spaces are on the upper level and gathering spaces are below, separating focus and collaborative areas while still providing easy access to both. The second floor design has variation in floorplates to give teams a designated “neighborhood” area that is highly flexible to change with their needs.
The site has achieved a LEED-NC v4 Platinum certification – making it the largest LEED v4 BD+C: NC Platinum certified project in the world – and has become the largest facility ever to attain the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) Living Building Challenge (LBC) Water Petal Certification.
Bay View operates entirely on electric energy. The integrated geothermal pile system at Bay View, which is the largest in North America, is estimated to reduce carbon emissions by roughly 50% and will help both heat and cool the campus. The massive geoexchange field is integrated into the structural system, reducing the amount of water typically used for cooling by 90%, equal to 5 million gallons of water annually.
To help deliver on Google’s commitment to replenish 120% of the water the HQ consumes by 2030, the site is net water-positive with all non-potable water demands being met using the recycled water it generates on site. The on-site systems built by Google collect, treat, and reuse all stormwater and wastewater and provide habitat restoration, sea level rise protection, and access to the beauty of natural wetlands for both Googlers and the public on the nearby Bay Trail.
The long-span canopy (120 ft) rests on cruciform columns which also relay services from the solar roof above. The selection of this structural system allows the entire workspace to be open and connected under one roof. Access to natural light and views with reduced glare during working hours were priority design elements, achieved through the use of carefully-placed clerestory windows.
On the exterior, all three buildings feature a first-of-its-kind “dragonscale” solar skin roof equipped with 50,000 silver solar panels that generate a total of nearly seven megawatts of energy.
“Our design of the new Bay View campus is the result of an incredibly collaborative design process. Working with a client as data driven as Google has led to an architecture where every single decision is informed by hard information and empirical analysis. The result is a campus where the striking dragonscale solar canopies harvest every photon that hits the buildings; the energy piles store and extract heating and cooling from the ground, and even the naturally beautiful floras are in fact hardworking rootzone gardens that filter and clean the water from the buildings. All in all, a campus where front of house and back of house, technology and architecture, and form and function have been fused into a new and striking hybrid.”
The Bay View buildings are split across only two floors, with desks and team spaces on the upper level, and the amenity spaces below. A series of indoor “courtyards” throughout the buildings connect the two levels, giving teams easy access to cafes, kitchenettes, conference rooms, and all-hands spaces. The courtyards also encourage the physiological benefits of physical movement when circulating between levels and different modes of work, and double as wayfinding devices.
Rather than being segmented by excessive columns and support walls, the structural innovation of the canopy roof allows for a wide-open workspace; every person has equal access to views across the floorplate, and through the perimeter facade and clerestory windows to the outdoors.
"Google Bay View offers a workplace experience that is an antithesis to an urban high-rise; Containing as much area as the tallest office tower in San Francisco, the typically stacked floorplates are redistributed into a flat array, creating a vibrant village. While on-site carbon and water neutrality is challenging for skyscrapers, this bay-scraper typology enables us to harvest the power of the sun, earth, and water. We hope Bay View will provide a quantum leap in the evolution of the workplace, elevate the benchmark for sustainable design, and inspire the next generations of users and visitors to the building."
The campus includes 17.3 acres of high-value natural areas – including wet meadows, woodlands, and marsh – that contribute to Google’s broader efforts to reestablish missing essential habitat in the Bay Area.
Google’s mission to unlock advancements for the benefit of the environment and the entire industry have led to several scalable solutions in working on the Bay View campus: increasing modular construction, geothermal at new scales, innovation in PV design, a permitted blackwater system, waste diverted from landfill, improved total number of products vetted for Red List ingredients, and landscape designed to advance water stewardship and create valuable habitat for threatened wildlife.
Overall, the Google Bay View campus has forged a new framework, materials language, and ecological approach that will help push both the future of the workplace, and the built environment-at-large, forward.
Agla Egilsdottir Ania Agnieszka Podlaszewska Beat Schenk Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Blake Smith Claire Thomas Spiller Daniel Sundlin David Iseri Douglass Alligood Dylan Hames Isabella Marcotulli Isela Liu Jan Leenknegt Jason Wu Leon Rost Linus Saavedra Michelle Stromsta Rita Sio Ryan Harvey Shu Zhao Thomas Christoffersen Thomas McMurtrie Zhonghan Huang Alan Tansey Alessandra Peracin Ali Chen Andriani Atmadja Armen Menendian Bernard Peng Brian Zhang Camilo Francisco Aspeny Inostroza Cheyne Owens Christopher Wilson Cristian Lera Silva Cristina Medina-Gonzalez Danielle Kemble Deb Campbell Derek Wong Diandian Li Erik Kreider Eva Maria Mikkelsen Florencia Kratsman Gaurav Sardana Guillaume Evain Hacken Li Helen Shuyang Chen Jennifer Wood Ji-Young Yoon Jia Chengzhen Jian Yong Khoo Joshua Burns Joshua Plourde Kalina Pilat Kurt Nieminen Mads Kjaer Manon Otto Marcus Kujala Meghan Bean Nandi Lu Nicole Passarella Olga Khuraskina Oliver Colman Patrick Hyland Peter Kwak Ramona Montecillo Sebastian Grogaard Seo Young Shin Siva Sepehry Nejad Terrence Chew Tiago Sá Timothy Cheng Tingting Lyu Tracy Sodder Valentino Vitacca Vincenzo Polsinelli Walid Bhatt Ye Sul Cho Yina Moore Ziad Shehab
Facade Tectonics Institute's Vitruvian Award, 2023
Silicon Valley Business Journal Structures Award, Best Architecture, 2023
Engineering New Record (ENR)’s Global Best Projects competition, Best Office Project, 2022
BIG - Bjarke Ingels group
Heatherwick Studio
Sares Regis
Adamson Associates
STUDIOS
Populous
Thornton Tomasetti
Integral Group
Olin
BKF
Arup
Sherwood
Holmes
Kleinfelder
Loisos + Ubbelohde
FMS
C.S. Caulkins Co.
Teecom
Whiting-Turner
Applied Wayfinding
ELLINIKON, GREECE
CLIENT
Lamda Development
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
28,772 / 309,699
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
Nestled amidst striking scenery, Ellinikon Park Rise will offer sweeping views of the Aegean Sea on one side and the mountains of Attica on the other. Located on the grounds of the former International Airport in Athens, Greece, Ellinikon Park Rise will stand as the centrepiece of the residential neighbourhood Little Athens, sitting within Europe’s largest urban regeneration project, the Ellinikon Masterplan. The masterplan spans 6.2 million m2 and will double the amount of green space in the Athens Metropolitan Area, setting a new global standard for resilient urban design and smart living.
“With Park Rise, we wish to challenge the traditional residential high-rise building and propose a cascade of individual homes each with their private garden, stacked to align with the neighborhood towards the north and growing gradually towards the tower peaks of the Metropolitan Park in the east. The building embraces the proximity to the Park while maximizing panoramic views of the Mediterranean Sea."
The building’s curved concave façade reimagines the classic Greek column while adding a soft geometry. Ellinikon Park Rise will offer an abundance of communal amenities, including fitness facilities and a 20-metre indoor swimming pool. On the ground floor, the pulled back façade opens up to reveal a shared garden, extending the vast Metropolitan Park and creating a private outdoor oasis for the residents.
To provide shade and promote a sense of community amongst the residents, a pavilion seamlessly integrates a playground, generous lounge spaces, and a barbecue area, while creating the framework for PVs that provide solar energy for the Park Rise homes.
At ground level, the building lifts up to create a pathway connecting the Metropolitan Park on one side to the Pedestrian Axis and planned tram line on the other.
The project is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification.
Alicia De Nobrega Bjarke Ingels Camila Antonella Mina Dace Gurecka Dino Vaindirlis German Otto Bodenbender Gonzalo Ivan Castro Vecchiola Hanna Ida Johansson Isabel Sánchez del Campo João Albuquerque Klaudia Szczepanowska Laura Font Gallart Luca Sandrini Marco Dell'Agli Valletti Matthew Reger Miranda Ramos Mejia Ole Elkjær-Larsen Olivia Sarra Gómez Paula Herrera Lahoz Paula Pagès Camprubí Antoni Ruszkiewicz Ariadna Carolina Mejias Alvarez Beatriz Pérez Codesido Emmanuel Roy Gabriella Luppi Mackenzie Joan Capdevila Kareena Lily Pinto Maria Tzitzimika Miquel Perez Nicolas Bachmann Bellido Otto Hernéndez-Palacios Paolo Luparello Ricardo Cruz Recalde Tristany Serra
AARHUS, DENMARK
CLIENT
Kilden & Mortensen Aps
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
26,500 / 285,244
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
As a part of the Aarhus Harbor Masterplan, AARhus, a 26,000 m2 residential building sits on the very tip of the Bassin 7 pier, offering views to the bay, harbor, nature and city. The architectural approach of AARhus is derived from mixing the most dominant typologies of the existing urban mass in Aarhus city, courtyard buildings, row houses and towers, all in one architectural entity.
Each corner of the building peaks in various heights, and a stepped roof scape creates large private terraces for elevated outdoor activities. On the facades continuous balconies wrap around the building, only to be punctuated by smaller balconies inside the courtyard.
At street level the building offers double height units containing both maritime allotment spaces and spaces for commercial use. These units cover the parking areas hidden in the central plinth of the building and most importantly, create a lively façade towards the street.
Skyline art of well-known buildings by Daniel Van Der Noon graces the hallways.
The green heart of AARhus, offers a shared allotment garden for growing vegetables and fruit trees.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels Finn Nørkjær Jakob Lange Jan Magasanik Jesper Boye Andersen Kamilla Heskje Kekoa Charlot Lucian Tofan Molly Hsiao Rou Huang Søren Martinussen Ulla Hornsyld Aaron Hales Agne Rapkeviciute Alberte Danvig Aleksander Wadas Ali Arvanaghi Ana-Maria Vindfeldt Anna Wisborg Ariel Joy Norback Wallner Brigitta Gulyás Christian Eugenius Kuczynski Claes Robert Jansson Dominika Trybe Dominiq Nana Osei Kwabena Oti Ella Coco Murphy Enea Michelesio Frederike Werner Hanne Halvorsen Ioana Fartadi Scurtu Jacob Lykkefold Aaen Jakob Andreassen Jesafa Templo Jesper Bo Jensen Katarina Mácková Katerina Joannides Katrine Juul Kristoffer Negendahl Lasse Ryberg Hansen Lise Jessen Ricardo Diogo Chamacho Vieira De Oliveira Richard Howis Roberto Outumuro Castro Sergiu Calacean Sofie Maj Sørensen Spencer Hayden Sze Ki Wong Teodor Javanaud Emden Tobias Hjortdal Tore Banke Victoria Ross-Thompson Xuefei Yan Yasmina Yehia Yehezkiel Wiliardy Manik
MT Hojgaard
MOE
1:1 Landskab
BIG Landscape
BOCONCEPT
The Nawabari furniture collection is inspired by the Japanese art form of binding with ropes to forge close bonds. ‘Nawa’ means rope in Japanese, and the term “Nawabari” traditionally translates as stretching rope.
Nawabari comprises two sofa sizes, an armchair, two coffee tables and two pouffe sizes. The collection can be used individually as standout pieces or grouped together to create a standalone area, playing with the various colors and shapes.
“When starting out with this collection we were looking for a new way of expressing furniture. We were interested in the forms that are created when a material is bound with rope. The result is these sculptural organic shapes that form the core of this furniture family.”
The core shape of the furniture family took shape through studying the organic and sculptural shapes created by a sponge tied with a rope.
The furniture is upholstered with Gabriel’s wool-effect Blend fabric in six pre-defined colours that beautifully enhance the sensorial design. The Nawabari collection is Greenguard certified, ensuring that the products have low-emitting chemicals and low impact on indoor air quality.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Jan-Hendrik Schrader Johannes Becker Elin Stavenow Philip Andersson Tom Pracert Schrader
HELSINGØR, DENMARK
CLIENT
Helsingør Municipality | Helsingør Maritime Museum
TYPOLOGY
Culture, Interiors
SIZE M2/FT2
7,600 / 81,806
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The Danish Maritime Museum is located in a unique historic and spatial context: between one of Denmark’s most important and famous buildings, the Kronborg Castle, and a new, ambitious cultural center – the Culture Yard.
BIG was invited for a competition to design a Maritime museum inside the neighboring decommissioned dry-dock, where ships used to be built. Instead, BIG proposed to place the museum underground, just outside the wall of the dock in order to preserve the dock as an open, outdoor display, maintaining the powerful structure as the center of the Maritime Museum. By placing the museum this way, it appears as a discreet part of the cultural environment associated with the Kronborg Castle and the neighboring Culture Yard, while at the same time manifesting itself as an independent institution.
Situated right next to Hamlet’s Kronborg Castle which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000, the new museum had to stay invisible as to not distract from the castle. At the same time, the museum’s leadership wanted a recognizable institution to attract as many museum visitors as possible.
"When one designs next to one of Denmark’s most important architectural icons, the UNESCO World Heritage Kronborg Castle, it requires an equal dose of respect and sensitivity. At the same time, it is every Museum Director’s dream to have their institution be recognized as its own architectural icon. Our challenge was to do both at the same time."
The bridges span the dry dock providing visitors with short-cuts to the various portions of the museum. One bridge serves to navigate visitors to the entrance while another contains an auditorium, creating access from Kronborg Castle to the harbor. The bridges create a dynamic tension between old and new.
The arrival to the museum is through a descending set of ramps which enter both the dry dock and the world of the seafarer. Like a siren’s song, the museum attracts the passer-by deeper and deeper into the long and noble Danish Maritime history in its galleries, finally standing in the dry dock with a view of the skies.
With hard-sound reflecting surfaces and an open ‘ceiling,’ the dry dock’s acoustics are perfect for dance performances and concerts, but also suitable for other outdoor activities, exhibitions, and events – turning the Maritime Museum into a center for cultural life in Helsingor. Through minimal means, BIG’s design created maximum functionality and architectural resonance.
The architecture of the museum is a collision between the old and the new: heavy textured concrete and light transparent steel and glass.
The anchor chain serves the double purpose of exhibit and structure – not just a theatrical element, but a hard working part of the building.
The galleries underneath are tilted glass pavilions open to the surrounding dock. To slim the structure down, the span is cut in half by hanging the floor from the ceiling.
The dock creates a museum space as a cohesive floor plan which discreetly becomes lower and lower across the entire museum length. Simple accessibility ramps and bridges are added, cutting through the dock in a structural and sculptural way.
The museum is a new form of public space as an urban void in Helsingor Docklands – an unexpected venue for the cultural life of Helsingor.
Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Finn Nørkjær Jan Magasanik Alina Tamosiunaite Alysen Hiller Ana Merino Andreas Geisler Johansen Andy Yu Ariel Joy Norback Wallner Armen Menendian Baptiste Blot Christian Alvarez Christin Svensson Claudia Hertrich Claudio Moretti Cory Mattheis Dennis Rasmussen Eskild Nordbud Felicia Guldberg Gaetan Brunet Gül Ertekin Henrik Kania James Duggan Schrader Jan Borgstrøm Jeppe Ecklon Johan Cool John Pries Jensen Jonas Mønster Karsten Hammer Hansen Kirstine Ragnhild Kristina Loskotova Lone Fenger Albrechtsen Lucas Torres Aguero Malte Kloe Marc Jay Maria Mavriku Masatoshi Oka Michael Andersen Michal Kristof Oana Simionescu Pablo Labra Peter Rieff Qianyi Lim Rasmus Pedersen Rasmus Rodam Riccardo Mariano Rune Hansen Sara Sosio Sebastian Latz Stefan Plugaru Tammy Teng Tina Lund Højgaard Jensen Tina Tröster Todd Bennett Xi Chen Xing Xiong Xu Li Zoltan Kalászi
Dansk Stalpris (Danish Steel Award), 2016
Mies van der Rohe Award Finalist, 2015
RUM Magazine Award for Best Architecture of the Year, 2015
AIA Institute National Honor Award for Architecture, 2015
RIBA Awards European National Winner, 2014
World Architecture Festival Best Cultural Category Winner, 2014
European Prize of Architecture Philippe Rotthier, 2014
Danmarks Rederiforenings SØFARTSPRIS, 2014
Architizer A+ Awards Jury Winner, 2014
AIANY Design Awards Honor for Architecture, 2014
ArchDaily Cultural Building of the Year, 2014
DETAIL Prize, 2014
AL Light & Architecture Design Awards Commendable Achievement, 2014
Alectia
Rambøll
Freddy Madsen Ingeniører
Kossmann Dejong
KiBiSi
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND
CLIENT
Zurich Airport
TYPOLOGY
Infrastructure
SIZE M2/FT2
140,000 / 1,506,947
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
Since its opening in the 1940s, Zurich Airport has become one of the most important aviation hubs in Europe. Following the airport’s previous additions of Dock E, the Airside Center, and The Circle, an international two-stage design competition was kicked off in 2020 to replace the aging Dock A.
Expected to open in 10 years, the new Dock A designed by BIG includes Schengen and Non-Schengen gates, airside retail, lounges, offices, the new air traffic control tower, and an extension of the immigration hall. BIG’s design is conceived as a mass timber space frame that is structural design, spatial experience, architectural finish, and organizational principle in one. The structure is made from locally sourced timber, and the roof is entirely clad in solar shingles turning sunlight into a power source.
Based on BIG’s concept of the ‘Raumfachwerk’ – a robust yet flexible structural framework – the design proposal celebrates the passenger experience and movement through the airport.
Located adjacent to the existing Airside Center and Terminal 1, the new Dock A is defined by two main areas: the central hub with shopping, airport services for arriving and departing passengers, and vertical circulation; and the pier with the gates, waiting areas, and the fixed links connecting to the planes.
Arriving passengers are guided towards the hub of Dock A – which is split across seven floors which are visually connected through the generous light-filled atrium. Passenger flows are funneled through the atrium that connects all floors via stairs, escalators and elevators – from the underground immigration hall to all arrival and departure levels, and the lounges on the top floors of the central hub.
To enhance the passenger experience, the spaces within the new terminal use daylight as a natural wayfinding system. A linear skylight – created by the unfolding roof of the pier – widens toward the central hub and opens up into the atrium where all departing, arriving, and transferring passengers meet. By placing the control tower in its center, the tower is experienced from the inside as a beacon that creates a sense of place, akin to a town square rather than an airport.
“As airports grow and evolve and as international guidelines and safety requirements change, airports tend to become more and more complex: Frankenstein's of interconnected elements, patches and extensions. For the new main terminal of Zurich Airport, we have attempted to answer this complex challenge with the simplest possible response: A mass timber space frame that is structural design, spatial experience, architectural finish, and organizational principle in one. The striking structure is made from locally sourced timber, and the long sculptural body of the roof is entirely clad in solar shingles turning sunlight into a power source. A simple yet expressive design - rooted in tradition and committed to innovation - embodying the cultural and natural elements of Swiss architecture.”
A contemporary, pared-back material palette, the structure, floors, and ceilings of Dock A are envisioned with timber as the main material. As a renewable local resource, this material choice allows for efficient prefabrication during the construction process while paying homage to the long-standing local tradition of wood construction in Switzerland.
The main loadbearing system of the building is based on V-shaped timber columns – providing a structural function while also serving as a reference to both the iconic Swiss alpine landscapes and the centuries-old tradition of timber construction and traditional pitched roofs. Arriving passengers will be welcomed by this distinctly local architecture that showcases high-quality craftmanship while underscoring the airport’s pledge to sustainability.
Finally, Dock A’s roof will be covered with PV panels while integrated shading will reduce solar heat gain and maintenance requirements, and a combination of water and air-based cooling and heating systems will improve the building’s energy demand.
Anthony Cerasoli Beat Schenk Bernardo Schuhmacher Bianca Blanari Bjarke Ingels David Holbrook Don Chen Don Toromanoff Hector Romero Jaeho Park Jan Leenknegt Juan Diego Perez Diez Lars Thonke Luca McLaughlin Martin Voelkle Pearl Cao Ryan Henriksen San Yoon Sang Ha Jung Sebastian Claussnitzer Shu Zhao Simon Scheller Sören Grünert Thomas Christoffersen Tom Lasbrey Ahmad Tabbakh Amie Yao Andrew Haas Christian Salkeld Cosmin Paduraru Dong-Joo Kim Fabian Lorenz Gian Schmid Guillaume Evain Gus Steyer James Donaldson Jennifer Ng Ji-Young Yoon Montre'ale Jones Oliver Thomas Ololade Owolabi Paul Clemens Bart Ruo Wang Samantha Pires Shuo Yang Sinam Hawro Yakoob Terrence Chew Tracy Sodder Veronica Watson Weronika Siwak Zofia Bednarczyk
BIG
HOK
10:8
Buro Happold
Pirmin Jung Schweiz AG
NACO
Haerter & Partner AG
TLP
B+P Baurealisation
BIQS
Pragma
The Design Solution
Bucharest Studio & Imigo
AQABA, JORDAN
CLIENT
APM Terminals Management BV
TYPOLOGY
Infrastructure
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
APM Terminals and Maersk teamed with BIG to reimagine the future of the shipping industry starting with the green transformation of the Aqaba Port Terminal in Jordan by 2040. The project is the first step towards decarbonization of major ports and container terminals – and connecting shipping infrastructure to local communities.
Born out of APM Terminal’s ambition to optimize and decarbonize the port and surrounding logistics, BIG has developed a spatial framework for the green transformation of Aqaba Container Terminal – the gateway to the distribution network of Jordan, the Levant and beyond. The vision, with ESG principles at the core, merges different strategic approaches at regional scale, starting from the terminal refurbishment, expanding to the logistics functions in the immediate surroundings, and lastly, connecting to the wider port’s community and natural environment.
“Over the last decades, industries have driven economic growth, but also contributed to severe environmental impact. Aqaba Container Terminal is an example of how cleaner, quieter and safer infrastructure can create new forms of sustainable urban environments. As an urban planner and landscape architect the collaboration has been a unique chance to explore the hidden potential behind industrial sites and rethink infrastructure as a catalyst for urban, sustainable transformation. Developing this vision in collaboration with Maersk, APM Terminals and ACT has been an incredible opportunity to collaborate with industry leaders on the design and innovation of the global maritime infrastructure, which we all rely greatly on."
The framework for transforming Aqaba Container Terminal aims to bring life back to the port. This is done by decarbonizing its infrastructure, creating new synergies with local businesses and communities, and incorporating strategies for environmental restoration and nature-based solutions. Considering increasing safety and operational efficiency, which is core to APMT, BIG’s planning approach connects social, economic and environmental strategies into a holistic vision, for the terminal and beyond.
The future Aqaba Container Terminal incorporates solar installations and canopies, which allow for zero-emission port functions and reliance on fully electrified cranes, vehicles and charging stations. Yard refurbishments with state-of-the-art technology and sustainable pavement treatment provides efficient operations while creating comfortable spaces for workers.
By relocating the custom facility closer to the port, the clearance process is optimized and directly linked to nearby logistic facilities – an area where trade opportunities will be offered to the wider economy by connecting with local businesses. Bringing together agents and shippers will ensure faster goods distribution, while training and innovation centers develop Jordan’s next generation of logistics professionals.
Bjarke Ingels Daniel Joshua Vanderhorst Filip Radu Giulia Frittoli Shane Dalke Jakub Wlodarczyk Tania-Cristina Farcas
Dimitrie
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
The Durst Organization
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
77,202 / 831,000
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
VIA 57 West introduces an entirely new typology to New York City: the Courtscraper. The 830,000 sq ft high-rise combines the density of the Manhattan skyscraper with the communal space of the European courtyard, offering 709 residential units with a lush 22,000 sq ft garden at the heart of the building.
Located on the west side waterfront of Manhattan, framed by a power plant, a sanitation garage, and the West Side Highway – the site needed an oasis in the middle of all the infrastructure. BIG essentially proposed a courtyard building that is on the architectural scale – what Central Park is at the urban scale – an oasis in the heart of the city.
A hybrid between the European perimeter block and a traditional Manhattan high-rise, VIA combines the advantages of both: the compactness and efficiency of a courtyard building with the airiness and the expansive views of a skyscraper. By keeping three corners of the block low and lifting the north-east corner up towards its 450 ft peak, the courtyard opens views towards the Hudson River, bringing low western sun deep into the block and graciously preserving the adjacent Helena Tower’s views of the river.
The grand stair leads to access and views to the central courtyard. The courtyard, which is inspired by the classic Copenhagen urban oasis, can also be seen from the street and serves to extend the adjacent greenery of the Hudson River Park into VIA.
The slope of the building allows for a transition in scale between the low-rise structures to the south and the high-rise residential towers to the north and west of the site. The highly visible sloping roof consists of a simple ruled surface perforated by terraces – each one unique and south-facing. The fishbone pattern of the walls is also reflected in its elevations.
“In recent decades, some of the most interesting urban developments have come in the form of nature and public space, reinserting themselves back into the postindustrial pockets, appearing around the city; the pedestrianization of Broadway & Times Square; the bicycle lanes, the High Line and the industrial piers turning into parks. Located at the northern tip of the Hudson River Park, VIA continues this process of 'greenification,' allowing open space to invade the urban fabric of the Manhattan city grid. In an unlikely fusion of what seems to be two mutually exclusive typologies, the courtyard and the skyscraper, the Courtscraper is the recent addition to the Manhattan skyline, showing that we don’t have to limit our choices to one or the other - we get to have both.”
Every apartment gets a bay window to amplify the benefits of the generous view and balconies. At the upper levels, the apartments are organized in a fishbone layout orienting the homes towards the view of the water. Large terraces are carved into the warped façade to maximize views and light into apartments, while ensuring privacy to the residents.
The material concept for the interior design of the project is “Scandimerican,” another layer of the European-American hybridity: classic modern Scandinavian material sensibility blended with local New York materials. The primary materials of the apartments are oak wood floors and cabinets, with white porcelain tiles in the bathrooms.
The 22,000 sq ft courtyard is complimented by other building amenities – a VIA gym and fitness lounge, a 25-yard swimming pool, a mini golf venue, basketball courts and a variety of resident lounges.
The form of the building shifts depending on the viewer’s vantage point. While appearing like a pyramid from the West Side Highway, it turns into a dramatic glass spire from West 58th Street.
Beat Schenk Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Pauline Lavie-Luong Sören Grünert Thomas Christoffersen Aaron Hales Aleksander Tokarz Alessandro Ronfini Alessio Valmori Alvaro Garcia Mendive Benjamin Schulte Birk Daugaard Brian Foster Celine Jeanne Christoffer Gotfredsen David Brown Dominyka Mineikyte Eivor Davidsen Felicia Guldberg Florian Oberschneider Francesca Portesine Gabrielle Nadeau Gül Ertekin Ho Kyung Lee Hongyi Jin Ivy Hume Jenny Chang Julian Liang Julianne Gola Laura Youf Lauren Turner Lucian Mihail Racovitan Marcella Martinez Maria Nikolova Maya Shopova Mina Rafiee Mitesh Dixit Nicklas Antoni Rasch Ola El Hariri Rakel Karlsdottir Riccardo Mariano Stanley Lung Steffan Heath Tara Hagan Thilani Rajarathna Thomas Fagan Tiago Barros Tyler Alexander Polich Valentina Mele Valerie Lechene Xu Li Yi Li
ULI NY Award of Excellence for Multi Family, 2021
ASLA NY Merit Award, Residential Landscape Architecture Design, 2018
London Design Awards, Gold Winner, 2017
AIA Housing Award for Multifamily Housing, 2017
AIA New York State Design Award for Residential for Multi Family, 2017
ArchDaily, Housing Building of the Year, 2017
ACEC New York Engineering Excellence Diamond Award, 2017
Brick in Architecture Award for Paving & Landscape, 2017
The Emporis Skyscraper Award, 2016
The International Highrise Award, 2016
CTBUH Best Tall Building Americas, 2016
Residential Architect Design Award for Multifamily Housing category, 2016
Interior Design Best of Year Award for Residence: Lobby & Amenity Spaces, 2016
American Architecture Prize Residential Architecture Silver Award, 2016
ENR New York Best Residential Project, 2016
World Architecture Festival Best Housing Category Finalist, 2016
Concrete Industry Board Award for Quality Concrete Special Recognition, 2015
P/A Progressive Architecture Awards, Citation, 2015
AIANY Design Award, Merit Award for Future Project, 2012
SLCE Architects
Starr Whitehouse Landscape
Thornton Tomasetti
Dagher Engineering
Langan Engineering
Hunter Roberts
Enclos
Philip Habib & Assoc
Nancy Packes
Van Deusen & Assoc
Cerami & Assoc
CPP
AKRF
Vidaris Inc.
Brandston Partnership Inc.
AALBORG, DENMARK
CLIENT
Mads Peter Veiby
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
840 / 9,041
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
In the words of BIG Founder & Creative Director, Bjarke Ingels: “Designing a home for a family is like painting a portrait. A portrait’s success lies not only in the artists’ ability to express themselves – but rather in their ability to capture the expressions, character, personality, or even the soul of those being portrayed. As an architectural portrait, the home is about creating a framework for interests and needs, wishes and dreams, requirements and criteria – in short – the life the family wants to live.”
In Villa Gug, located in its namesake city Gug in Northern Denmark, the clients’ passion for cars plays a major role in the family’s life, taking up a significant portion of the housing area. Instead of hiding the cars away in a basement, or a large garage, BIG designed a house that smoothly transitions from the car to the home.
The linear building curves in a loop around the top of the hill framing a central courtyard for the family’s private affairs. The building’s character gradually changes from an introverted garage and showroom at the driveway, to the more open functional spaces, including the kitchen, living room, and terrace on the top of the building.
From within, the spaces open up towards the central garden – offering increasingly expansive views as the rooms climb the hill and begin to perceive the distant horizons beyond the roof line.
The cars are protected from the outside, but visible across the garden from the living spaces and bedrooms. Looking out from the bedroom, the client can say goodnight to their cars before turning out the light each night.
The spiral courtyard creates a balance between private living and public location, while the continuous ascent effects a gradual transition between parking and living.
With Villa Gug, BIG has reprogrammed the standard house as we know it by basing the design on the clients’ passion, creating a type of housing that is tailored to the residents of this specific household. In terms of architecture as portraiture, Villa Gug is a pure manifestation of a house shaped by the desires of its inhabitants.
Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Finn Nørkjær Frederik Lyng Frederik Skou Jensen Jakob Lange Mads Engaard Stidsen Michael James Kepke Michael Leef Nanna Gyldholm Møller Naysan John Foroudi Ole Elkjær-Larsen Alda Sol Hauksdóttir Alexander Codda Andy Coward Anke Kristina Schramm Anna Wiktoria Wozniak Anne-Charlotte Wiklander Athena Morella Bjarke Koch-Ørvad Brygida Zawadzka Cæcilie Søs Brandt-Olsen Dag Præstegaard Elina Skujina Enea Michelesio Eskild Schack Pedersen Gökce Günbulut Hugo Yun Tong Soo Joanna Anna Jakubowska Katarina Mácková Katerina Joannides Kim Christensen Kristoffer Negendahl Krzysztof Piotr Marciszewski Lasse Lyhne-Hansen Mads Johansen Margarida Fino Jerónimo Morten Roar Berg Nicolas Millot Pawel Bussold Priscilla Bellas Richard Howis Rihards Dzelme Sofia Sofianou Timo Harboe Nielsen Tommy Bjørnstrup Tore Banke Weronika Marek
2024
CLIENT
TONI Copenhagen
TYPOLOGY
Products
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The DÉCA collection is born out of a collaboration with Denmark’s oldest manufacturer of kitchen and bathroom fixtures, TONI Copenhagen, which has assembled and processed products by hand since 1918 at the factory in the Danish capital.
DÉCA, meaning ten in Latin, is a direct reference to the fixture’s unique ten-edge-grip.
By increasing the nut’s edge count to ten, the faucet reorganizes the way temperature and flow controls are placed, and elevates it to a sculptural design object.
The collection is available in brass, chrome, nickel, and browned brass.
“When we as architects create spaces, we become curators of the objects within it, selecting everything from door handles to window frames to lamps. We look for building elements that do not compete with but complement the architecture. The DÉCA family is a set of sculptural objects which can be stacked vertically or horizontally to form a simple composition. Rooted in the idea of creating a contemporary design, DÉCA is a one-hand-operational object that challenges how a faucet looks, feels, and operates.”
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Jan-Hendrik Schrader Jiyoung Choi Johannes Becker Peter van der Beek Anca Molonfalean Elin Stavenow Philip Andersson Sungbin Kim Tom Pracert Schrader
QUITO, ECUADOR
CLIENT
Uribe Schwarzkopf
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
55,000 / 390,000
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Traditionally a sprawling city of dense low-rise buildings, the skyline of Quito was re-imagined following the relocation of the city-center airport over a decade ago. With the skyline able to grow upwards for the first time, Uribe Schwarzkopf worked with BIG to realize a new contemporary identity for the city.
The 130m, 32 story IQON stands as the tallest residential building in the Ecuadorian capital, designed as a vertical community, and an extension of the neighboring La Carolina Park.
“We’ve tried to take all the iconic qualities of Quito - such as the enjoyment of living in one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, in a city on the equator where the seasons are perfect for both human and plant life - and bring that experience into the vertical dimension. IQON is an entire vertical community of individual homes; an extension of La Carolina Park that now climbs all the way up to the rooftop."
The 390,000 sq ft building – which includes 215 residences, commercial units, office spaces, and a variety of amenities – features a notable curved corner, wrapped by terraces that continue around the building’s perimeter with views of the park, city and over the Pichincha volcano.
IQON’s architectural identity is defined by its ‘stripped back’ façade; the raw, exposed concrete simultaneously functions as the building’s structure. Individual ‘pixels’ are stacked 32 floors high and rotated to provide the best possible views while simultaneously creating terraces for the apartments. Celebrating native trees and plants, the building integrates greenery wherever possible to take advantage of Ecuador’s temperate climate and ecology – the country with the most plant species per square meter in the world.
Upon entering the lobby, the material palette transitions from the raw, pared-back exterior to a more refined aesthetic; marble stone pavers complement the custom millwork reception desk, and concrete touchpoints nod to the façade. Deep emerald-green tones are utilized on the ceiling tiles, mailboxes, and through to the elevator lobby – an area located beyond a blackened-steel portal.
Quito’s biophilia is carried from the public spaces below into the private domain of each home via the sculptural planters that are integrated into the architecture of the building. The planters become a unique concrete sculpture inside the apartments – creating space for the root zone of the tree for the apartment terrace above – while transforming the façade of the building into a celebration of Quito’s verdant biodiversity.
The building also acts as an urban tree farm: once the vegetation planted on the terraces outgrows its planter, it can be replanted in parks all over the city. In this way, the building becomes part of a green cycle – from park to building, and back to park.
“Each apartment floor features through-units - apartments that have terraces on both the north and south facades - which not only allows for views across the entire city, but also offers the opportunity for cross ventilation and a sense of openness.”
An integrated lap pool and terraces at the top of the building offer residents a place to relax while overlooking the city. Additional building amenities include a gym and squash court; a spa; a bowling alley; entertainment rooms; and a business center. IQON is the first mixed-use building in Quito to have a preliminary EDGE certification, granted by GBCI (Green Business Certification Inc.); and IFC (International Finance Corporation).
Amir Mikhaeil Angel Barreno Gutiérrez Beat Schenk Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Chengjie Jacob Li Clara Sanfeliu Douglass Alligood Jan Leenknegt Jason Wu Margaret Tyrpa Thomas Christoffersen Andrea Di Pompeo Bell Cai Benjamin Novacinski Claire Djang Deb Campbell Francesca Portesine Josiah Poland Juan David Ramirez Lorenz Krisai Lucia Sanchez Ramirez Ma Ning Magdalena Narkiewicz Maria Sole Bravo Megan Ng Peter Sepassi Rune Wriedt Sebastian Grogaard Sijia Zhou Stephanie Choi Stephanie Mauer Stephen Kwok Terrence Chew Tracy Sodder Ziad Shehab
Rene Lagos Engineers and Fernando Romo
CPP Wind Tunnel
Geo Estudios
Trialmech
Incoayam
Consel
Estrusa
ODENSE, DENMARK
CLIENT
Dymak A/S
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
2,800 / 32,292
STATUS
IN CONSTRUCTION
SHARE
Located in Odense, Denmark, the 2800 m2 headquarters for Danish global supply chain company Dymak is designed by BIG LEAP – our in-house Architecture, Landscape, Engineering and Product Design teams – with high energy performance at heart while also creating a comfortable work environment that can be adapted to the company’s future growth.
Set to achieve DGBN Gold and Heart Certification, the headquarters are characterized by a circular shape and a grid-like facade that references the Danish architectural tradition of half-timbering. The facade consists of a series of 44 radial cross-laminated timber frames, topped with an undulating roof covered in 880 PVCs, which are angled for harvesting solar energy throughout the year as well as reduce noise pollution for an inner open-air green courtyard.
The headquarters include offices, showroom space and shared facilities for socializing. To secure a high energy performance, the building’s facade opens towards the north, framing views of the manorial landscape of Funen. Towards the south, the facade contains external lamellas for passive solar shading and vertical closed panels of stretched metals to gradually close off the glass facade to avoid overheating.
The headquarters’ circular structure creates a connected office landscape that allows views across floors. The building’s volume is distributed to create variation in space offerings, facilitating a dynamic work environment where employees can set up workstations according to needs.
The headquarters’ interior includes a palette of natural and tactile materials such as wood, clay, and cork, carefully selected to mirror Dymak’s product portfolio. Recycled bricks are used throughout the ground floor as well as to mark outdoor pathways around the building and in the courtyard.
Acting as the green heart of the building, the courtyard draws in the surrounding landscape to its core and features an amphitheater to offer break-out areas or a gathering space for social events. Designed by BIG Landscape, the courtyard’s design is repeated in the office’s surrounding landscape, where green pockets for socializing are placed close to the entry area.
Alicia De Nobrega Anders Fønss Anders Holden Deleuran Andrea Hektor Andreas Bak Bjarke Ingels Brian Malig Collado Celia de la Osa Muñoz Finn Nørkjær Frederik Lyng Giulia Frittoli Giulia Orlando Ioannis Mathioudakis Jakub Kulisa Jesús Fernández Fraile Kai-Brith Kalda Kamilla Heskje Lisbet Fritze Trentemøller Marius Tromholt-Richter Ole Elkjær-Larsen Oliver Steen Søren Dam Mortensen Thomas Lejeune Tim Christensen Ulla Hornsyld Will Chuanrui Yu Ahmed Badra Alexander Gale Heiede Antoine Gisèle Maes Celina Holck Christian Rasmussen Cosmin Paduraru Emil Westlin Harish Karthick Vijay Henrik Kania Jens Max Jensen Jonathan Russell Joos Jerne Kannan Selvaraj Karim Daw Katrine Juul Laura Wätte Narisara Ladawal Schröder Olivia Ann Egeberg Pernille Uglvig Sangvin Richard Howis Sille Foltinger Sirui Qiu Snorre Nash Sofia Papadopoulou Tore Banke
LONDON, ENGLAND
CLIENT
Landsec
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
35,372 / 380,741
STATUS
IN CONSTRUCTION
SHARE
Landsec’s redevelopment of Red Lion Court, Bankside recently received planning permission to create a green office cluster in Southwark. The new Red Lion Court will bring 230,000 sq ft of Grade A offices, retail and open public space to the banks of the River Thames, adjacent to Borough Yards. The BIG-designed building will provide access to outdoor spaces on every floor, an extensive communal roof terrace and unfettered views over the river into the City.
Over 45% of the site will be publicly accessible, including an expanded Thames Path, a pocket park and community garden plus affordable office space, flexible retail, a bike repair centre and wellness centre. The building is designed to be net-zero in both construction and operation. The completed building will be fully electric and target WELL Core Platinum and BREEAM ‘Outstanding’.
The building is arranged, in massing terms, as a series of ‘jumping blocks’ of differing sizes that lift in the middle, freeing up the ground plane and creating a series of new, enhanced urban public spaces. In aggregate, the mass delivers a transformative overall building form that responds to the different scales of its surroundings.
At ground level, the lifted mass provides nearly 45% of the site devoted to public realm including two new, generous publicly accessible spaces linked together by the building’s lobby. At the north a new Bankside Square is created adjacent to the Grade II listed Anchor Pub, enhancing its setting. At the west, in conjunction with the neighboring Former Financial Times Building, a centralized, tranquil Pocket Park is created in association with a new north-south route through the Site.
Sustainability aspirations for Red Lion Court include BREEAM ‘Outstanding’, operational energy performance aligned with NABERS UK 5 stars, a commitment to offset all embodied carbon emissions at completion, in addition to GLA offsets. A Whole Life Carbon Assessment for the Built Environment (RICS 2017) has been carried out.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Andy Young Ania Agnieszka Podlaszewska Anna Natalia Krzyzanowska Anna Pavlou Bethany Hird Bjarke Ingels Carmen Simone Cheryl Wan Xuan Cheah Chris Falla Claire Thomas Spiller David Vieira Agostinho Evelyn Thorpe Gulru Arvas Harry George Andrews Jakob Freek Engstrom Kay Sasiprapakul Lauren Connell Falla Michela Cardia Mike Yin Ming Cheong Naysan John Foroudi Peter Jones Romina Gomez Menendez Théo Hamy Vid Znidarsic Yue Xu Zhenni Litri Liao Abdelkhaleq Yaghmour Amber Collinson Anna Leticia Loch Goncalves Anton Olof Malte Ling Cadence Merrie Bayley Carl Pettersson Christina Ødegaard Grytten Dermot Martin Horgan Federico Fauli George Edward Entwistle Gloria Wong Jason Chee Han Chia Leticia Fochesatto Lorenzo Maccacaro Luciana Bondio Mariana Puzko Oliver Thomas Parinaz Kadkhodayi-Kholghi Pedro Sepulveda Nunes Stefan Plugaru Su Demir Tom Cameron Hunter Vishmi Anuttara Jayawardene Hittige William Campion
AKT II
Hilson Moran
Gardiner & Theobald
CPC
Gerald Eve
Tavernor Consultancy
Kanda Consulting
Arup
Momentum
R.P.M.
Five at Heart
Astute Fire
Hoare Lea
D2E
BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA
CLIENT
ESET
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
55,000 / 592,015
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
The 55,000 m2 ESET Campus will create an entirely electricity powered cybersecurity, AI and innovation ecosystem in the heart of Europe. Located in Patronka, Bratislava, the new tech village replaces a former military hospital between the Carpathian Mountains and the city center of Bratislava.
Spanning a forested nature site, the campus consists of 12 individual buildings of varying sizes and uses organized around a central courtyard. The buildings on the outer perimeter will be designated public spaces, while four of the buildings situated on the inside of the site will be home to ESET’s 1,500 employees – with the potential to scale up to 2,400 employees.
Rather than a single hermetic entity, BIG has dissolved the ESET Campus into an urban village of interconnected buildings, framing public paths and urban squares. The diverse cluster of individual pavilions is unified by the undulating solar roofs – forming a single silhouette rising from the forested park like a man-made addition to the Little Carpathians mountain range. The ESET Campus is expected to open in 2027.
BIG’s design for the new neighborhood replicates the spatial hierarchy of nature – the low and broad perimeter of the shared public spaces is easily accessible to all, allowing public life to flourish within the network of streets. The higher peak of the architectural ‘mountain’ houses the ESET business, providing the company’s teams with innovative facilities while maintaining privacy.
The main courtyard, located at the center of the four ESET HQ buildings, acts as a focal point for the local community. Public spaces serving retail, educational, sports, and cultural purposes are scattered around this courtyard, animating the ground floor and activating the network of streets.
The overall massing of the campus has multiple frontages; the open corners of the four ESET HQ blocks, in combination with views into each building from the surrounding streets, create inviting moments that further connect the exterior with the interior.
Upon entering the main ESET HQ lobby –located in the largest building of the campus –ESET employees are greeted by a cascading staircase that connects the ground floor with the upper levels. While each of ESET HQ’s four buildings have a central atrium – lit with skylights in areas of the floorplates that would otherwise be dark – the stairs in the main ESET HQ lobby atrium are surrounded with social spaces and biophilia, enhancing the connection of the active ground level to the upper office levels.
The campus will be powered by all-electric energy, relying on renewable sources including PV roofing that will contribute to the campus’ carbon negative goal. ESET’s exterior will utilize timber and glass to help create high-performance façade system; balconies will provide additional outdoor spaces and shading while providing natural ventilation to maximize the campus’ energy efficiency.
On the north-west side, the campus opens up to the park, providing protection from both the busy main street and the railway, and connecting the wilderness of the Carpathian mountains with the city. Embedded into the existing natural landscape, the park is filled with public areas for recreation, interaction, and relaxation while boosting local biodiversity and creating pockets suitable for outdoor working.
“The ESET campus will set a new benchmark for sustainability. The design goal is an entirely electric building, with the vast solar roof and ground source heat pumps creating a significant amount of renewable energy. The use of timber throughout the project ensures lowest possible carbon footprint.”
Andreas Klok Pedersen Andy Young Bjarke Ingels Boni Yuen Carmen Simone Gualtiero Rulli Ioannis Gio Lorenzo Boddi Matilde Tavanti Michela Cardia Sasha Lukianova Solveig Lola Audrey Jappy Youngjin Jun Anna Pazurek Florencia Kratsman Jason Chee Han Chia Ludmila Majernikova Maayan Raviv Maria de Salvador Arnaiz Richard Sean Mc Intyre Rihards Dzelme Stefan Plugaru Vincent Katienin Konate
Inflow
Pantograph
BuroHappold
Arup
ARTEMIDE
Stellar Nebula is a family of lamps designed to interpret and enhance artisanal glass blowing with innovative PVD finishing techniques.
Values, roles and limits of industrial and artisanal production are the core of this project idea, which aims to find a solution of industrial uniqueness.
The shapes of the hand blown diffusers are always unique. The suspension has three different sizes while the floor, table, ceiling and clusters are only in the medium one.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Erik Kreider Joshua Woo
VÄSTERAS, SWEDEN
CLIENT
Västerås Municipality
TYPOLOGY
Infrastructure
SIZE M2/FT2
16,963 / 182,588
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
Västerås Travel Center is a new infrastructural hub in the heart of one of Sweden’s largest cities. The building is expected to open in 2025 and seeks to bring the entire city’s infrastructure together under one roof.
BIG’s design has evolved over the years to ensure the best possible solutions in function, program, sustainability, and future security. Designed as a piece of social infrastructure, the travel center is shaped for the flow of people and public life. The building celebrates movement and creates a welcoming, warm and transparent mobility hub that will become an important social and economic node redefining the city’s infrastructure and landscape.
The raised corners of the Travel Center clearly mark the most important entries in relationship to the city’s flows. The roof answers dilemmas caused by the city’s ongoing development by connecting the transportation hub’s complex programs in a clearly readable unit.
Placing the lowest point of the roof towards the middle over the center points of the bridges, the roof follows the Travel Center’s program, and does not encroach on any commercial surfaces. The roof shape meets the sweeping gestures of the ramps in low nodes over the track area, and a dramatic pull is created between the city center and Lake Mälaren.
The landscape unites across the railway and is shaped by flow. The fast flow that takes the traveler directly to their destination, the slow flow that takes the visitor on a journey of discovery and a coffee break, the bicycle flow that swings slightly in the landscape, and a winding flow that provides accessibility for everyone. On top of this landscape an environment of commercial surfaces with street furniture and protected zones gives an organic and soft expression. Residents will be able to cross the railroad tracks and travel between the districts all year round and around the clock via the separated pedestrian and bicycle passage. Ground heating and lighting will be available for cold and dark periods.
Along with the bus terminal and integrated platform area in Resecentrum is a bright, modern bicycle garage, travel services, commercial areas, restaurants, offices, event areas, and exhibition spaces. The resort’s facilities also include outdoor bicycle parking, taxi zones, areas for boarding and disembarking, as well as short-term parking.
The new bus square will double the size of the current bus terminal and have 37 stops for buses in public transport. The commercial bus traffic will be moved to the south side of the tracks.
“We have designed the defining feature of Västerås Travel Center, the floating roof, as a rolling, light stratus cloud that shelters the travelers and landscape. Continuous in plan but changing in section, the roof opens the Travel Center to both the city side and the harbor side at the same time as it gathers around the traveler, serving to protect, collect and invite visitors. Västerås travel center is designed based on flow. Flow for public transportation and for the traveler, but also for the as shortcuts for the citizens of Vesterås. The travel center connects the city side with Mälarporten and Mälaren by lifting the city floor over the railway tracks. Vasaparken's green urban space is expanded and leads pedestrian and bicycle lanes up and over the tracks and connects the center with Hamnparken and Mälaren.”
Terraces surrounding the Travel Center create natural connections to Vasaparken and Hamnparken, and meeting places that act as extensions of the city’s rooms, floors, parks, and streets. Visitors and locals can enjoy lookout points, meeting places, hang out spots, playful edges for skating, resting in the sun, WiFi zones, and seating to observe the city.
The boundary between inside and outside is blurred by the building’s glazed and long curved facades, ensuring light and openness at the building’s edges, while active facades increase the feeling of security. Biophilic spaces carry the landscape indoors, where travelers can move under a protective roof with platform connections down to the trains.
To let light in and circulate air, the ceiling has been sliced with a zigzag line, from one side to the other. This load-bearing design element extends the roof between the perimeter of the façade, creating an indoor landscape free of pillars for commercial programs to be designed without obstacles.
The design of the new Travel Center will work with the building’s integrated solar cell system on the vast roof surface to harvest the sun’s energy, with the capability of covering nearly 70% of the project’s energy demand. The indoor climate will be managed through natural ventilation, and heating through underfloor heating, and the potential use of floor cooling and rainwater recycling. Conditions will be improved for public transport in the city, providing a natural flow for bicycles and pedestrians, as well as passengers switching between modes of transport. These benefits along with charging stations and places for micro-mobility will reduce citizen’s reliance on cars.
Aileen Koh Anders Holden Deleuran Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Dalma Ujvari David Zahle Federica Fogazzi Jan Magasanik Kamilla Heskje Marie Lancon Marius Tromholt-Richter Ola Sobczyk Peter Høgenhaven Raphael Ciriani Teodor Cristian Fratila Tyrone Cobcroft Yunus Alperen Basak Allen Shakir Anders Bruntse Andre Enrico Cassettari Zanolla Anke Kristina Schramm Augusto Lavieri Zamperlini Camila Luise de Andrade Stadler Dobrochna Anna Klimczak Edmond Lakatos Eivor Vik Franck Fdida Geetika Bhutani Geoffrey Eberle Giedrius Mamavicius Gül Ertekin Gwendoline Eveillard Ioana Fartadi Scurtu Ipek Akin Jesper Kanstrup Petersen Johan Bergström Laura Wätte Laurine Louisette Marie Alard Linnea Lujak Luca Pileri Magnus Garvoll Malcolm Rondell Galang Malgorzata Mutkowska Margarida Fino Jerónimo Margarita Nutfulina Martino Hutz Megan Fiona Cumming Moa Carlsson Natasha Lykke Lademann Østergaard Nicolas Millot Ondrej Slunecko Oscar Abrahamsson Ovidiu Munteanu Perle van de Wyngaert Rasam Aminzadeh Rihards Dzelme Shin Saeki Sofia Fors Adolfsson Tore Banke Vladislav Saprunenko Weronika Bogal Yu Xun Zhang
Tyrens
Kragh & Berglund
Rambøll
Sweco Archtects AB
VAP
AFRY
Brandprojektering AB
Kadesjös
PQ Projektledning AB
Structor Riskbyrån AB
WSP
AARHUS, DENMARK
CLIENT
Anpartsselskabet Bassin 7 | Aarhus Ø
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
7,000 / 75,348
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Kampanilen is a 19-story residential building located in the former industrial port of Denmark’s second largest city, Aarhus. The building is defined by its octagon shape and two clocks integrated into its checkered façade. Moving in a sculptural rotation, the building turns from the local urban space of the immediate surroundings towards the historical city center.
Kampanilen is part of BIG’s 100.000 m2 Aarhus Harbor Masterplan, which creates a new public destination in Aarhus and leverages the qualities and unique urban ambience of harbor and bay, land and water.
The characteristic clocks of Kampanilen are a testimony to Aarhus’ iconic town hall. Originally designed by Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller, the architects intended to build the town hall without a tower. However, due to the public’s disapproval of this design choice, the architects added the characteristic clock tower, and today, it acts as a cherished landmark of Aarhus.
All apartments offer far-reaching views over Aarhus fjord and combine a careful blend of tactile materials, which bring warmth and light to the spaces.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Finn Nørkjær Gualtiero Rulli Jens Majdal Kaarsholm Jesper Boye Andersen Matthew Thomson Per Bo Madsen Sascha Leth Rasmussen Sorcha Burke Søren Dam Mortensen Alda Sol Hauksdóttir Ana-Maria Vindfeldt Andy Coward Anne Søby Nielsen Bart Ramakers Bjarke Koch-Ørvad Borko Nikolic Duncan Horswill Enea Michelesio Ewa Zapiec Fabio Garau Helen Shuyang Chen Henrik Jacobsen Jakub Wlodarczyk Jean Valentiner Strandholt Jean-Sébastien Pagnon Katarzyna Krystyna Plonka Kim Christensen Kristoffer Negendahl Lone Fenger Albrechtsen Luca Pileri Matteo Dragone Mikki Seidenschnur Nataly Timotheou Ombretta Colangelo Richard Howis Richard John Burns Søren Aagaard Timo Harboe Nielsen Xinying Zhang
Sleth
Arne Elkjær
Hamiconsult
MOE
Kaj Ove Madsen
BIG Engineering
CALGARY, CANADA
CLIENT
Westbank Project Corporation | Telus | Allied Development Corporation
TYPOLOGY
Work, Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
70,606 / 760,000
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The Telus Sky tower creates a lively mixture of living and working in the heart of Calgary city center which has developed as a typical North American city center with a cluster of corporate towers surrounded by a periphery of low-density suburban homes.
The car is an essential part of everyday life moving in and out of the city, and the programmatic uniformity of the downtown leaves it empty at night as people return home. Situated at the intersection of light rail and arterial roads, the 60-story mixed-use tower stacks the homes on an office tower, creating a programmatically diverse building with activity throughout the day.
"How do you make two different buildings with different programs and different floorplates appear like a single silhouette on the skyline? And more importantly: how do you make a 700-foot-tall building elegant?"
By remaining faithful to the orthogonality of the ground floor, the diagonal shift creates a pixelation of the façade, forming terraces and balconies for the residences.
The smooth transition from the ideal floor plate of the office, to the optimal floor plate of the residences, generates an elegantly curving silhouette.
A network of skybridges enters where the building meets the neighboring building, an existing switching station. A vertical canyon expands the semipublic network upwards. The tiles on the wall of the adjacent façade seem to melt and peel open as pockets for plants.
Above the main entrance, the pixels of the façade extend beyond the site limits, creating a series of canopies, terraces and lounges interwoven across the corner.
At night, a 160,000 sq ft art installation ‘Northern Lights’ by Douglas Coupland lights up the north and south façades of the tower making it the largest public art piece in Calgary.
“Northern Lights draws in the public, in a similar way to a firework show. It has an amazing sense of real-time motion and energy, along with the build-up to a spectacular crescendo. BIG's TELUS Sky design is simultaneously symmetrical and curvilinear. Its twisting and mineralogical façade provided the perfect canvas to channel such a dynamic symbol of nature as the Northern Lights. For me, it was a chance to create something very analog on a system that is very digital. Like the building itself, there is an inherent contradiction, in that technology can be both a form of art as well as a tool for its creation.”
Beat Schenk Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Bryan Hardin Douglass Alligood Gaurav Janey Jakob Lange Jan Leenknegt Julie Kaufman Thomas Christoffersen Agne Rapkeviciute Alex Wu Annette Miller Barbora Srpkova Benjamin Johnson Benzion Rodman Brian Rome Carl Macdonald Carolien Schippers Choonghyo Lee Christoffer Gotfredsen Christopher White Cristian Lera Silva Daisy Zhong David Spittler Davide Maggio Deb Campbell Dennis Harvey Elena Bresciani Florencia Kratsman Francesca Portesine Haoyue Wang Ho Kyung Lee Iannis Kandyliaris Iris Van der Heide Isshin Morimoto Ivy Hume Jack Lipson Jennifer Phan John Kim Justyna Mydlak Ku Hun Chung Lina Bondarenko Manon Gicquel Mateusz Rek Maya Shopova Megan Van Artsdalen Michael Evola Michael Zhang Nicholas Coffee Peter Lee Quentin Stanton Stephanie Choi Tara Hagan Terrence Lallak Thea Wiradinata Tianqi Zhang Yaziel Juarbe Yifu Sun Yoanna Shivarova
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, Best Tall Building 200m-299m, 2021 Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, Award of Excellence Winner, 2020
DIALOG
Integral Group
Glotman Simpson Consulting Engineers
LMDG Building Code Consultants
Gunn Consultants Inc.
Bunt & Associates Consulting Engineers
Luxigon
Buda Facade Engineering Ltd.
Morrison Hershfield
RSI Studio
BIG Ideas
HARADS, SWEDEN
CLIENT
Treehotel
TYPOLOGY
Hospitality
SIZE M2/FT2
34 / 366
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The Treehotel in Swedish Lapland is known for its broad variety of cabins, with each one having a distinct identity that responds and interacts differently with the surrounding forest. BIG’s aim was to amplify Treehotel’s focus on sustainability and natural tourism, and create a resilient design in a region with strong seasonal climatic contrasts.
Designed in collaboration with Treehotel and Swedish ornithologist Ulf Öhman, the Biosphere cabin brings 350 bird houses to the Harads village, with the mission to decrease the downward spiral of the bird population in the region.
"Inventories in Norrbotten County, carried out both by us as ornithologists and by the County Administrative Board, show that a number of different bird populations are decreasing. Forestry has led to a reduced number of natural holes in trees where breeding birds nest. The installation of bird nests is therefore an important measure to take. Furthermore, climate change leads to the insect boom happening earlier in the year, and by the time the birds’ eggs hatch, the boom has already passed. Feeding is an important support mechanism for the birds that stay in Northern Sweden and require food during winter. Demonstrating the use of bird nests and feeding, not just at the Treehotel but for people to install near their own homes, is valuable."
Biosphere is accessed via a suspended bridge that slopes from the ground to the top of the trees. The interior of the 34 m2 hotel room incorporates rich dark interiors and organic materials inspired by the surrounding landscape. The checker solid-open conceptual make-up allows for a range of experiences within a relatively small space. Visitors have access to a roof terrace – close to the treetop canopies – that offer a 360-degree views of the forest.
By varying the individual sizes of the bird houses and expanding them outwards based upon the bird type and frequency in the area, light can enter the space whilst maintaining the outwards views.
Through wrapping the new hotel room in an ecological habitat, guests are given the opportunity to experience birdlife in close proximity, finding themselves in the epicenter of nature.
“I got to spend a few days and nights in some of the Treehotel rooms right before the pandemic, and left with a sense of rejuvenation from complete immersion into nature. I couldn’t help wondering if there was a way to take the immersion one step further - and almost instantly the idea of inviting not only the human visitors but also the resident bird and bat population to cohabit a spherical swarm of nests came to life. After our first conversations with Ulf Öhman from Norrbotten Ornithological Association we were relieved to learn that birds don’t drop where they nest - so there is hope for the glass to remain clear within this cloud of aviary architecture.”
“We designed our addition to the Treehotel - the Biosphere - to create a unique experience for hotel guests, which takes inspiration from the qualities of the surrounding forest and absorbs them into the interior. The ecology is the driver behind the architectural expression.”
Angel Barreno Gutiérrez Bjarke Ingels Clara Sanfeliu Francisco Abajo Duran João Albuquerque Eszter Oláh Geoffrey Eberle Pawel Marjanski Ragna Nordstrom Raphaël Logan Barber
Créateurs Design Awards, Best Hospitality Project in Architecture, 2024
Interior Design, Best of Year Award Winner, 2022
Ulf Öhman
Chairman of the Norrbotten Ornithological Association
Ateljé Lyktan
Vittjärvshus
OAKLAND, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Athletics Investment Group LLC
TYPOLOGY
Sports, Urbanism
SIZE M2/FT2
44,000 / 473,612
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
BIG’s design for the A’s new home at the heart of Oakland’s revitalized waterfront seeks to return the game to its roots as the natural meeting place for the local community. An elevated tree lined promenade frames the ballpark on all sides, dipping down to meet the public square and open the field to the water and city views. The perimeter park connects a cascade of social spaces for the fans to enjoy the sport on game days and extends the urban fabric with a neighborhood park to be enjoyed all 365 days a year. In other words – putting the “park” back in “ballpark.”
Agustin Perez-Torres Alejandra Cortes Ania Agnieszka Podlaszewska Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Douglass Alligood Frankie Sharpe Giulia Frittoli Isabella Marcotulli Jason Wu Jeremy Alain Siegel Leon Rost Mike Munoz Nasiq Khan Norain Chang Otilia Pupezeanu Simon Scheller Tara Abedinitafreshi Ashton Stare Ava Kim Bennett Oh Benson Chien Breno Felisbino da Silveira Catalina Rivera Rothgaenger Francesca Portesine Guillaume Evain James Caruso Jin Park Kam Chi Cheng Kig Veerasunthorn Margaret Kim Max Moriyama Melissa Jones Mengzhu Jiang Olga Khuraskina Patrick Hyland Peter Sepassi Phillip Macdougall Sean O'Brien Stephanie Mauer Stephen Kwok Terrence Chew Thea Wiradinata Tracy Sodder Xi Zhang Yeling Guo Yerin Won Yiyao Tang Yuanxun Xia Zachary Walters
James Corner Field Operations
Catellus
Fehr & Peers
BKF
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Copenhagen Municipality, Realdania
TYPOLOGY
Public Realm, Sports
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Superkilen is a park conceived as a giant exhibition of urban best practices. The park wedges through the Nørrebro area just north of the Copenhagen city center, creating a contrasting yet unifying space in one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in Denmark.
The aim of the invited competition initiated by the City of Copenhagen and Realdania Foundation back in 2005 was to create a truly unique urban space with a strong identity on a local and global scale. The park started construction in 2009 and opened to the public in June 2012.
A result of the collaboration between BIG + Berlin-based landscape architect firm TOPOTEK 1 and the Danish art group Superflex, the park creates a rare fusion of architecture, landscape, and art.
Superkilen is divided into three color-coded areas, each with a distinct atmospheric and functional condition: the large and expansive red square which serves as an extension of the adjacent sports hall offering a range of recreational and cultural activities; the black square as the heart of the Superkilen where locals can meet by the Moroccan fountain or a game of chess; and a linear green stretch as a natural meeting place for large-scale sports activities with vantage points over the surroundings.
Through an intensive curatorial process in close collaboration with the neighborhood’s residents, more than 100 objects from 60 cultures appear throughout Superkilen. Ranging from exercise equipment from Muscle Beach in LA and sewage drains from Israel, to palm trees from China and neon signs from Qatar and Russia – each object is accompanied by a small stainless plate inlaid in the ground describing the object, what it is and where it is from. The art group Superflex took the public participation further into the extreme by handpicking five groups of people and travelling to the country of their origin to document the process of selection.
“We proposed public participation as the driving force of the design leading towards the maximum freedom of expression. By transforming public procedure into proactive proposition we curated a park for the people by the people - peer to peer design - literally implemented.”
A bike path and a pedestrian path runs through the entire park, improving the infrastructure locally in the area while integrating it into the broader, citywide context. This is because the cycle route is also a part of a much longer cycle route that runs from Valby in the south, up through Frederiksberg to Lyngbyvej in the north. Today, the path is part of a 10 kmt green arc connecting the west and north side of Copenhagen.
"Our mission was to find the big picture in the extreme detail of a personal memory or story, which on the surface might appear insignificant, but once hunted down and enlarged became super big. A glass of Palestinian soil in a living room in Nørrebro serving as a memory of a lost land, enlarged to a small mountain of Palestinian soil in the park. A distant Mediterranean flirt in the seventies symbolized by a great iron bull, hunted down and raised on a hill in the park."
Throughout the Superkilen, red maple, Japanese cherry trees, Larch, palm trees from China, and Lebanese cedar trees are planted to offer more shade and vegetative interest, augmenting the existing trees. The diversity in tree and plant species complements the diversity of the site furniture.
The benches within the park are like a cultural study on different countries: a Mexican seat where you can look into your neighbor’s eyes; a Belgian bench where everybody looks away from each other. Morocco has centuries of tradition celebrating water features, which we mobilized to enrich Copenhagen’s cityscape.
Bjarke Ingels Finn Nørkjær Jan Magasanik Jens Majdal Kaarsholm Kai-Uwe Bergmann Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard Nanna Gyldholm Møller Ulla Hornsyld Andreas Castberg Armen Menendian Fan Zhang Gabrielle Nadeau Henrick Poulsen Jan Borgstrøm Jennifer Dahm Petersen Jonas Barre Jonas Lehmann Lacin Karaöz Nicklas Antoni Rasch Ondrej Tichy Richard Howis Rune Hansen Takumi Iwasawa Teis Draiby
Aga Khan Award for Architecture, 2016
Red Dot Award for Product Design ‘Best of the Best’ Architecture & Urban Design, 2013
International Olympic Committee Award Gold Medal, 2013
Civic Trust Award International Winner, 2013
AIA Institute Honor Award for Regional & Urban Design, 2013
ArchDaily Building of the Year, 2013
Architizer A+ Awards Popular Choice Winner for Landscapes and Gardens, 2013
BDLA Prize Honorable Mention, 2013
Mies van der Rohe Award Finalist, 2013
Excellence in Economic Development Award, 2012
ARCHITECT Magazine Annual Design Review Play Category Citation, 2012
Topotek 1
Superflex
Help PR & Communication
Lemming Eriksson
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Høpfner A/S | Danish Oil Company
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
33,000 / 355,209
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The Mountain is located in Copenhagen’s Ørestad City neighborhood and offers the best of two worlds: a close proximity to the buzzing city life in the center of Copenhagen, and the tranquility of suburban life. The Mountain is the second generation of the BIG-designed VM Houses: same client, same size, and same street. The program, however, is two thirds parking and one third living.
When asked to design an apartment block next to a parking garage, BIG saw an opportunity to explore a new form of symbiotic urbanism. Rather than placing a traditional slab of apartments next to a block of cars, BIG proposed mixing the two and exploiting their differences as a strength rather than a weakness: cars need large floor plates and good proximity to the street, while houses want sunlight and views. As a result, the parking is turned into a podium for the building’s 80 homes that form a stepping landscape of houses with gardens.
The Mountain consists of three radically different experiences: The Mount Everest façade, the colorful parking cathedral, and the mountain of gardens.
From the street, the urban façade encloses the parking. Since the parking is outdoor and naturally ventilated, the façade is perforated to let it “breathe.” By perforating the traditional aluminum plates in six different sizes, the façade creates a rasterized image of Mount Everest. What appears at close to be a pattern of transparency and opacity becomes a crystal clear image at a distance. Façade as artwork.
“The Mountain is our first built example of what we like to call Architectural Alchemy: the idea that by blending normal ingredients in surprising mixtures, we can create added value.”
The garage offers soaring views of structural beams offset with brightly colored ceilings and paintings by Copenhagen-based artist Victor Ash.
The roof of the parking consists of the entrance galleries to the apartments. Each floor is given a different color, creating a dynamic rainbow from green at the ground to blue in the sky: a form of industrial fresco.
The mountain of gardens is materialized in purely organic materials: wood, grass, and ivy. Each garden has a private wooden terrace where the planters and parapets create so much privacy that it becomes an extension of the home. At the edge of the garden, the wooden deck turns into turf, at which point the gardens become a part of diagonal collective space across the different levels.
All rainwater is collected in a central tank and redistributed to the planters in dry seasons. A mix of more than 20 different plants that blossom at different times of the year turn the south façade into a living hillside changing with the seasons. A façade composed of the life of plants and people.
The Mountain is a hybrid combining the splendors of a suburban lifestyle: a house with a big garden where children can play, with the metropolitan qualities of a penthouse view and a dense urban location.
The apartments are transformed into a mountain of homes covered in green. The parking is transformed into a cathedral of car culture, with generous ceiling heights, light, and air. Rather than traditional parking, it has become a new form of public space for concerts, mountain bikes, and parkour athletes.
Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels Finn Nørkjær Jakob Lange Leon Rost Ole Elkjær-Larsen Dariusz Bojarski David Vega y Rojo Dennis Rasmussen Eva Hviid-Nielsen Henrick Poulsen Jan Borgstrøm João Vieira Costa Jørn Jensen Karsten Hammer Hansen Karsten V. Vestergaard Louise Steffensen Malte Rosenquist Matte Rosenquist Mia Frederiksen Ole Nannberg Roberto Rosales Salazar Rong Bin Sophys Sobye Soren Lambertsen Wataru Tanaka
Jørn Utzon Statuette Concrete Element Award, 2011
Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award, 2009
Urban Land Institute Award for Excellence, 2009
MIPIM Award, Best Housing, 2009
Forum Aid Award for Best Nordic Architecture, 2008
World Architecture Festival Best Housing Category Winner, 2008
Træprisen Danish Wood Award, 2008
Mies van der Rohe Award Honourable Mention, 2009
Julien De Smedt / PLOT
Moe & Brødsgaard
ESBJERG, DENMARK
CLIENT
Education Esbjerg
TYPOLOGY
Education
SIZE M2/FT2
90,573 / 974,919
STATUS
IN DESIGN
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BIG’s Landscape, Engineering, Architecture and Planning teams come together to give form to the future of education, business and living in the Wadden Sea on the west coast of Denmark. The masterplan for Education Esbjerg – a new educational institution and campus on the island of Esbjerg Strand is informed entirely by the site’s environmental parameters: the noise from the nearby ship recycling yard and offshore rigs, dominant westerly winds, high tides, storm surges and sunlight.
Rather than separate buildings spread across the island, this superblock is an entire neighborhood in one continuous 90,000 m2 building, where all interior spaces have park views, sea views, or both! Public promenades on the ground and on the roof invite life into the area and create a lively destination for both locals and visitors.
Anders Holden Deleuran Andrea Hektor Bjarke Ingels Catherine Huang David Zahle Giulia Frittoli Jakob Sand Nanna Gyldholm Møller Natalia Politano Per Bo Madsen Tim Christensen Viktoria Millentrup Alejandro Di Napoli Castañeda Andy Coward Bo Kuiper Edward Durie Eleanor Gibson Helena Hammershaimb Ian Law Jenna Hukkinen Jiewei Li Karim Daw Katrine Juul Malka Logo Peter Andres Ehvert Tore Banke Vilius Jokubaitis Zuzanna Eugenia Montwill
Voluntas
Ramboll
Mir
Quantum
LONDON, ENGLAND
CLIENT
Chinese Estates Holdings | CO-RE
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
75,000 / 807,300
STATUS
IN CONSTRUCTION
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Located in the heart of the City of London, the 120 Fleet Street redevelopment will create a landmark that will be a catalyst for the revitalization of the Fleet Street neighborhood.
The project includes the restoration of the Daily Express Building grade II* listed building. The headquarters of the newspaper – once the epicenter of the newspaper industry and one of London’s finest Art Deco interiors – will for the first time in its history be given a stand-alone status. The project will provide inclusive public access to the original art deco lobby, as well as the exterior roof amenities that include views of the surrounding city.
The new building will have a strong civic presence on Fleet Street. Its layered appearance alleviates its scale by recessing its upper stories and creating a naturally thin, tall peak at the star junction of Shoe Lane Plaza while addressing the different urban contextual settings.
“Our design for 120 Fleet Street is informed by optimism and confidence in the future of the City of London as a world-class centre of commerce and culture. A workplace that responds to its setting in the City and its setting in the 21st Century, with equal measure.”
The geometry of the design results in south-facing cascading green terraces offering direct visual and physical access to lush outdoor greenery.
The building includes flexible workspaces with a full-height perimeter glazed-façade – maximizing daylight and offering panoramic views towards historic landmarks such as World Heritage St Paul’s Cathedral, Old Bailey, St Brides and the Royal Courts of Justice. 120 Fleet Street embeds strong environmental credentials geared to meet the benchmarks set out by Whole Life Carbon and Circular Economy principles to reduce the embodied carbon of the development.
Adelina Popescu Andreas Klok Pedersen Andy Young Ania Agnieszka Podlaszewska Bjarke Ingels Boni Yuen Clara Veci Daniel Bazo Hernandez Harry George Andrews Ioannis Gio Isabel da Silva Jakob Freek Engstrom Juan Carpio Julia Aleksandra Pawlowska Lauren Connell Falla Linqi Dong Lorenzo Boddi Maria Hernandez Enriquez Marina Cogliani Matilde Tavanti Mike Yin Ola Sobczyk Vid Znidarsic Vidal Fernandez Diez Ahad Aman Sheikh Aleksandra Banas Anna Pazurek Ayham Kabbani Cristina Garau Zaforteza Danai Haratsis Dermot Martin Horgan Eric Jung Florencia Kratsman Francesca Portesine Gianmarco Cannizzo Ioannis Saravelos Isabelle Doumet Jason Leung Jeremy Felson Jocelyn Arnold Jonatan Zisser Liliana Prevedello Luciana Bondio Ludmila Majernikova Marcos Anton Banon Mariana Puzko Melisa Hamzaoglu Olga Korolkova Oliver Thomas Pierre-Edouard Joseph Joiris de Caussin Richard Keys Song Jie Lim Stefan Plugaru Tertius Mwangela Vincent Katienin Konate
Arup
Chapman BDSP
DP9
MILAN, ITALY
CLIENT
Generali Real Estate
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
73,000 / 785,765
STATUS
IN CONSTRUCTION
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CityLife is one of the largest redevelopment projects in Europe, covering an area of 366,000 square metres. Located in a prestigious area of Milan, only a short distance from the Duomo, CityLife currently consists of three iconic towers surrounded by a green public realm. While an international design competition asked for a new tower on the site, BIG took the opportunity to explore a different typology for the city.
Currently under construction, BIG’s design envisions two individual buildings connected by a 140-metre-long hanging roof – unified by a series of performative vertical elements – that forms a generous shaded public realm as the entrance to CityLife: The Portico, also known as CityWave. Rather than competing with the existing context, BIG’s design completes it.
CityLife is located on the former site of Fiera Milano. The fair’s primary axis, called Domodossola Axis, was the main pedestrian walkway to the pavilions, dividing the site diagonally between Largo Domodossola and Piazza Amendola. This axis is maintained in the CityLife masterplan as a visual connection and further enhanced by the underground metro. BIG’s site acts as an entryway to the axis, split in two parts.
Twin buildings were often used in Milan in the 20th century to celebrate the axis as an urban demarcation of entryways. Anchoring both sides of the street, the twin buildings create a sense of grandeur to the axis and are commonly found throughout history, from the gates of the Spanish city walls in the 1500s to post-war icons such as the twin buildings of via Turati.
CityWave is a 73,000-square-metre development with workspace and public amenities, designed on the last two remaining plots of the CityLife masterplan in Milan. The masterplan, designed by Studio Libeskind in conjunction with Zaha Hadid Architects and Arata Isozaki & Associates, consists of three iconic towers surrounded by a green public realm and residential neighbourhoods.
"Throughout the urban history of Milan, an urban axis is symbolized by a set of twin buildings and a gate. The Portico is an evolution of that typology creating both a gateway to CityLife and a significant destination for Milan."
CityWave blurs the boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces, extending the interior to the exterior and ensuring year-round outdoor living. The characteristic long portico structure is clad entirely in photovoltaic tiles, forming one of the largest rooftop solar installations in Europe.
Two courtyards allow employees to enjoy a place of respite during the workday, while the large, central, covered public realm becomes a gift to the city of Milan.
“With CityLife, we set ourselves an ambitious goal that we believe we have achieved, that of regenerating and upgrading the area of the Milan Trade Fair, which we have fully restored to the city in a completely renewed form that can be used by everyone. The project of the BIG studio completes the area with a solution that is in line with our values and objectives, a project that we embraced right from the start."
Each floor of the building has at least 3 metre-high ceilings, enabling natural light to enter through a continuous, transparent and luminous façade that will look out onto both the city and two large private courtyards.
Under the roofs, a cascading ring of amenities allows for interconnected covered outdoor areas and extends into the rooftop bar overlooking the Alps and Monte Rosa mountain ranges.
In parallel with the construction of the new residential lot on Via Spinola, the new project represents the completion of CityLife, which will become one of Europe’s major business districts, with a mix of public and private functions including residences, offices, shops and green areas.
Expected to open in 2026, the new neighbourhood is considered one of the main “new urban centres” of Milan and a highly regarded example of urban renewal and regeneration in Italy.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Andy Young Ania Agnieszka Podlaszewska Beatrice Melli Bjarke Ingels Carmen Simone Chris Falla Claire Thomas Spiller Filip Radu Giulia Frittoli Giulio Rigoni Gualtiero Rulli Ioannis Gio Jakob Freek Engstrom Lauren Connell Falla Lorenzo Boddi Marco Antonio Maycotte Marina Cogliani Matilde Tavanti Michela Cardia Ming Cheong Ryohei Koike Solveig Lola Audrey Jappy Ulla Hornsyld Youngjin Jun Andrew McClements Andy Coward Anna Pazurek Bjarke Koch-Ørvad Camille Breuil Carl Pettersson Carmen Salas Ruiz Daniel Ferrara Bilesky Duncan Horswill Elisabetta Costa Evan Cheng Florencia Kratsman Francesca Portesine Gianmarco Cannizzo Jason Chee Han Chia Jonathan Russell Kamila Abbiazova Liliana Prevedello Luca Vincenzo Puzzoni Maayan Raviv Maria de Salvador Arnaiz Marjan Mostavi Miles Treacy Nefeli Stamatari Parinaz Kadkhodayi-Kholghi Pernille Kinch Andersen Pierre-Edouard Joseph Joiris de Caussin Sabina Blasiotti Sijia Zhong Siqi Emily Chen Timo Harboe Nielsen Vincent Katienin Konate Yueying Wan Zuzanna Hanna Sliwinska
Atelier Verticale
Manens
Holzner Bertagnolli
Faces
Castiglioni
Focchi
GAD
AGEP
VANCOUVER, CANADA
CLIENT
Westbank Projects Corporation
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
60,758 / 654,000
STATUS
COMPLETED
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Vancouver House is located at the main entrance to Vancouver right where Granville bridge triforks when it reaches downtown. The resulting triangular slices of land had remained undeveloped until now. When engaged by Westbank to design a residential high-rise for the highly complex site, BIG started by mapping the constraints: setbacks from the streets; a 30 m setback from the bridge; and a neighboring park had to be protected from shadows. After all the constraints, a small triangular site nearly too small to build on was left.
The 30 m separation from the bridge was defined as a minimum distance until the building reached 30 m up in the air, after which it could grow back out, allowing BIG to double the floor plate. The Vancouver House emerges from the ground, expands as it rises, appearing like a Genie let out of the bottle. What seems like a surreal gesture is in fact a highly responsive architecture – shaped by its environment.
Underneath the bridge, Vancouver artist Rodney Graham and BIG envisioned what we nicknamed the Sistine Chapel of street art: an art gallery turned upside down which would turn the negative impact of the bridge into a positive. This includes a gigantic Spinning Chandelier suspended above the street.
Agustin Perez-Torres Aran Coakley Beat Schenk Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Blake Smith Chris Tron Douglass Alligood Gabriel Jewell-Vitale Gaurav Janey Jan Leenknegt Julie Kaufman Otilia Pupezeanu Paula Domka Shu Zhao Simon Scheller Thomas Christoffersen Won Ryu Aaron Mark Agne Rapkeviciute Agnieszka Majkowska Alan Tansey Alex Wu Alexandra Gustafsson Alina Tamosiunaite Amina Blacksher Arash Adel Ahmadian Armen Menendian Barbora Srpkova Benjamin Johnson Benjamin Novacinski Benjamin Zunkeler Bennett Gale Birk Daugaard Brian Foster Brian Rome Carl Macdonald Carolien Schippers Celine Kæmpe Hansen Christopher Junkin Christopher Malcolm Jr. David Brown David Dottelonde Davide Maggio Deb Campbell Dong-Joo Kim Doug Stechschulte Edward Yung Elena Bresciani Ella Coco Murphy Elnaz Rafati Ema Hristova Bakalova Filip Milovanovic Florencia Kratsman Francesca Portesine Gabriel Hernandez Solano Hector Garcia-Castrillo Ivy Hume Janice Rim John Kim Jonas Swienty Andresen Josiah Poland Julian Liang Julianne Gola Kam Chi Cheng Karol Bogdan Borkowski Kelly Neill Kurt Nieminen Lauren Turner Lorenz Krisai Lucio Santos Marcella Martinez Matthew Dlugosz Megan Ng Melissa Bauld Michael Evola Michael Robert Taylor Phillip Macdougall Ryan Yang Sean Franklin Sebastian Grogaard Spencer Hayden Taylor Fulton Terrence Chew Terrence Lallak Thomas Smith Tianqi Zhang Tobias Hjortdal Tran Le Ute Rinnebach Valentina Mele Xinyu Wang Yaziel Juarbe Yoanna Shivarova Zachary Walters Zhifei Xu
The International High-Rise Award, 2022/23
AFBC Architecture Awards of Excellence, 2021
AZ Award Best Multi-unit Residential, 2021
CTBUH Structural Engineering, 2021
CTBUH Best Tall Hotel / Residential Building, 2021
CTBUH Best Tall Building 100m – 199m, 2021
CTBUH Best Tall Building World Wide, 2021
CTBUH Award of Excellence Winner, 2021
Canadian Architect Award of Excellence Finalist, 2015
World Architecture Festival Future Project of the Year, 2015
World Architecture Festival Future Best Housing Category Winner, 2015
Re-thinking the Future Award 1st Place for Mixed-Use Concept, 2014
MIPIM AR Future Projects Awards Highly Commended, 2014
WAN Awards Residential Sector Winner, 2012
Dialog
Integral Group
PFS Studio
Buro Happold
Glotman Simpson
Nemetz & Associates
LMDG
Morrison Hershfield
BVDA Facade Engineering
HLB
Jamen KM Cheng Architects
Icon Pacific
BLAVAND, DENMARK
CLIENT
Vardemuseerne
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
2,850 / 30,677
STATUS
COMPLETED
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Tirpitz museum transforms and expands a historic German WWII bunker into a groundbreaking cultural complex comprising four exhibitions within a single structure, seamlessly embedded into the protected shorelands of Blåvand in western Denmark.
As an antithesis to the heavy volume of the WWII bunker, the 2,800 m2 museum appears subtly as the intersection between a series of precise cuts into the landscape. Contrary to the hefty and intrusive regelbau construction of the historic fortress, the new Tirpitz finely cuts into the dune and camouflages with the landscape.
Coined ‘the invisible museum,’ Tirpitz has attracted a record number of visitors since its opening and has acted as an important catalyst for the area, which has since seen the opening of the BIG-designed Marsk Tower and FLUGT museum.
Upon arrival, the visitors first see the bunker and as they approach, start seeing the fine cuts and paths leading towards the center of the museum complex.
A central courtyard allows access into the four underground gallery spaces that have an abundance of daylight even though they are literally carved into the sand.
The building consists of four main materials and elements, which are also found in the existing structures and natural landscape of the area – concrete, steel, glass, and wood. The walls of the exhibition rooms are made of concrete cast onsite, supporting the landscape and carrying the fascinating roof decks that cantilever out 36 m. The largest roof deck weighs approximately 1,090 tons – a complex roof structure that is engineered by Swiss Lüchinger+Meyer. The main interior materials utilized throughout the gallery spaces are wood and hot rolled steel, which is applied to all the interior walls.
The exhibitions, designed by Dutch agency Tinker Imagineers, showcase permanent and temporary themed experiences. Every gallery has its own rhythm, beating in sync with its storyline: high and low, night and day, good and bad, hot and cold, the passing of time.
Army of Concrete tells the human stories in the shadow of Hitler’s enormous defense project, the Atlantic Wall; Gold of the West Coast is Western Europe’s most comprehensive exhibition of amber, presented in an enchanting amber forest; and West Coast Stories tells 100,000 years of west coast history and is turned into a nighttime 4D theatre twice an hour.
From the sunken galleries, visitors are able to walk into the historic bunker, which grounds the tale of an impressive war machine. In the dark, visitors can play with light and activate shadow plays that reveal how the bunker should have functioned.
"The new Tirpitz is planned, built, and furnished as a portal to the Danish West Coast’s treasure trove of hidden stories. It has been our goal to create a humble, world-class attraction surprising its visitors with new perspectives on the majestic landscape. Our guests deserve the best; with BIG’s limitless and inviting architecture and with Tinker Imagineers’ wondrous and playful exhibitions, I feel we have achieved this. TIRPITZ is an incredible, one-of-a-kind experience - violent, astonishing, dramatic, hidden - almost invisible.”
Six m tall glass panels face the outdoor courtyard, allowing natural daylight into the four exhibition spaces.
"The architecture of Tirpitz is the antithesis to the WWII bunker. The heavy hermetic object is countered by the inviting lightness and openness of the new museum. The galleries are integrated into the dunes like an open oasis in the sand - a sharp contrast to the Nazi fortress’ concrete monolith. The surrounding heath-lined pathways cut into the dunes from all sides descending to meet in a central clearing, bringing daylight and air into the heart of the complex. The bunker remains the only landmark of a not so distant dark heritage that, upon close inspection, marks the entrance to a new cultural meeting place."
Tirpitz contributes further to BIG’s experience in museum design, particularly in integrating landscape with cultural programs, while preserving the historic value and natural environment.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Brian Yang David Zahle Finn Nørkjær Frederik Lyng Hanna Ida Johansson Jakob Lange Jan Magasanik Jesper Boye Andersen Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard Ole Elkjær-Larsen Ryohei Koike Adam Busko Alberte Danvig Alejandro Mata Gonzales Alina Tamosiunaite Andrea Scalco Brigitta Gulyás Charlotte Coco Enea Michelesio Geoffrey Eberle Hugo Yun Tong Soo Jakob Andreassen Katarzyna Krystyna Siedlecka Kristoffer Negendahl Kyle Thomas David Tousant Marcella Martinez Maria Teresa Fernandez Rojo Michael Andersen Michael Schønemann Jensen Snorre Nash Tobias Hjortdal Tore Banke Yehezkiel Wiliardy Manik
LCD Berlin Leading Culture Destinations of the Year Award, 2020
EU Mies van der Rohe Award, Nominee, 2019
AIA Institute Honor Awards for Architecture, 2019
Architizer A+ Awards Honoring the Best, Architecture, Spaces & Products, 2018
The Mermaid Prize, 2018
AIANY Design Awards, Honors Award for Architecture, 2018
World Architecture Festival, Best Culture Category Finalist, 2018
AKT
Lüchinger+Meyer
Tinker Imagineers
Fuldendt
Kloosterboer Décor
Svend Ole Hansen
Gade & Mortensen Akustik
Bach Landskab
Ingeniørgruppen syd
COWI
Kjæhr & Trillingsgaard
Pelcon
BIG Ideas
AARHUS, DENMARK
CLIENT
Taekker Group
TYPOLOGY
Urbanism
SIZE M2/FT2
8,500 / 91,494
STATUS
COMPLETED
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The ‘Sneglehusene’ are BIG’s contribution to the ambitious masterplan of Nye, a new neighborhood developed north of Denmark’s second largest city, Aarhus. Sneglehusene bring 93 new homes to the neighborhood of Nye, mobilizing modular construction with modest materials to create generous living spaces in close connection to nature and city life.
The ‘Sneglehusene’ are BIG and Cj Group’s second collaboration. Following the success of the affordable ‘Dortheavej Residences’ in Copenhagen, Denmark, the team was granted a rare opportunity to further adapt and evolve the modular housing concept into an increasingly refined design for the neighborhood of Nye.
In 2022, the building received Aarhus City’s highest honor for its exceptional architectural quality and contribution to the built environment.
“As an architect, one typically only gets to build a house once. With the 'Sneglehusene’, we were given the opportunity to evolve our housing concept from Dortheavej Residences in Copenhagen, while also developing the buildings' own identity. The modular concept has made it possible for us to maintain simplicity in the execution despite the construction’s complexity, and we have been allowed to improve the concept with all our experiences. It is a joy to see how the buildings have become homes filled with life, and we’re very proud to have contributed to the realization of the vision for the Nye neighborhood.”
The two types of housing modules with 2,5- and 3,5-meter ceilings, respectively, are stacked to create generous indoor spaces, floor–to–ceiling windows and an outdoor terrace in each home.
BIG Landscape has designed the landscape around ‘Sneglehusene’. Green paths and meeting points between and alongside the buildings offer comfortable pockets for small talk and play among neighbors. The heart of the ‘Sneglehusene’ is marked by an artificial pond, defining a center and retreat for the community.
The pond manages rainwater runoff, which flows to it from canals integrated in the site. Furthermore, the pond is connected to a system for secunda water, developed and supervised by the local water plant, Aarhus Vand. The system reuses water, collected from the entire Nye neighborhood, cleans it and leads it back to all homes to be used for toilet flushes, rinsing clothes, etc.
Conceived as a porous wall, a total of six buildings gently curve around a pond and a green boardwalk at the heart of the development. The one– to four–storey buildings range in size from 50-150 m2, offering three distinct housing types – studios, multi bedroom apartments and townhouses.
Anders Fønss Andrea Hektor Andreas Bak Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Finn Nørkjær Lucian Tofan Mantas Povilaika Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard Nanna Gyldholm Møller Ulla Hornsyld Alexa Haraga Andy Coward Axelle Bosman Bjarke Koch-Ørvad Cæcilie Søs Brandt-Olsen Camille Breuil Christine Esmann Mulvad Duncan Horswill Espen Vik Ewa Zapiec Giulia Genovese Høgni Laksafoss Ivaylo Ignatov Jesper Bo Jensen Jesper Kanstrup Petersen Joanna Anna Jakubowska Johanna Schneider Jonathan Russell Joos Jerne Kaoan Hengles De Lima Katarina Mácková Kristoffer Negendahl Lasse Ryberg Hansen Liliane Wenner Mikki Seidenschnur Norbert Nadudvari Pawel Bussold Peter Andres Ehvert Richard Howis Sean Edmund Deering Søren Aagaard Timo Harboe Nielsen Tristan Harvey Wiktor Kacprzak Xinying Zhang
Aarhus Municipality Architecture Prize, 2023
ARTEMIDE
La Linea is a flexible tube of light, capable of twisting and turning throughout endless distances for countless applications in a wide variety of locations. Elegant and sleek, La Linea is created for both indoor and outdoor spaces. Each individual modular element is 5 m long but can be extended endlessly and seamlessly thanks to its concealed joints without visible shadows or signs.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Erik Kreider Joshua Woo
SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN
CLIENT
Basque Culinary Center
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
9,090 / 97,843
STATUS
IN CONSTRUCTION
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Conceived as an architectural extension of the dramatic landscape and cityscape of San Sebastian, BIG’s design for the 9,000 m2 Gastronomy Open Ecosystem (GOe) for the Basque Culinary Center bridges science, gastronomy, entrepreneurship, and nature to advance the art and science of gastronomic innovation.
The Basque Culinary Center, a pioneering gastronomic institution, launched the international design competition for the new food innovation hub in 2021 with the mission to bring food start-ups, researchers, and chefs under one roof.
Located between the edge of San Sebastian and mount Ulia, GOe is situated in a terrain with a 10-meter height difference. The new building gently rises from the ground floor, utilizing the height difference to preserve and enhance the existing park qualities at the site while creating connections to the adjacent Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route and the Cantabrian Sea.
At the street level, the new building sets back to create a covered public plaza directly connected to the Camino, establishing the building as a meeting point between culture, gastronomy, and the city. The building rises to create a series of terraces and recessed windows displaying the activity in the kitchens, labs and classes to the public.
“Conceived as an architectural extension of the dramatic landscape and cityscape of San Sebastian, our proposed design liberates the ground and provides parks on the roof - inviting the public life of the city to engage with the art and science of gastronomy. Located on the heralded Camino de Santiago de Compostela, we believe that this architectural fusion of gastronomy and technology, city and landscape, building and park has the potential to become a destination in its own right for culinary pilgrims from around the world.”
Daily users and visitors enter directly into the Gastro Hall, the backbone of GOe. This central space runs from the ground floor all the way to the roof. Like a promenade, the grand staircase connects all programs and levels within the building and doubles as an amphitheater for events and lectures, allowing visitors to observe the showcase kitchens and ongoing research during their visit. Moving up, visitors can continue into the auditorium, public terraces, or experience world-class cuisine at the top floor restaurant.
The food labs and offices are designed to offer maximum flexibility, with open classrooms, laboratories, and kitchens that can be rearranged for different purposes due to the generous height and width of the spaces. All kitchens and laboratories feature industrial materials for hygiene and maintenance, while public programs use natural materials such as wood and stone to create a welcoming atmosphere.
"Starting from the modularity of an optimal kitchen, we configured the new GOe and its public and private programmes as a grid - the façade is carried to the roof extending the landscape and the buildings many public spaces and exterior programs in a continuous motion. Gently waving up from the ground, GOe will be a good neighbor and citizen in San Sebastian, offering a window into global gastronomic discovery while creating new public spaces, plazas, parks, and views."
Andrea Hektor Bjarke Ingels Carmen Ortega Hernaez German Otto Bodenbender Gian Marco Prisco Hanna Ida Johansson João Albuquerque Klaudia Szczepanowska Laura Font Gallart Martina Tosarello Matthew Reger Natalia Politano Pietro Saccardi Adelardo Domingo Ruiz Allegra del Bono Venezze Candela González del Tánago Cosmin Paduraru Esther Diaz Salas Gonzalo Coronado Maceda Johan Fredrik Lindqvist Jose Gomez Carbonell Kareena Lily Pinto Otto Hernéndez-Palacios Patrycja Tomaszewska Pernille Uglvig Sangvin Tore Banke Wiktoria Martyna Kolakowska
REBUILD Conference, Advanced Architecture Award, 2024
Gleeds
Tricon
Play-Time & Fusao
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Kaktus 1 PropCo Aps v/Catella
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
26,100 / 280,940
STATUS
COMPLETED
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The Kaktus Towers rise 80 m in height on an elevated green plateau – a floating public park with views to lively Vesterbro, Copenhagen Central, and the Copenhagen harbor. Rather than a typical tower – a repetitive structure of simply stacked floor slabs – the Kaktus Towers twist at each level to provide unique perspectives for each of the units.
The towers are an exercise in economical construction, wherein the cost effective repetition of skewed floor slabs not only results in an optimal net to gross ratio, but also a striking architectural expression. Each of the 495 residences, arrayed around a central core of vertical circulation, feature custom designed interiors and private terraces.
Generously spaced, multilevel common areas have access to terraces and the green roof, with amenities such as an outdoor kitchen and barbecue area, laundry room, café, indoor and outdoor fitness spaces, and a party room.
At the base, a commercial plaza connects to the stream of pedestrians emerging from the nearby Dybbølsbro train station.
Agnes Anggraini Anggada Bjarke Ingels Brian Malig Collado Buster Christensen Carlos Ramos Tenorio Christian Vang Madsen Dalma Ujvari David Zahle Eddie Can Finn Nørkjær Francois Ducatez Frederik Skou Jensen Giulia Frittoli Jeppe Langer Kamilla Heskje Martyna Kloda Sascha Leth Rasmussen Teodor Cristian Fratila Ulla Hornsyld Alex Bogdan Ritivoi Alexander Codda Allen Shakir Andreas Müllertz Anne-Charlotte Wiklander Anthony Mc Gee Bart Ramakers Beatrise Steina Bianca de Lira Silva Birgitte Villadsen Borko Nikolic Brage Hult Christian Eugenius Kuczynski Dominika Trybe Eskild Schack Pedersen Espen Vik Eva Seo-Andersen Fabiana Cortolezzis Friso Van Dijk Greta Tafel Gül Ertekin Hanane Ferraz Hanne Halvorsen Helen Shuyang Chen Helena Hammershaimb Henrik Jacobsen Høgni Laksafoss Ivana Stancic James Ross Mcrae Jean Valentiner Strandholt Jesper Bo Jensen Jiajie Wang Johan Bergström Joos Jerne Julius Victor Schneevoigt Karim Daw Katrine Juul Kristoffer Negendahl Liia Lavinia Vesa Lone Fenger Albrechtsen Mads Mathias Pedersen Marcos Anton Banon Maria Stolarikova Mark Korosi Mark Pitman Naoko Asano Narisara Ladawal Schröder Nina Vuga Ningnan Ye Pawel Bussold Richard Howis Richard Mui Sergiu Calacean Sherief Al Rifal Simon Feldtmose Thunholm Snorre Nash Søren Aagaard Steen Kortbæk Svendsen Sze Ki Wong Tore Banke Xinyi Chen Yanis Amasri Sierra Yehezkiel Wiliardy Manik Ying Lin
CTBUH Award of Excellence
Best Tall Building Under 100 Meters, 2024
CTBUH Overall Category Winner
Best Tall Building in Europe, 2024
MOE
HB TRAPPER
REFORM
MALMOS
GEOPARTNER
EL Team Fyn
HOUSTON, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
ICON Build
TYPOLOGY
Space
SIZE M2/FT2
139 / 1,500
STATUS
COMPLETED
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Mars Dune Alpha is a 3D-printed habitat designed to aid in long-duration, exploration-class science missions.
Mars Dune Alpha’s analog missions – part of NASA’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) program – will provide valuable insights for NASA’s space food system, as well as physical and behavioral health and performance outcomes for future space missions. The 1,700 sq ft structure, located at Johnson Space Center in Houston and 3D printed by ICON’s next-gen Vulcan construction system, will be home to NASA’s crew.
Mars Dune Alpha is BIG’s third project advancing space exploration, following Project Olympus – the first off-world construction system on the moon – and Mars Science city, a prototype currently being developed in Dubai for exploring the building technologies of future Mars habitation.
“Together with NASA and ICON, we are investigating what humanity’s home on another planet will entail from the human experience. The data gained from this habitat research will directly inform NASA’s standards for long-duration exploration missions, and as such will potentially lay the foundation for a new Martian vernacular. Mars Dune Alpha will take us one step closer to becoming a multiplanetary species.”
CHAPEA is a sequence of three one-year Mars surface mission simulations at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. Research from the Mars Dune Alpha habitat’s CHAPEA data will be used by NASA to inform risk and resource trades that will support crew health and performance while living on Mars during an extended duration mission. Part of Mars Dune Alpha’s research is to determine the future potential of 3D printed space exploration habitats, which – when combined with additive construction technology – can also eliminate the need to launch large quantities of building materials on multiple flights, making the endeavor cost prohibitive.
Life in Mars Dune Alpha will resemble the expected experience for those living in a future Mars surface habitat. The layout of the structure is organized in a gradient of privacy. Four private crew quarters will be located on one end of the habitat; dedicated workstations, medical stations and food-growing stations are located on the opposite end, with shared living spaces found in between. Varying ceiling heights – vertically segmented by an arching shell structure – accentuate the unique experience of each area to avoid spatial monotony and crewmember fatigue. A mix of fixed and movable furniture will allow crewmembers to reorganize the habitat according to their daily needs, as will the customizable lighting, temperature, and sound control – helping regulate the daily routine, circadian rhythm, and overall wellbeing of the crew.
Andrea Hektor Beat Schenk Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Martin Voelkle Michelle Stromsta Andy Coward Isa Akerfeldt-Howard Julian Ocampo Salazar Mateo Fernandez Peter Sepassi Stephanie Mauer
ICON
PEI Point Energy Innovations
Fort Structures
BORDEAUX, FRANCE
CLIENT
Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine
TYPOLOGY
Culture, Interiors
SIZE M2/FT2
12,675 / 136,434
STATUS
COMPLETED
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MÉCA (Maison de l’Économie Créative et de la Culture en Aquitaine) creates a frame for the celebration of contemporary art, film and performances, giving Bordeaux the gift of art-filled public space right on the city’s waterfront.
Centrally located between the Garonne river and Saint-Jean train station, the 18,000 m2 MÉCA, brings together three regional art institutions – FRAC for contemporary art, ALCA for cinema, literature and audiovisuals, and OARA for performing arts – cementing the UNESCO-listed city as the epicenter for culture.
Conceived as a single loop of cultural institutions and public space by extruding the pavement of the promenade to become the ramp that leads into the urban living room, the façade offers glimpses into the stage towers of OARA, the offices of ALCA, and the rooftop enclosing the sky-lit galleries of FRAC.
The façade is composed almost entirely of 4,800 prefabricated concrete panels interspersed with windows of various sizes to control the amount of light entering inside and to create a sense of transparency. The concrete slabs, which weigh up to 1.6 tons, are sandblasted to expose its raw qualities and to texture the surface with the local sandstone of Bordeaux. Yellow granules for brightness and warmth radiate the building in the sun and help integrate MÉCA as a familiar yet new vernacular sight to the city.
"The urban room is at once a frame for the artwork, a stage for the performances, a screening room for the media collections and perhaps most importantly, an open room for the urban life of Bordeaux to invade and engage with the arts. Giant windows overlooking the urban room offer views to the dance studio of OARA and on the opposite end, an inclined mirror reflects the lobby below. The visitors are almost participating in an installation, just by being there. In addition, large bleachers on either side of the building invite people to hang out and enjoy amazing views of the River Garonne and the city."
A series of steps and ramps lead the public directly into the 1,100 m2 outdoor urban room at the core of MÉCA, creating a porous institution for visitors to roam freely between the Quai de Paludate street to the river promenade. A 7 m high MÉCA sign illuminates the space with white LED lights, like a modern chandelier at the scale of the urban room.
A permanent bronze sculpture depicting a half-head of Hermes by French artist Benoît Maire intersects with the entrance on the riverside, inviting visitors to reflect on the contemporary culture of the region.
Upon entering MÉCA from the ground floor, visitors arrive at the lobby where they can relax in the spiral pit or dine at the restaurant Le CREM, furnished with red furniture and cork chairs designed by BIG in reference to the city known for wine. A giant periscope by the elevators allows visitors to see the activity in the outdoor urban room and vise-versa.
On the same ground floor, those with tickets can enjoy performances in OARA’s 250-seat theatre featuring flexible seating configurations and acoustic systems optimized by an all-black checkerboard panel of concrete, wood and perforated metal. Upstairs, film-goers can view screenings at ALCA’s red-accented 80-seat cinema or visit the two production offices and project incubation area. FRAC occupies the upper floors with 7 m high exhibition spaces, production studios for artists, storage facilities, 90-seat auditorium and café.
"The multiplicity of the flows and functions of MÉCA, which welcomes both the actors of the regional creative ecosystem on the one hand and activities that enjoy the public on the other hand, makes the building a dynamic tool to stimulate creation. BIG perfectly understood the complexity of grouping three cultural institutions, the circulation between professionals and the general public, and the insertion of the building within Bordeaux."
During special occasions, MÉCA’s outdoor spaces can be transformed into a stage for concerts and theatrical spectacles or an extended gallery for sculptures and other art installations.
The 850 m2 public roof terrace serves as a flexible extension to the exhibition spaces, allowing future large-scale art installations and performances to be placed outdoors with views of the city and the Basilica of St. Michael.
"Benoît’s Hermes head is placed right where the big public space cuts through the building, almost as if a giant block has been pushed through and half the head has been removed along with half of the building. The piece of the head that is missing is also the piece of the building that is missing. The missing pieces are maybe the most interesting parts for the building because this is where all the public events and activities can happen, and for the sculpture because that's the part that is left open for people's interpretation."
Andreas Klok Pedersen Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Finn Nørkjær Hyojin Lee Jakob Lange Jakob Sand Jan Magasanik Kekoa Charlot Laurent De Carniere Lorenzo Boddi Marie Lancon Raphael Ciriani Santiago Palacio Villa Alexander Codda Alicia Marie Sarah Borchardt Åsmund Skeie Aya Fibert Bartosz Kobylakiewicz Bernhard Touzet Brigitta Gulyás David Tao Edouard Champelle Espen Vik Gabrielle Nadeau Greta Krenciute Greta Tafel Ivan Genov Jeffrey Mark Mikolajewski Karol Bogdan Borkowski Katarzyna Swiderska Maria Teresa Fernandez Rojo Melissa Andres Michael Schønemann Jensen Nicolas Millot Ola El Hariri Ole Dau Mortensen Pascale Julien Paul-Antoine Lucas Se Hyeon Kim Sebastian Liszka Seunghan Yeum Snorre Nash Thiago De Almeida Thomas Jakobsen Randbøll Tore Banke Yang Du Yehezkiel Wiliardy Manik Zoltan Kalászi
ULI Europe Awards for Excellence, 2022
ICONIC Awards, Innovative Architecture, Cultural Award, 2020
German Design Council Innovative Architecture, Best Cultural Project Award, 2020
Freaks
Lafourcade-Rouquette Architectes
ALTO Ingénierie
Khephren Ingénierie
Hedont
dUCKS Scéno
Dr. Lüchinger+Meyer Bauingenieure
VPEAS
Ph.A Lumière
ABM Studio
Mryk & Moriceau
BIG Ideas
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Høpfner A/S, Danish Oil Company
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
25,000 / 269,098
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The VM Houses – shaped like a V and an M when seen from Google Earth – are the first residential buildings in Copenhagen’s Ørestaden neighborhood. Through a series of transformations, BIG opened the block up and turned it to ensure maximum views of the surrounding landscape and to eliminate the vis-a-vis between the buildings.
The V house is conceived as a balcony condo; the M-house as an Unite d’Habitation version 2.0. Where Le Corbusier designed narrow flats surrounding hundreds of meters of dead end corridors, the zigzagging M-house ensures that all corridors have views and daylight in both directions. These openings transform the circulation into an attractive social space.
For the south façade which faces the park, BIG designed a new type of balcony: a wedge-shaped plane that combines minimum shade with maximum cantilever. On a warm summer afternoon, the balconies form a vertical backyard community, creating connections to neighbors in a vertical radius of 10 m.
As a result of the zigzagging, stepping, sloping, intricate circulation and multilevel apartments, the VM houses are populated by a swarm of different apartments. Out of 225 units there are more than 80 unique apartment types.
The many multilevel apartment types interlock in complex compositions on the façade, transforming the exterior of the VM houses in to a three dimensional game of Tetris.
Finally, BIG celebrated the developers Per Hopfner and Axel Frederiksen using 10×10 cm bathroom tiles in 10 different colors to create thumbnail resolution portraits of them at the entrance of the M-house.
Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Finn Nørkjær Jakob Lange Nanna Gyldholm Møller Ole Elkjær-Larsen Thomas Christoffersen Alistair Williams Anna Manosa Bent Poulsen Christian Finderup Claus Tversted David Vega y Rojo Dorte Børresen Henning Stüben Henrick Poulsen Ingrid Serritslev Jakob Christensen Jakob Møller Jakob Wodschou Jørn Jensen Karsten Hammer Hansen Mads H. Lund Marc Jay Maria Yedby Ljungberg Nadja Cederberg Narisara Ladawal Schröder Ole Nannberg Oliver Grundahl Sandra Knöbl Simon Irgens-Møller Sophus Søbye Søren Stærmose Xavier Pavia Pages
Mies van der Rohe Award Honourable Mention, 2007
Forum Award for Best Building in Scandinavia, 2006
Copenhagen Municipality Award, 2006
Mies van der Rohe Award Finalist, 2005
Julian De Smedt / PLOT
TÓRSHAVN, FAROE ISLANDS
CLIENT
Ministry of Culture [Mentamálaráðið] | Landsverk
TYPOLOGY
Education
SIZE M2/FT2
19,200 / 206,669
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Located on the undulating fjords of Faroe Islands – with views to the capital Tórshavn, the sea, and verdant fells – Glasir harvests the efficiencies of combining Faroe Islands Gymnasium, Tórshavn Technical College, and the Business College of Faroe Islands into one building for over 1,750 students, teachers and staff.
Organized like a vortex, with each level opening up and the top levels radiating 30 m out towards the hilly landscape, BIG’s design for Glasir retains the autonomy and individual identity for each of the three schools while creating ideal conditions for collaboration and learning to flourish – an incubator for innovation rather than a traditional school setting.
The Faroe Islands are a North Atlantic archipelago and island country that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, with less than 50,000 inhabitants. Combining three individual institutions to increase the quality of education, generate synergies, and harvest efficiencies makes Glasir the largest building on the island.
The main entrance of the school is accessible from a dramatic bridge due to the steep slope of the site. Students and teachers are immediately welcomed by the large circular courtyard which creates a natural gathering point across all floor levels and academic interests.
Shaped by the needs of the students and teachers, Glasir is conceived as a stack of five individual levels that wrap around a central courtyard: one for each of the three institutions, one for food and faculty, and one for physical exercise and gatherings.
The 32 m diameter indoor courtyard with terraced steps provide generous, flexible spaces for group meetings, social events and dining, as well as auditorium seating for larger events or announcements.
Above, gigantic transparent skylights shelter the space from the wind and weather of the harsh Faroese climate while allowing abundant daylight into the atrium. The inner façades between the classrooms and courtyard are realized in colored glass, providing an intuitive overview of the different functions within the building.
Cascading across several levels, the stepped topography merges the multistory building into a single entity.
The interior material selection of stone, cast concrete, and wood with different surface treatments form a natural canvas, while the exterior choice of glass and aluminum creates a neutral background to the school’s sculptural design.
At the top levels, the high school and business school cantilever towards the mountain-range and moorland landscapes, creating a building that opens towards the city in all directions. The outer backdrop to the stunning Faroese landscape surrounding the education center is always visible, from the courtyard and classrooms to the gymnasium and library.
Seen from outside, the exterior glass façades are mounted in a sawtooth shingle that allows the straight elements to form a soft circular shape and blend into the natural surroundings.
Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Finn Nørkjær Frederik Lyng Jakob Lange Jan Magasanik Jesper Boye Andersen Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard Nanna Gyldholm Møller Ole Elkjær-Larsen Alberte Danvig Alejandro Mata Gonzales Alessio Valmori Alexandre Carpentier Armen Menendian Athena Morella Baptiste Blot Boris Peianov Camila Luise de Andrade Stadler Camille Crepin Christian Alvarez Claudio Moretti Dag Præstegaard Daniel Pihl Dennis Rasmussen Edouard Boisse Elisha Nathoo Enea Michelesio Esben Christoffersen Esklid Nordbud Ewelina Moszczynska Gaetan Brunet Goda Luksaite Greta Krenciute Henrik Kania Høgni Laksafoss Jakob Teglgård Hansen Jan Besikov Jan Kudlicka Jeppe Ecklon Ji-Young Yoon Johan Cool Kari-Ann Petersen Katerina Joannides Kim Christensen Krista Meskanen Kristoffer Negendahl Laura Youf Long Zuo Martin Cajade Michael Schønemann Jensen Nicklas Antoni Rasch Norbert Nadudvari Oana Simionescu Paolo Venturella Richard Howis Rune Hansen Sabine Kokina Simonas Petrakas Sofia Sofianou Takumi Iwasawa Tiago Sá Tobias Hjortdal Tommy Bjørnstrup Tore Banke Victor Bejenaru Xiao Xuan Lu
SCUP/AIA-CAE Excellence in Architecture for a New Building, Honors, 2019
World Architecture Festival, Best Education Category Finalist, 2019
Fuglark
Lemming & Eriksson
Rosan Bosch
Sámal Johannesen
Martin E. Leo SP/F
KJ Elrád
SAN JOSE, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
NABR
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
73,824 (3 Towers Total) / 794,643 (3 Towers Total)
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Nabr is a new type of consumer-first housing company. Founded by Roni Bahar, Bjarke Ingels, and Nick Chim – combining their experience in real estate, architecture, and technology, respectively – Nabr is the result of a shared vision for an improved way of urban living, defined by quality, sustainability, and attainability.
Nabr uses technology and productization to increase the production of apartments available for sale in major cities, starting with SoFA One in San Jose which is co-designed by BIG and slated to break ground in late 2022.
Located at 98 E San Salvador, residents will be at the heart of SoFA, downtown San Jose’s arts district, in close proximity to dining and local entertainment. The development is roughly a mile from Diridon Caltrain Station, one block from San Jose State University, and centrally located near all major tech employers, offering residents abundant access to commuting options.
“Our goal is to pioneer a new sustainable urban lifestyle. At SoFA one, residents have access to a Scandinavian-standard of quality of life, yet they are still in the hub of Silicon Valley, America’s greatest innovation ecosystem. Residents get the best of both worlds."
SoFA One will be built with sustainably-sourced North American timber. Each apartment offers residents access to light and air via its high ceilings and panoramic windows, with the ability to grow plants and cultivate green spaces both indoors and outdoors on large private balconies.
Nabr homes are high-design, yet low-impact. Each apartment is carbon neutral in operations, with an all-electric design and energy-efficient façade that leverages the latest View electrochromic glass. With Nabr, residents can live in a city while maintaining a connection to nature.
Amenities include a shared rooftop park, electric vehicle charging, bike and personal storage, community garden, and access to wellness and fitness facilities. Ground level retail spaces will be programmed to complement the neighborhood and serve as gathering points for the community. SoFa One will offer over 125 available homes, which consumers can reserve with a 1% payment.
Agla Egilsdottir Beat Schenk Bella Yanan Ding Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Cheng Zhong David Zahle Douglass Alligood Elizabeth Mcdonald Gil Kilmo Kang Giulia Frittoli Jakob Henke Jakob Lange Jan Klaska Jan Leenknegt Leon Rost Linqi Dong Margaret Tyrpa Martin Voelkle Michelle Stromsta Nojan Adami Paula Madrid Ricardo Palma Prieto Sang Ha Jung Shane Dalke Shu Zhao Siqi Zhang Stephanie Hui Thomas Christoffersen Thomas McMurtrie Tom Lasbrey Ahmad Tabbakh Alexander Jacobson Autumn Visconti Carlos Castillo Christian Salkeld Dong-Joo Kim Edward Durie Fabian Lorenz Florencia Kratsman Francesca Portesine Frederic Lucien Engasser Guillaume Evain Jeff Bourke Jennifer Ng Kayeon Lee Kelly Neill Kig Veerasunthorn Mateo Fernandez Morgan Mangelsen Neha Sadruddin Oliver Thomas Omar Mohamed Nabil Mohamed Saad Mowafy Peter Sepassi Shuo Yang Terrence Chew Tore Banke Tracy Sodder Vincent Pierre Michel Jackow
RMW
DCI Engineers
Point Energy
EOC Engineers
T S Krumholz
Build Group
Kier & Wright
Holmes Fire
Guzzardo
EWCG
IPD
Dot Dash
Cornerstone Earth Group
ATM
Hortscience / Bartlett Consulting
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
St. Frederikslund Invest
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
62,000 / 667,362
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
8 House is located in Ørestad South on the edge of a canal with a view of the open spaces of Kalvebrod Fælled in Copenhagen. The mixed-use building has three different types of residential housing and 10,000 m2 of retail and offices, comprising Denmark’s largest private development at the time.
Rather than a traditional block, the 8 House stacks all ingredients of a lively urban neighborhood into horizontal layers of typologies, organized around two smaller, more intimate courtyards. Connected by a continuous promenade and cycling path up to the 10th floor, the building has become a three-dimensional urban community where suburban life merges with the energy of a big city and where business, housing, and nature co-exist.
The 8 House uses size to its advantage by creating immense differences in height, fostering a unique sense of community with small gardens and pathways reminiscent of the intimacy in an Italian hill town.
8 House provides residences to people in all of life’s stages with spectacular views towards the Copenhagen Canal and Kalvebod Faelled’s protected open spaces. A total of 476 housing units, include apartments of varying sizes, penthouses, townhouses, as well as office spaces for the city’s business and trade – all in one single building.
The 8 House creates two intimate interior courtyards, separated by the ‘bowtie’ knot which houses 500 m2 of communal facilities, available for all residents. At the very same spot, the building is pierced by a 9 m wide passageway that allows people to easily move from the park area on its western edge to the water filled canals to the east. Instead of dividing the different functions of the building – for both habitation and trade – into separate blocks, the various functions have been spread out horizontally.
“8 House is our second realized example of architectural alchemy - the idea that by mixing traditional ingredients, retail, rowhouses and apartments in untraditional ways, you create added value - if not gold. The mix allows the individual activities to find their way to the most ideal location within the common framework - the retail facing street, the offices towards northern light, and the residences with sun and views to the open spaces. 8 House is a perimeter block that morphs into a knot, twisting and turning to maximize the life quality of its many inhabitants.”
A continuous public path stretches from street level to the penthouses and allows people to bike all the way from the ground floor to the top, moving alongside townhouses with gardens, winding through the urban perimeter block. Two sloping green roofs totaling 1,700 m2 are strategically placed to reduce the urban heat island effect as well as providing the visual identity to the project and tying it back to the adjacent farmlands towards the south.
"The apartments are placed at the top while the commercial program unfolds at the base of the building. As a result, the different horizontal layers have achieved a quality of their own: the apartments benefit from the view, sunlight, and fresh air, while the office leases merge with life on the street. This is emphasized by the shape of 8 House which is literally hoisted up in the northeast corner and pushed down at the southwest corner, allowing light and air to enter the southern courtyard."
Agustin Perez-Torres Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels Finn Nørkjær Jakob Lange Jan Magasanik Jesper Boye Andersen Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard Ole Elkjær-Larsen Thomas Christoffersen Anders Nissen Carolien Schippers Caroline Wiener Christer Nesvik Christian Alvarez Claus Tversted David Duffus Dennis Rasmussen Eduardo Perez Fred Zhou Hans Larsen Henrick Poulsen Henrik Lund Hjalti Gestsson Jakob Monefeldt James Duggan Schrader Jeppe Kiib Johan Cool Joost Van Nes Karsten Hammer Hansen Kasia Brzusnian Kasper Brøndum Larsen Kirstine Ragnhild Louise Hebøll Maria Sole Bravo Ole Nannberg Ole Schrøder Ondrej Tichy Pablo Labra Pernille Jessen Peter Rieff Peter Voigt Albertsen Philip Mikkelsen Rasmus Bjerregaard Richard Howis Rune Hansen Sara Sosio Soren Lambertsen Søren Peter Kristensen Sunming Lee
Scandinavian Green Roof Prize, 2020
architizer A+ Awards, 2019
Moriyama RAIC International Prize Shortlist, 2017
Architect Magazine P/A Awards 2015
AIA Institute National Honor Award for Architecture, 2012
MIPIM AR Future Project Awards 2012
World Architecture Festival Best Mixed-Use Housing Category Winner, 2011
Kobenhavns Kommune, 2011
Scandinavian Green Roof Award, 2010
Design Educates Award
European Steel Design Awards
Hoepfner Partners
Moe & Brødsgaard
KLAR
Veg Tech A/S
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Udvikling Danmark A/S
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
745 / 8,019
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
In recent years, the number of students in Denmark has grown substantially. As the number continues to grow, additional student housing is needed to accommodate them.
In 2016, BIG introduced Urban Rigger, a building typology optimized for harbor cities and a housing solution that keeps students at the heart of the city. After much excitement from the students, Urban Rigger expanded from a prototype to an entire community on the waterfront of Refshaleoen in Copenhagen. 12 apartments on each of the 6 Riggers currently house a total of around 100 students.
The idea is simple: by stacking 9 container units in a circle, BIG creates 12 studio residences on each Urban Rigger. The residences frame a centralized garden, which is used as a common meeting place for students.
The modules are powered by a photovoltaic array and use a heat-exchange system that draws upon the thermal mass of water to warm and cool the interiors.
Ultra-thin NASA-developed vacuum-packed aerogel is used to insulate the containers on the inside without wasting valuable space while retaining the raw colorful exterior of a painted shipping container.
The units are experiments in communal living. While each resident has their own bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, they share amenities like a courtyard, kayak landing, bathing platform, barbecue area, and roof terrace. Decks and staircases connect the apartments. Inside, the units are well appointed with modern finishes and ample daylighting; floor-to-ceiling windows let the students take in panoramic views.
The housing is buoyant, like a boat, so it can be replicated in other harbor cities where space is limited but affordable housing is needed.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Finn Nørkjær Jakob Lange Jakob Sand Jesper Boye Andersen Raphael Ciriani Viktoria Millentrup Aaron Hales Adam Busko Agne Tamasauskaite Aleksandra Sliwinska Birgitte Villadsen Brage Hult Brigitta Gulyás Carlos Soria Christian Bom Dag Præstegaard Dimitrie Grigorescu Duncan Horswill Elina Skujina Ioana Fartadi Scurtu Jacob Lykkefold Aaen Jesper Bo Jensen Jonas Aarsø Larsen Joos Jerne Kamila Rawicka Kanetnat Puttimettipanan Lise Jessen Mads Johansen Magdalena Maria Mróz Mark Korosi Mikki Seidenschnur Nicolas Millot Norbert Nadudvari Perle van de Wyngaert Richard Howis Richard John Burns Stefan Plugaru Stefan Wolf Toni Mateu Tore Banke
Buckminster Fuller Challenge Catalyst Program Project, 2017
Danish Design Award Finalist for Clean Solutions, 2017
Hovedstadens Forskønnelses (Beautification of the Capital) Award, 2016
Danfoss A/S
Grundfos DK A/S
Hanwha Q CELLS Ltd.
Miele
NIRAS A/S
Dirk Marine/House on Water
BIG Ideas
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
CLIENT
BESIX | Vorm
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
40,000 / 376,740
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Located in Amsterdam’s neighborhood of IJburg Steigereiland, the 49,000 m2 floating neighborhood with public roofscapes and river walks reinterprets the classic courtyard typology for life on the water.
Sluishuis brings 442 zero-energy owner-occupied and rented homes, a public rooftop garden and walkway, and a comprehensive water-quality program with space for up to 30 houseboats to the area.
Designed by BIG Landscape, the front sides and the inner harbor of the building feature gardens with local plant species. The greenery runs across the roof terraces up into integrated planters which will create a vibrant green atmosphere at the ‘floating’ neighborhood over time.
Located between the dense city and the vast landscapes on the edge of Amsterdam, Sluishuis is shaped by its surroundings, at once close to large infrastructure and to small-scale urban communities.
A promenade with public programs winds around the building and continues into the water, forming an archipelago of islands for houseboats, a sailing school, and floating gardens.
The silhouette of Sluishuis changes as one moves around the building. At one vantage point it appears as the bow of a ship that reflects the water below; at another a vertical green community that invites visitors to engage directly with it; and finally, as a true urban block with street-access and city liveliness to be enjoyed by residents, neighbors, and the rest of Amsterdam.
"The world-famous urban environment of Amsterdam was created by the fusion of water and city. The new Sluishuis is born of the same DNA, merging water and perimeter block and expanding the possibilities for urban lifeforms around the IJ."
A classic courtyard building, Sluishuis fully embraces the idea of living on the water. Toward the water the block is lifted up, forming a large opening that brings water from the IJ Lake into the courtyard and brings daylight and views to the inner apartments of the building.
Toward the neighboring urban district, the block steps down like a cascade of landscaped terraces, creating a natural transition from cityscape to smaller-scale, natural surroundings. A public passage climbs the cascading terraces of the building, serving as a small rooftop street that eventually loops onto the very top of the building to create a viewing platform over the IJ Lake. The passage not only creates a destination for visitors and neighbors, but connects the residential units to each other, bringing a sense of community to the residents of the building.
"Having spent my formative years as an architect in Holland at the end of the 20th century, it feels like a homecoming to get to contribute to the architecture of the city that I have loved and admired for so long. Our Sluishuis is conceived as a city block of downtown Amsterdam floating in the IJ Lake, complete with all aspects of city life. Towards the city, the building kneels down to invite visitors to climb its roof and enjoy the panoramic view of the new neighborhoods on the IJ. Toward the water, Sluishuis rises from the river, opening a gigantic gate for boats to enter and dock in the port/yard. A building inside the port, with a port inside the building."
With an energy performance coefficient (EPC) of 0.00, Sluishuis generates more energy than it consumes. The building’s heating requirements are minimized by combining high-performance insulation techniques, triple glazing and heat recovery on the ventilation systems and wastewater. Energy consumption is further reduced by a heat and cold storage (CHS) system in the ground for heat and cooling in combination with a connection to the district heating system for peak times. The remaining energy consumption for heating, heat pumps, ventilation and LED-lighting is fully compensated by approximately 2,200 m² of solar panels, to which an entire floating island adjacent to the project is dedicated.
Alberto Menegazzo Anders Fønss Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Filip Radu Finn Nørkjær Frederik Skou Jensen Jakob Lange Jan Magasanik Jeppe Langer Liliana Cruz Louise Mould Mads Engaard Stidsen Paola Yepes Bocanegra Sascha Leth Rasmussen Ulla Hornsyld Vinish Sethi Alex Bogdan Ritivoi Andrea Angelo Suardi Anna Bertolazzi Anna Odulinska Arielle Khosla Bart Ramakers Birgitte Villadsen Borko Nikolic Brage Hult Camille Breuil Christian Eugenius Kuczynski Daniel Ferrara Bilesky David Vega y Rojo Dimitrie Grigorescu Dina Brændstrup Dominika Trybe Duncan Horswill Frederikke Faas Gokce Naz Tercioglu Helen Shuyang Chen Hessam Dadkhah Hongduo Zhou Jagoda Helena Lintowska Jean Valentiner Strandholt Jonas Aarsø Larsen Justyna Mydlak Katrine Sandstrøm Keuni Park Kim Christensen Kirsty Badenoch Kristoffer Negendahl Lasse Ryberg Hansen Lone Fenger Albrechtsen Luca Pileri Lyn Poon Mads Mathias Pedersen Manon Otto Mark Pitman Martino Hutz Naoko Asano Nina Vuga Olly Veugelers Santtu Johannes Hyvarinen Sebastian Liszka Shengpeng Mao Sherief Al Rifal Simone van de Wiel Sze Ki Wong Tore Banke Victoria Ross-Thompson William Pattison Yannick Macken Yu Xun Zhang Yulong Li
Design Educates Awards, Architectural Design, Silver, 2024 Architecture Master Prize: Architectural Design of the Year, 2023 MIPIM AWARDS, Best Residential Building, 2023 IPAX European Property Award Best Architecture Multiple Residence, 2022 IPAX European Property Award Best Residential Development 20+ Units, 2022 Architectenweb Residential Building of the Year, 2022
BARCODE Architects
VAN ROSUUM
Buro Bouwfysica
DWA Architects
Klimaatgarant B.V.
WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Washington Football
TYPOLOGY
Sports
SIZE M2/FT2
132,664 / 1,428,000
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Set at the bottom of a stepped, grass covered drive-in amphitheater, BIG envisions a new stadium for NFL football team, The Commanders that will expand the game-day experience beyond the building’s walls – turning traditional tailgating into a communal picnic. In the off season, the stadium and its grounds become a public park and concert venue for the community.
In addition to the stadium, the project includes over 50,000 sq ft of exhibition space for a museum, as well as 100,000 sq ft of offices, club rooms, and training facilities. The new stadium will be located in the Tri-State DMV area, the home of the team since 1937.
Outside, the stadium is wrapped in a golden metal mesh, which is pushed in and out to create areas for entrances and concessions. Around it, a moat will ease access to the stadium through a series of bridges that eliminate the need for standard fences or gates. In the warm months, when not in use, the moat will act as a wave pool and lazy river and during winter, an ice rink.
The stadium is designed to optimize game days, with a circular layout that is elevated to increase the capacity of bleachers at the 50 yard line. BIG’s open arrangement forgoes the traditional, tiered design of most American Football stadiums to create one big bowl where all the fans can see each other and cheer on their respective teams in unison. Two 8,000 sq ft scoreboards will accommodate display screens and game details, bringing crowds across the stadium together.
At its highest point, the surrounding park is pushed down to create the museum, the team’s HQ and to accommodate four full-sized training fields. By night, the green amphitheater is able to transform into a performance venue with space for 100,000 people.
Agustin Perez-Torres Alejandra Cortes Alvaro Velosa Bjarke Ingels Blake Smith Casey Tucker Chengjie Jacob Li Douglass Alligood Flora Bao Frankie Sharpe Jaeho Park Jakob Henke Jan Klaska Kai-Uwe Bergmann Kristian Hindsberg Simon Scheller Tara Abedinitafreshi Thomas Christoffersen Won Ryu Alan Tansey Andriani Atmadja Bryan Maddock Charles Kim Christopher Rouhi Cristian Lera Silva Fabian Lorenz Iannis Kandyliaris James Caruso Julia Nakanishi Karina Spassova Kevin Pham Manon Otto Marcin Fejcak Marcus Wilford Maureen Rahman Mengzhu Jiang Phillip Macdougall Saecheol Oh Sanam Salek Simon David Taylor Hewett Terrence Chew Thea Wiradinata Tracy Sodder Yiqi Song Ziyu Guo
Buro Happold Engineering
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Copenhagen Zoo
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
2,450 / 26,372
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The home for giant pandas Mao Sun and Xing Er in Copenhagen Zoo resembles the natural panda habitat and creates a peaceful living environment for one of the world’s rarest mammals.
Formed by its residents’ solitary nature and its immediate surroundings, including the Zoo’s central square, the Nordic area, the monkey house and the elephant house, the 2,450 m2 Panda House creates a harmonious indoor-outdoor garden for the two pandas to roam freely and have the ideal conditions to mate – one of the major challenges facing the vulnerable species.
The Panda House consists of two levels: a ground floor with the French-Asian bistro PanPan for visitors to dine while observing both the pandas and the elephants, and an upper floor with native Nordic plants and a path venturing into the dense bamboo forest. All interiors are designed to have the lush landscape at eye-level, creating an immersive experience with wildlife and nature on both sides.
“Copenhagen Zoo’s idea-driven organization was key in defining the team we wanted to work with on the new Panda House project. It’s part of our DNA to let everyone from zookeepers, to gardeners and vets, influence the design and function of the facilities to secure the well-being of our animals. The BIG team understood our approach and successfully integrated it into their design process to create a world-class home for these adored Pandas.”
The vegetation and landscape at the Panda House closely mimic the pandas’ natural habitat with patches of bamboo scattered throughout. The pandas must be able to find both shade and sun, as well as water and foliage. By creating two forests – a dense, mist forest and a light green bamboo forest, Mao Sun and Xing Er have the opportunity and flexibility to explore both landscapes, according to season, temperature and preference.
Both pandas and guests hardly notice the separation; the enclosure is elevated to form stables and other facilities below ground, which simultaneously hides and integrates them into the landscape. By lifting the earth at both ends of the yin and yang symbol, an undulating landscape forms to allow direct views into the habitat.
Alberto Menegazzo Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Finn Nørkjær Frederik Skou Jensen Kamilla Heskje Marius Tromholt-Richter Nanna Gyldholm Møller Ole Elkjær-Larsen Seongil Choo Ulla Hornsyld Alex Bogdan Ritivoi Alexander Jacobson Anna Bertolazzi Carlos Soria Christian Lopez Claus Rytter Bruun de Neergaard Dina Brændstrup Eskild Schack Pedersen Fabiana Cortolezzis Federica Longoni Gabrielė Ubarevičiūtė Gökce Günbulut Hanne Halvorsen Høgni Laksafoss Jesper Bo Jensen Jiajie Wang Jinseok Jang Joanna Plizga Joos Jerne Lasse Ryberg Hansen Lone Fenger Albrechtsen Luca Senise Mads Mathias Pedersen Maja Czesnik Margarita Nutfulina Maria Stolarikova Martino Hutz Matthieu Brasebin Pawel Bussold Richard Howis Sergiu Calacean Sofia Sofianou Stefan Plugaru Tiago Barros Tobias Hjortdal Tommy Bjørnstrup Tore Banke Victor Bejenaru Xiaoyi Gao
Frederiksberg Municipality's Building Award 2019
MOE
Schønherr
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Blumenfeld Development Group
TYPOLOGY
Residential, Interiors
SIZE M2/FT2
25,601 / 275,568
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The Smile is BIG’s reinterpretation of a 100+ Year zoning law: the landmark 1916 Building Zone Resolution which enforced the construction of “stepped façade” towers in order to allow light and air back into the streetscapes of New York City.
Bridging Harlem’s active 125th Street corridor and the quieter 126th Street, The Smile gently slopes inwards as it rises upwards, softening the hard linear street edge in an elegant gesture. This architectural move enables the building massing to comply with the city’s zoning envelope, creates unique unit sizes and layouts – and lets more direct sunlight into the street. The mixed-use development houses a nursing school on the ground floor and residential units, incl. 30% affordable housing, above.
The Smile’s textured black façade blends with the black and red brick of the existing buildings in the neighborhood. The stainless-steel panels were handmade in Germany and produced by a combination of mechanical, chemical, and electro-chemical treatments that, without any lacquer, create a natural and durable surface.
The interlocking panels are all straight yet configured so that each element reflects the sky and light slightly differently, resulting in varying shades of black. The checkerboard pattern façade panel system allows for floor-to-ceiling windows in each unit, creating exciting views in all directions of the city.
Upon entering The Smile, residents are met by red, blue, green, and yellow tiles, inspired by Harlem’s Puerto Rican and Caribbean murals. The exterior of the building trickles into the interior, with the multicolored mailbox mirrors, colored tiles, and the wooden furniture shaped to mimic the curve of the building form. The material palette, herringbone tile pattern, and sparks of color are carried into the elevators and the upper floor residential lobbies, creating a unified experience throughout the building.
The curvilinear geometry uses an interlocking checkerboard façade panel system, allowing for floor-to-ceiling windows in each unit with open views of the city for the residents.
An abundance of interior amenities include a fitness center, media room, relaxation spas, social lounges, and a workspace that overlooks a skylight-lit three-story gallery. This interstitial space highlights the integration of the existing building’s brick façade and the new building’s exposed steel structure.
Throughout the amenity areas, BIG and Artemide’s Alphabet Lights further illuminate and shape the experience of the communal spaces through a consistently curved gesture that mimics the building’s external form. The amenities and public spaces also use a combination of colored tiles and blackened steel from the exterior, mixed with the raw materials also found within the apartment units.
Rooftop amenities include whirlpool spas, a swimming pool, and roof decks surrounded by spaces for various types of social activities and gatherings.
“The façade of The Smile drapes gently between the building’s two neighbors and leans inward to allow sunlight and air to reach the street, thus fulfilling the century old set-back requirements in a new way. Like a good neighbor, it fits into the existing neighborhood, feeding from the community’s energy to add new sparks to the community of East Harlem.”
Beat Schenk Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Douglass Alligood Jakob Henke Jan Leenknegt Jialin Yuan Julie Kaufman Kai-Uwe Bergmann Margaret Tyrpa Michelle Stromsta Rita Sio Shu Zhao Thomas Christoffersen Adrien Mans Agne Rapkeviciute Amelia Harvey Annette Miller Ava Nourbaran Benjamin Dinapoli Daniele Pronesti Deb Campbell Dennis Harvey Elena Bresciani Eva Maria Mikkelsen Everald Colas Francesca Portesine Gabriel Hernandez Solano Iannis Kandyliaris Janice Rim Jennifer Ng Jennifer Phan Jennifer Wood Jeremy Babel John Kim Jose Jimenez Julien Beauchamp-Roy Kayeon Lee Ku Hun Chung Kurt Nieminen Lina Bondarenko Lucio Santos Mark Rakhmanov Megan Ng Quentin Stanton Sarah Habib Tara Hagan Taylor Fulton Terrence Chew Terrence Lallak Valentina Mele Wells Barber Wojciech Swarowski Yaziel Juarbe Yoanna Shivarova
Big Apple Brownfield Award for Community Advocacy and Engagement, 2022
Residential Architect Design Award for Multifamily Housing category, 2021
Interior Design Best of Year Award for Multi-Unit Housing Category, 2021
Urban Land Institute (ULI) Jack Kemp Award for Affordable Housing, 2021
ZDG
Thornton Tomasetti
Cosentini Associates
Milrose Consultants
Eckersley O’Callaghan
Langan Engineering
Van Deusen Associates
Aquatectonic Lothrop Associates LLP
Steven Winter Associates
Jaffe Holden
Robert Schwartz and Associates
Fox Rothschild
Lerch Bates
Design For Leisure
LUNAR SOUTH POLE, THE MOON
CLIENT
ICON Build
TYPOLOGY
Space
SIZE M2/FT2
195.5 / 2,104
STATUS
IN CONSTRUCTION
SHARE
BIG is collaborating with ICON, SEArch+, and NASA to design Project Olympus: a lunar habitat set to be the first human foray into extra-terrestrial construction.
Through the Artemis program – a collaboration with commercial and international partners to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before – NASA has signaled that the Moon will be the first off-Earth site for sustainable surface exploration. ICON, a developer of advanced construction technologies such as robotics, software, and building materials, was awarded a government Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract, including funding from NASA, to begin research and development of a space-based construction system that could support future exploration of the Moon. From landing pads to habitats, this collective effort between BIG, ICON, SEArch+, and NASA is driven by the belief that humanity can and should become a spacefaring civilization.
Project Olympus is BIG’s second project in outer space following Mars Science City, which similarly to Project Olympus will address eight of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, related to the built environment of our Blue Planet.
In partnership with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, ICON will test lunar soil simulant with various processing and printing technologies. These tests will help inform the design and development of prototype elements for a future full-scale additive construction system that could 3D-print infrastructure on the Moon.
Building a sustainable presence on the Moon requires more than rockets. Project Olympus’s robust structures will provide better thermal, radiation, and micrometeorite protection than metal or inflatable habitats can offer. Built using ICON’s 3D printing technology, using lunar regolith as the main building material, the habitat is designed to accommodate four astronauts for a period of up to a month at a time and maximize In Situ Resource Utilization.
The design is based on a Toroidal geometry that offers several structural and functional benefits. Structurally, the lower center of gravity makes the habitat less vulnerable to lunar quakes and reduces the foundation requirements of the structure during shallow moonquakes, which though infrequent (28 shallow moonquakes have been recorded in a span of eight years by the Apollo missions), are thought to have the most potential impact on lunar surface structures.
“To explain the power of architecture, "formgiving" is the Danish word for design, which literally means to give form to that which has not yet been given form. This becomes fundamentally clear when we venture beyond Earth and begin to imagine how we are going to build and live on entirely new worlds. With ICON we are pioneering new frontiers - both materially, technologically and environmentally. The answers to our challenges on Earth very well might be found on the Moon.”
“The NASA Olympus habitats will be designed with the inherent redundancy required for extraterrestrial buildings, while also using groundbreaking robotic construction that uses only in-situ resources with zero waste left behind. With the technologies and efficiency parameters developed for the construction of extraterrestrial buildings, Project Olympus will also help us build sustainably on planet Earth as we strive to reduce the carbon footprint of the built environment.”
“Building humanity’s first home on another world will be the most ambitious construction project in human history and will push science, engineering, technology, and architecture to literal new heights. NASA’s investment in space-age technologies like this can not only help to advance humanity’s future in space, but also to solve very real, vexing problems we face on Earth. We are honored to begin our research and development on ICON’s ‘Project Olympus’ and the ‘Olympus Construction System.’”
Beat Schenk Bjarke Ingels Jaeho Park Jakob Lange Jenna Dezinski Martin Voelkle Michelle Stromsta Siqi Zhang Fabian Lorenz Guillaume Evain Julian Ocampo Salazar Rasam Aminzadeh
BIG Engineering
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
New York City Department of Design and Construction
TYPOLOGY
Civic
SIZE M2/FT2
4,181 / 45,000
STATUS
IN CONSTRUCTION
SHARE
Located in the Melrose neighborhood of the Bronx, New York, the new 40th Precinct Station replaces an existing station house currently on 138th Street to create a dedicated space for the community, areas for fitness and training for officers, as well as storage space for NYPD gear and vehicles.
The 43,500 sq ft, ground-up project, includes the first community event space ever to be at an NYPD facility. The form of the building is derived from its programmatic requirements, where individual volumes contain specific elements of the program as outlined by the NYPD and the local residents. The building is set to open in 2024.
The former 40th Precinct Station currently located on 138th Street.
From the outside, the new 40th Precinct resembles a stack of bricks, referencing the rusticated bases of early NYC Police Stations.
On the interior, the station is enhanced with amenities that encourage dialogue with the community while providing spaces for officers to reduce stress and promote physical activity. This includes the addition of an exercise courtyard with training areas and a climbing wall. The 40th Precinct also houses a brand-new piece of city program: the first ever community meeting room in a precinct.
With its own street-level entrance, the multipurpose space will contain information kiosks and areas to hold classes or events, encouraging civic engagement with the precinct.
The building also expresses the city’s commitment to environmental responsibility. The first NYPD station with a green roof, BIG detailed non-reflective materials such as sandblasted concrete to optimize the building’s energy performance – surpassing the requirements necessary for LEED Silver certification.
Aran Coakley Beat Schenk Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Davi Weber David Iseri Douglass Alligood Elizabeth Mcdonald Jakob Lange Jan Leenknegt Kai-Uwe Bergmann Michelle Stromsta Minjung Ku Molly Hsiao Rou Huang Nicholas Reddon Nojan Adami Pooja Annamaneni Rita Sio Sören Grünert Tara Abedinitafreshi Thomas Christoffersen Yu Inamoto Yumiko Matsubara Adam Sheraden Ahmad Tabbakh Ana Luisa Pedreira Daisy Zhong David Sharratt Deb Campbell Jacob Waas Jennifer Ng John Kim Kelli Reinhardt Kristoffer Negendahl Ku Hun Chung Liyang Zhang Maki Matsubayashi Megan Ng Phillip Macdougall Seo Young Shin Terrence Chew Tony-Saba Shiber Tore Banke
SARA Awards, Special Award for Innovation in Civic Design, 2024
NYC Public Design Commission 34th Annual Award for Excellence, 2016
Silman
Cosentini
DACK
Tillotson
Starr Whitehouse
Philip Habib
Carlin Simpson & Associates
The Friday Group
CCI
Urban Arborists
The Facade Group
Prime Engineering
HMBA
MTWTF
BIG Ideas
BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA
OCEANIX Busan is the world’s first prototype for a resilient and sustainable floating community. The project was unveiled at the Second UN Roundtable on Sustainable Floating Cities at The United Nations in April 2022, following up on the inaugural Roundtable in April 2019 that revealed Oceanix City, a blueprint for future floating communities.
Designed by BIG alongside local architects SAMOO, OCEANIX Busan aims to provide breakthrough technology for coastal cities facing severe land shortages that are compounded by climatic threats.
OCEANIX Busan’s site-specific design was presented by partners UN-Habitat, the Busan Metropolitan City of the Republic of Korea, OCEANIX, BIG, and SAMOO.
Located off the coast of Busan, the interconnected platforms total 15.5 acres for a community of 12,000 people. Each neighborhood is designed to serve a specific purpose – living, research, and lodging. There are between 30,000 to 40,000 m2 of mixed-use programs per platform. The floating platforms connect to land with link-span bridges, framing the sheltered blue lagoon of floating recreation, art, and performance outposts.
The platforms feature six integrated systems: zero waste and circular systems, closed loop water systems, food, net zero energy, innovative mobility, and coastal habitat regeneration. These interconnected systems will generate 100% of the required operational energy on site through floating and rooftop photovoltaic panels. Similarly, each neighborhood will treat and replenish its own water, reduce and recycle resources, and provide innovative urban agriculture.
The low-rise buildings on each platform, defined by their soft lines, feature terraces for indoor-outdoor living activating the network of vibrant public spaces.
“OCEANIX’s modular maritime neighborhood will be a prototype for sustainable and resilient cities. As our first manifestation of this new form of waterborne urbanism, OCEANIX Busan will expand the city’s unique character and culture from dryland into the water around it. We believe OCEANIX’s floating platforms can be developed at scale to serve as the foundations for future resilient communities in the most vulnerable coastal locations on the frontlines of climate change."
“The site in Busan is the perfect place for us to build the prototype. It's close to the city, yet has relatively deep water. Each platform will have a mobility pavilion where you can switch between land-based and water-based vehicles. You can also walk from your house or use a boat, a kayak, or a ferry to move between the platforms as the city grows.”
OCEANIX Busan will organically transform and adapt over time based on the needs of Busan. Starting from a community of 12,000 residents and visitors, it has the potential to expand to accommodate more than 100,000 people.
Alana Goldweit Beat Schenk Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Douglass Alligood Einat Lubliner Flora Bao Isela Liu Jaeho Park Jasmine Idiakhoa Luca McLaughlin Martin Voelkle Veronica Acosta Jindian Fu Michelle Duong Santiago Letona Tracy Sodder
Busan Metropolitan City
UN Habitat
SAMOO
Arup
Prime Movers Lab
Center for Zero Waste Design
Sherwood Design Engineers
Transsolar
Mobility in Chain
Global Coral Reef Alliance
Wartsila
Korean Maritime and Ocean University
PARIS, FRANCE
CLIENT
Groupe Galeries Lafayette
TYPOLOGY
Retail, Interiors
SIZE M2/FT2
6,800 / 73,195
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Located on the iconic Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the 6,800 m2 Galeries Lafayette concept store officially opened its doors to the public in Spring 2019, welcoming local and global shoppers into a former Art Deco bank building from 1932 which BIG carefully uncovered and restored.
The generous four-story environment is the largest store on the famed Parisian boulevard and combines old world elegance with modern chic, hosting established and emerging brands, experiences and events. BIG’s design pays tribute to the tactility and texture of the historical building.
“When we inherited this incredible space from 1932, most of the beautiful materials and Art Deco elements were covered with black painted drywall, the skylight was blinded by sheetrock and the connections to the outside had disappeared. We focused on the heart of the building and preserved all of its precious materials and refined details, wrapping them in gallery-like spaces. The historical architecture is supplemented by the raw qualities of ceiling heights and abundance of daylight.”
Shoppers are invited into the building through an inverse canopy on the street level. A glowing bridge ushers life into the heart of the building: a dramatic circular atrium covered by a monumental glass cupola that has been restored and uncovered for maximum daylight.
The entire store unfolds itself on the ground floor and creates a bright new urban living room for brand activations, fashion shows and other special events. A grand staircase, which doubles as an auditorium during events, takes visitors to the mixed-use space on the first floor which features creative and emerging brands, as well as a denim lab, jewelry display, limited edition sneakers and tech products.
Art sculptures appear throughout the store, including, Après Vous, Le Déluge by Danish artists Superflex. The installation, made specifically for Galeries Lafayette Champs Elysees, consists of blue sculptures forming a dashed line on the walls of the building’s atrium. This discontinuous line is an indicator of an invisible border: the estimated height of sea level rise within the next century as a consequence of climate change. The height has been established according to the predictions of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Precious materials and refined details from the past are reinterpreted and deployed in a contemporary way. Walking around the lofty gallery-like space feels as moving through a composition of architectural elements that operate at the scale of furniture and create defined experiential shopping zones.
A continuous golden ring of perforated metal wraps around all of the columns and creates a series of rooms and alcoves facing the atrium. From the ground floor, visitors are immediately able to see the upper levels enticing them to explore the different destinations and activities. The escalators are finished in warm metal and a ribbon of glass in the same material palette as the central atrium.
Exploring the store and its different levels feels like a carefully curated environment where furniture is never only storage: interweaving carpets become dressing rooms, countertops are a sculptural stack of elements, magic carpets for the shoe display double as furniture for the shoppers to sit and try the footwear. The upper levels of the store are more refined and continue the idea of furniture as artifact.
The top floor features a series of suspended glass vitrines that look like independent objects and can host a variety of experiences and activities visible from the lower levels.
On the second floor, shoppers can dine in the Oursin restaurant while enjoying views of the city or relax at the Citron coffee lounge on the 1st floor, both designed by French fashion designer Simon Porte Jacquemus and operated by Caviar Kaspia.
The entire basement floor is a Parisian food court, where groceries and eateries are divided into sweet and savory sections and where massive counters are arranged around welcoming shared tables.
“Working with a family and a company that can look back 100 years gives you – not only the possibility – but actually the responsibility to attempt to look as far ahead as you can look back. With the advent and omnipresence of online retail, the urban department store’s role and relevance must be renewed as the urban agora. We humans are social beings – and more than ever do we need a forum for collective intimacy – where we can’t just get what we want by clicking on it – but where we can engage with others in urban environments that are visually and physically stimulating to all the senses.”
Agla Egilsdottir Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Gerhard Pfeiler Jakob Lange Jakob Sand Janie Green Joanna M. Lesna Karim Muallem Laurent De Carniere Marie Lancon Monika Dauksaite Paula Domka Pauline Lavie-Luong Raphael Ciriani Teodor Cristian Fratila Tomas Karl Ramstrand Alvaro Garcia Mendive Amro Abdelsalam Anis Souissi Anna Juzak Aurelie Frolet Bart Ramakers Carl Pettersson Catalina Rivera Rothgaenger Christian Lopez Clementine Huck Dimitrie Grigorescu Emily Pickett Emine Halefoglu Enea Michelesio Ethan Duffey Etienne Duval Filip Milovanovic Francesca Portesine Francisco Salazar Gabrielė Ubarevičiūtė Gabrielle Nadeau Hugo Yun Tong Soo Hye-Min Cha José Carlos De Silva Josiah Poland Katarzyna Swiderska Ksymena Borczynska Kyle Thomas David Tousant Lucas Stein Lucian Mihail Racovitan Malgorzata Mutkowska Miguel Sousa Rebelo Philip Rufus Knauf Quentin Blaising Rahul Girish Ramona Montecillo Sergi Sauras Stefano Zugno Taylor Fulton Terrence Chew Thomas Sebastian Krall Thomas Smith Tianqi Zhang Tracy Sodder Xavier Delanoue Ye Sul Cho
Prix Versailles Europe 2020 Award Winner, Shopping Malls
SRA Architects
SETEC
AR-C
SNAIK
Theater project
Cabinet Vanguard
BIG Interiors
SHENZHEN, CHINA
CLIENT
Shenzhen Energy Company
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
96,000 / 1,033,344
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The 96,000 m2 home for the state-owned Shenzhen Energy Company looks different because it performs differently: the building skin is developed to maximize the sustainable performance and workplace comfort in the local subtropical climate of Shenzhen, China’s tech and innovation hub.
BIG won the international design competition in the city known as China’s ‘Silicon Valley’ with ARUP and Transsolar in 2009, responding to the brief that asked for the building to look and feel at home in the cultural, political and business center of Shenzhen, while standing out as a new social and sustainable landmark at the main axis of the city.
The development consists of two towers rising 220 m to the north and 120 m to the south, linked together at the feet by a 34 m podium housing the main lobbies, a conference center, cafeteria, and exhibition space. The volume and height of the HQ was predetermined by the urban masterplan, leaving BIG with façade design. BIG envisioned an undulating façade – like the structure of a palm leaf or the folded screen of a lamp.
Within this logic, the façade could be stretched in certain key conditions. We could make bigger openings for the entry lobby or large board rooms on the upper floors. Always
respecting the cardinal rule – everything that
faces the sun is as closed as possible, and
everything that faces the north is open.
The sinuous direction of the façade corresponds to the solar orientation: it maximizes north-facing openings for natural light and views, while minimizing exposure on the sunny sides. Working with Arup engineers, BIG calculated that this very simple idea reduces the solar exposure and resultant air conditioning expenses by 30% – without any moving parts or complicated technology. Purely because of the inherent properties of the building geometry, the building performs
better in terms of its energy use, its carbon
footprint, and the quality of the daylight within.
"Shenzhen Energy Mansion is our first realized example of ‘engineering without engines’ - the idea that we can engineer the dependence on machinery out of our buildings and let architecture fulfill the performance. Shenzhen Energy Mansion appears as a subtle mutation of the classic skyscraper and exploits the building’s interface with the external elements: sun, daylight, humidity and wind to create maximum comfort and quality inside. A natural evolution that looks different because it performs differently."
The undulating building envelope creates a rippled skin around both towers and breaks away from the traditional glass curtain wall. The towers appear as a classical shape with an organic pattern from a distance and as an elegant pleated structure close-up.
From the street level, a series of walls are pulled open for visitors to enter the commercial spaces from the north and south end of the buildings, while professionals enter from the front plaza into the daylight-filled lobby. Once inside, the linearity of the building façade continues horizontally: the pixel landscape of the stone planter boxes is in the same dimensions and pattern as the ripples of the building envelope.
The offices for Shenzhen Energy Company are placed on the highest floors for employees to enjoy views to the city, while the remaining floors are rentable office space. Within the protruded areas of the building, the façade is stretched out – two smooth deformations create large spaces for views on each floor, meeting rooms, executive clubs and staff facilities.
The folded wall provides a free view through clear glass in one direction and creates a condition with plenty of diffused daylight by reflecting the direct sun between the interior panels. Even when the sun comes directly from the east or west, the main part of the solar rays is reflected off of the glass due to the flat angle of the windows.
As the sun sets, the changing transparency and the curved lines of the façade create an almost wood-like texture or a scene of vertical terraced hills. The slits that open between the curtain wall to reveal special spaces inside, lend the building a distinct character from different parts of the city.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels Brian Yang Buster Christensen Catherine Huang Jan Magasanik Jelena Vucic João Albuquerque Martin Voelkle Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard Alessio Zenaro Alexandru Cozma Alina Tamosiunaite Alysen Hiller Ana Merino Andre Schmidt Andreas Geisler Johansen Armor Gutiérrez Rivas Balaj Alin Iulian Baptiste Blot Brandon Cook Cecilia Ho Christian Alvarez Christin Svensson Claudia Hertrich Claudio Moretti Cory Mattheis David Brown Dennis Rasmussen Doug Stechschulte Eskild Nordbud Fan Zhang Felicia Guldberg Flavian Menu Fred Zhou Gaetan Brunet Gül Ertekin Henrik Kania Iris Van der Heide James Duggan Schrader Jan Borgstrøm Jeppe Ecklon Jonas Mønster Karsten Hammer Hansen Kuba Snopek Malte Kloe Michael Andersen Michal Kristof Min Ter Lim Nicklas Antoni Rasch Oana Simionescu Philip Sima Rui Huang Rune Hansen Sofia Gaspar Song He Stanley Lung Sunming Lee Takuya Hosokai Todd Bennett Xi Chen Xiao Xuan Lu Xing Xiong Xu Li Yijie Dang Zoltan Kalászi
Architizer A+ Award, Popular Choice in Commercial-Office High-Rise, 2019
CTBUH Best Tall Building Award of Excellence, 200-299 Meters Category, 2019
HKIE Structural Excellence Award, 2018
Arup
Transsolar
Front
MIAMI, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Terra Group
TYPOLOGY
Residential, Interiors
SIZE M2/FT2
58,900 / 634,000
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Miami architecture is generally characterized by three key elements: shade, balconies, and water views. The city’s iconic Art Deco style turns shading devices and balconies into ornamental elements. The Grove at Grand Bay is BIG’s attempt at creating the best possible living conditions with the simplest possible means in a city famed for its ornamental modern vernacular.
The buildings, which together contain 98 units, were the first residential towers to be constructed in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood in over a decade. Both structures twist at a 38-degree angle, optimizing views, outdoor spaces and the flexibility of the floor plans while allowing the buildings to interact with one another.
BIG’s brief was to revitalize the Grove as a subtropical urban oasis in the midst of tight building regulations, which dictated an array of various site setbacks. Rising 20 stories, the two towers of The Grove at Grand Bay respond to the surroundings and to each other to give optimum views at every level.
A single ribbon of concrete loops above the drop-off zone, providing cover for the residents. Plants, stones, and woods are all based on native species and local geology.
"Coconut Grove is a special place with a well-defined soul, so it was important that the Grove at Grand Bay responds to its community through a design that was respectful and distinctive."
Working with the local landscape architect Raymond Jungles, the building has a canopy of foliage, featuring more than 15,000 plants, 500 trees and several water features for the life happening between the buildings.
The generous cantilevered balconies create ample outdoor spaces, while providing the necessary shade from the Florida sun. Glass facades, with sliding doors, maximize the water views while respecting the requirements of hurricane protection.
Amenities include a swimming pool, spa, fitness centre, pet spa, and private dining room for residents. A kids playroom is fitted with whimsical decor, including seating shaped like giant pebbles.
Alana Goldweit Beat Schenk Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Catherine Huang Chris Falla Daniel Sundlin Gaurav Janey Haochen Yu Leon Rost Martin Voelkle Thomas Christoffersen Aaron Hales Bennett Gale Brian Foster Christoffer Gotfredsen Christopher Malcolm Jr. Edward Yung Gregory Knobloch Ho Kyung Lee Iannis Kandyliaris Jenny Chang Ji-Young Yoon Jitendra Jain Jose Jimenez Kasper Reimer Hansen Maureen Rahman Mina Rafiee Rakel Karlsdottir Taylor McNally-Anderson Terrence Chew Thomas Jensen Tiago Barros Valerie Lechene Ziad Shehab
Architects Newspaper Best of Design Awards for Building of the Year – Southeast, 2017
Interior Design Best of Year Awards – Multi-Unit Housing, 2017
AIA Miami Design Award, 2017
AIA Florida / Caribbean Merit Award of Excellence for New Work 2017
Architizer A+ Award, Jury + Popular Choice Winner in Architecture + Engineering, 2017
AZ Award Finalist for Residential Architecture, Multi Unit. 2017
SEAoNY Awards – Engineers Choice Awards 2017
Miami-Dade ASCE Project of the Year Category III Honorable Mention, 2016
CRSI Honors – Honor Award, 2016
ACEC National Engineering Excellence Awards, Platinum Award, 2016
ACEC New York Engineering Excellence Awards, Platinum Award, 2015
NCSEA Excellence in Structural Engineering Award, 2015
Concrete Industry Board Roger H. Corbetta Award for Quality Concrete Merit, 2015
DeSimone
Hufsey Nicolaides Garcia Suarez Engineers
Raymond Jungles
OVI - Office for Visual Interaction
O'Brien Lighting
Aquadynamics Design Group
VSN
Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates<br> Inc.
Esrawe
Luminaire
HNGS
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
CLIENT
Oscar Properties
TYPOLOGY
Residential, Interiors
SIZE M2/FT2
25,000 / 269,100
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
79&Park is a 25,000 m2 residential ‘hillside’ located at the edge of Stockholm’s treasured national park Gärdet. The building is conceived as an inhabitable landscape of cascading residences that combine the splendors of a suburban home with the qualities of urban living: the homes have private outdoor gardens and penthouse views of the city and Gärdet.
A central urban oasis offers peace and tranquility while also giving the residents a feeling of belonging in the larger community of 79&Park. Seen from a distance, 79&Park appears like a manmade hillside in the center of Stockholm.
Comprised of 3.6 m x 3.6 m modules, the building creates 169 unique contemporary homes with generous views and outdoor spaces, while remaining respectful to the national park, neighboring buildings and nearby royal harbor Frihamnen.
The building’s tallest corner is lifted up to 35 m in order to maximize the inflow of natural daylight as well as views towards Gärdet and the Frihamnen port for most of its units. The modules cascade down to the building’s lowest profile at just 7 m, gradually extending the wooden development into the park. 79&Park appears like a gentle hillside, seamlessly blending into the nature around it.
The organic expression and cedar-cladding continues into the green courtyard, where residents and visitors are met by different sized plateaus that create small activity pockets and spaces for amenities: a shared outdoor area with lush bushes, flowers and trees, a dog daycare, a preschool and ample racks for bicycle parking.
Nearly all of the units have unique layouts, appealing to the diverse group of residents across different age groups. The interior spaces are inspired by Scandinavian design and touches from South American modernism that feature tactile natural materials, including white oak floors and unique wooden details. Ceramic granite is used in the bathrooms while the kitchens boast natural stone. Large windows invite greenery from the terraces and views from the national park into the residences, creating a smooth transition between inside and outside.
All dwellings in the building have access to private and shared roof terraces. The terraced landscape features a rich variety of plants – hardy perennials, trees and bushes are sprinkled across the rooftops, appearing green and leafy throughout the different seasons in the Scandinavian climate.
The ground floor of 79&Park houses commercial spaces open to the public, activating the edge of the plot. In the floors above, residents enjoy views to the expansive, peaceful landscape of Gärdet’s wild grasslands and heaths.
Bjarke Ingels Catherine Huang Finn Nørkjær Jakob Lange Jan Magasanik Jesper Boye Andersen Per Bo Madsen Ryohei Koike Agata Wozniczka Agne Tamasauskaite Alberto Herzog Borko Nikolic Christin Svensson Claudio Moretti Dominic Black Enea Michelesio Eva Seo-Andersen Frederik Wegener Gabrielle Nadeau Henrik Kania Høgni Laksafoss Jacob Lykkefold Aaen Jaime Peiro Suso Jakob Andreassen Jonas Aarsø Larsen Julian Ocampo Salazar Karl Johan Nyqvist Karol Bogdan Borkowski Katarina Mácková Katrine Juul Kristoffer Negendahl Lucian Mihail Racovitan Maria Teresa Fernandez Rojo Max Gabriel Pinto Min Ter Lim Narisara Ladawal Schröder Romea Muryn Sergiu Calacean Song He Taylor McNally-Anderson Terrence Chew Thomas Sebastian Krall Tiago Sá Tobias Hjortdal Tobias Vallø Sørensen Tore Banke
EU - Mies van der Rohe Award nominee, 2022
Architizer A+ Award, Jury Winner & Popular Choice in Residential-Multi Unit Housing, 2019
The International Property Awards Europe’s Best Residential Development, 2016
Tengbom
Projit
Andersson Jönsson Landskapsarkitekter
Konkret
De Brand Sverige
Acad International
Metator
HJR Projekt El
Dry-IT
HB Trapper
BIG Ideas
SHANGHAI, CHINA
CLIENT
Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
3,000 / 32,292
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
BIG’s Danish Pavilion for the Shanghai Expo in 2010 was a whole new take on sustainability: Hedonistic Sustainability which increases human enjoyment as opposed to the protestant idea of sacrificing life quality to be sustainable.
Through real-life examples where sustainable cities and buildings can increase the quality of life, The Danish pavilion at EXPO 2010, gave its visitors the opportunity to try some of the best aspects of Danish city life – the city bike, the harbor bath, playground settings, a picnic on the roof garden and the opportunity to see the real Little Mermaid by H.C Andersen.
Conceived as a Danish street-scape complete with the blue bicycle lanes of Copenhagen, a city where 40% of the citizens commute by bike, over 300 free city bikes offered the visitors a chance to experience the Danish urban lifestyle which includes biking everywhere.
The loops were connected in two places: coming from the inside, the visitors could move out onto the roof, pick up a bike and re‐visit the exhibition by bike as the outdoor cycle path slipped into the interior and ran along the entire exhibition before exiting onto the EXPO grounds.
Structurally, the pavilion was a giant self-supporting tubular steel truss, similar to the hull of a steel ship. The external façade structure was the buildings most efficient element. The perforation holes let in daylight and created natural ventilation. It was the only pavilion out of 200+ that did not use mechanical cooling. Due to the structural performance of the truss, the degree of perforation varied with the structural stress along the façade.
The monolithic structure in white painted steel kept the pavilion cool during the Shanghai summer sun due to its heat‐reflecting characteristics.
Sitting in the harbor pool at the centre of the pavilion was the real Little Mermaid from the harbor of Copenhagen. As one of three of H.C. Andersen’s fables, who is affectionally known in China as An Tung Shung, and read by every child in China, this was seen as a gesture of cultural generosity between Denmark and China.
Other artists include Jeppe Hein from Denmark, who designed a ‘social bench’ that ran alongside the bicycle lane and adapted to its environment elastically by incorporating different functions. The works of filmmaker Martin De Thurah and photographer Peter Funch were also included in the exhibition areas.
While the mermaid was in Shanghai her place in Copenhagen was replaced by Ai Wei Wei’s live broadcast of the statue in Shanghai – the only uncensored video feed from China.
"Throughout the design and realization of the Danish Pavilion a wide range of disciplines, from architecture and engineering to lighting design, art installations and gastronomy came together to create a single structure that played like a finely tuned instrument."
The oasis at the heart of the pavilion with Danish harbor water and the Little Mermaid invited visitors to experience how clean and cold the Danish harbor water is.
Like a Danish city, the Danish pavilion was best experienced on foot and by bike. The exhibition could be experienced in two speeds, as a calm stroll with time to absorb the surroundings and as a dynamic bicycle trip, where the city and city life rush past. This way, the pavilion’s theme Welfairytales (Welfare + Fairytales) re‐launched the bicycle in Shanghai as a symbol of lifestyle and sustainable urban development.
In the evening time, the indoor activity of the pavilion was illuminated for passers-by. Every single hole in the facade was equipped with a LED light source enabling both the regulation of light inside the pavilion and the illumination of the outside surface in the darker hours of the day.
Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels Catherine Huang Daniel Sundlin Finn Nørkjær Jan Magasanik Pauline Lavie-Luong Anders Ulsted Armen Menendian Claus Tversted Henrick Poulsen Jan Borgstrøm Jesper Larsen Kamil Szoltysek Ken Aoki Kenneth Sørensen Line Gericke Martin Weis Mortensen Niels Damsgaard Niels Lund Petersen Sonja Reisinger Teis Draiby Tobias Hjortdal Tommy Bjørnstrup
Detail Award Special Prize for Steel, 2011
Exhibitor Magazine Award for Best Exterior Design, 2010
2+1
Arup AGU
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
WeWork
TYPOLOGY
Education, Interiors
SIZE M2/FT2
1,824 / 19,635
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
WeGrow’s facilitates a transformative and holistic approach to learning that’s less prescriptive and more intuitive. A field of super-elliptic objects forms a 10,000 sq ft learning landscape that’s dense and rational yet free and fluid. A field of spaces with a variety of functions allow children to move freely throughout the day and to learn from the environment around them and each other.
The school encourages collaboration by emphasizing transparent and communal spaces, which comprise more than half of the school: four classrooms, flexible workshops, community space, multi-purpose studio, art studio, music room and other playscapes that support the energy of creation and togetherness.
Most of the partitions inside the school are shelves raised to the level of the child, allowing natural light to reach deep inside the building. Three different shelving levels for each age group curve occasionally to create various activity pockets and give a feeling of comfort, safety and community, while allowing teachers to have full perspective of the space at all times. Above, acoustic clouds made of felt reflect the different patterns in nature – fingerprint, coral, landscape and moon.
The vertical garden with tiles made in Switzerland by Laufen house different plants depending on shade exposure.
Each learning station within WeGrow includes furniture with details and materials carefully designed by BIG to optimize the educational environment: modular classrooms promote movement and collaboration, puzzle tables and chairs manufactured by Bendark Studios come in kid and parent sizes to offer equal perspectives.
Flexible lighting systems designed by BIG and manufactured by Italian Artemide create ambience effects that form comfortable, natural lighting throughout the school day.
Nature’s qualities are often borrowed throughout WeGrow to create a calm setting for a more focused study: the mushroom shelves, magic meadow with soft pebbles and reading hives that form an immersive library.
“WeGrow was created to unleash the creative potential of all generations through design. With this first location in New York City, we have created a space to facilitate and accommodate WeGrow's transformative approach to learning because as life evolves, so should the framework in which we live in. Children realize they have agency and when design is less prescriptive and more intuitive - we don't have to tell kids how to use the space and every interpretation of how they use the space is good.”
Beat Schenk Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Douglass Alligood Jakob Lange Otilia Pupezeanu Rita Sio Bart Ramakers Bernard Peng Deb Campbell Erik Kreider Evan Saarinen Fabian Lorenz Filip Milovanovic Florencia Kratsman Francesca Portesine Il Hwan Kim Jeremy Babel Ji-Young Yoon Josiah Poland Kristoffer Negendahl Mengzhu Jiang Oliver Thomas Ryan Yang Stephen Kwok Terrence Chew Thea Wiradinata Tore Banke Tracy Sodder Zakir Hamza
Architizer A+ Awards Jury Winner - Kindergardtens, 2019
DrivenxDesign New York Design Awards, 2018
WeWork
Environetics Group Inc.
Cosentini Associates
William Vitacco Associates Ltd.
Digifabshop
Bednark Studio
Laufen
Ketra
Febrik
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Witkoff / FAENA
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
83,000 / 893,405
STATUS
IN CONSTRUCTION
SHARE
One High Line is located along the High Line in NYC, neighboring a cluster of buildings by Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, and Shigeru Ban among others.
The sculptural geometry of the two towers is a direct response to their dense context. At the base, the two towers pull away from each other and the neighboring buildings to maximize urban space and views. The twisting geometry at the corners of the towers reduces the overall bulk of the buildings and creates additional separation between them.
The two towers are connected as they rise 300 and 400 ft into the sky. Their sloping facades open up and allow light and air to descend into the pocket park of the courtyard.
The façade design is inspired by the punched windows seen in the historic warehouses of the Meatpacking and West Chelsea neighborhoods. The façade patterning functions as an honest expression of the gridded structural logic of the building, which steps to follow the movement of the towers’ geometry.
"The sculptural form is a direct response to the site's historic industrial heritage and contemporary architecture. It is the means, not the end. The resulting architecture merges the past and present of Chelsea into a new hybrid identity."
A through-block street between 17th and 18th Streets will provide tenant and visitor access to the residential lobbies, with a vehicular drop-off at a landscaped mid-block inner courtyard. The hotel will be accessed on 18th Street adjacent to the High Line. The project also includes below grade parking, a five-story commercial building, and a multi-level retail space with frontage below the High Line, facing a public plaza along 10th Avenue.
Alana Goldweit Amir Mikhaeil Andreas Buettner Beat Schenk Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Douglass Alligood Gabriel Jewell-Vitale Hector Romero Hung-Kai Liao Jan Leenknegt Joanne Zheng Margaret Tyrpa Pauline Lavie-Luong Thomas Christoffersen Adrien Mans Agne Rapkeviciute Alex Wu Ali Chen Ashley O'Neill Christopher Farmer Christopher White Daniella Eskildsen Deb Campbell Doug Stechschulte Francesca Portesine Francis Fontaine Ji-Young Yoon Justyna Mydlak Lasse Kristensen Marcus Kujala Mateusz Wieckowski-Gawron Maureen Rahman Nicolas Vincent Robert Carlier Rune Wriedt Terrence Chew Veronica Moretti Youngjin Yoon
International Architecture & Design Award, 2024
Woods Bagot
Enzo Enea
Langan
WSP
Cosentini Associates
Gabellini Sheppard
Gilles and Boissier
GMS
Tillotson Design Associates
AKRF
Es Devlin
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Wildflower Ltd.
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
70,606 / 760,000
STATUS
IN CONSTRUCTION
SHARE
The Robert de Niro-led Wildflower Studios is a commercial film studio situated just two miles from Manhattan in the Ditmars-Steinway neighborhood of Astoria, Queens.
Film studios are typically organized side by side on large lots, allowing for trucks to deliver goods and services directly to each stage. In the dense urban environment of New York City, BIG reimagined this arrangement to house future of film within a reduced footprint.
As the first immersive environment for filmed entertainment content of its kind in New York City, the new vertical media production village will be home to storytellers working across all mediums – a three-dimensional hub of collaboration, creativity, and innovation.
The project comes at a time when the film and television industry in New York is growing at a rapid pace – helping to satisfy the overwhelming demand for a large production studio in New York City.
The program is organized around eleven basic studio ‘modules.’ Each module consists of the large span stage, vertical transportation, and production support spaces such as scene shops and dressing rooms. The modules are organized into two story rows contained within a single volume. A central spine between the two rows becomes the bustling heart of activity between the stages. In addition, one entire floor provides office space for the production teams. Large openings in the warehouse bring daylight into the central street and create a communal terrace for the actors, production crews, producers, screenwriters, and other inhabitants.
Through the diverse mix of interconnected spaces – including a range of stages, production-support areas, open and private offices, fitness room, cafes and lounges – the design aims to facilitate the best creative work possible by providing dynamic spaces for collaboration and connection. On the exterior, the 145-foot-tall building will be clad with precast concrete panels, set at angles that create an animated effect on the building façade as the angle of the sun changes through the day. Two open-air terraces puncture the façade providing an outdoor connection to the waterfront, natural daylight, and views of the Manhattan skyline. The building’s roof will include a 150,000 sq ft solar panel footprint.
Alejandra Cortes Alvaro Velosa Beat Schenk Benjamin Caldwell Bernardo Schuhmacher Bjarke Ingels Bryan Hardin Casey Tucker Chris Tron Cynthia Wang Daniel Sundlin Danna Lei David Holbrook David Iseri Douglass Alligood Guillermo Romani Jan Leenknegt Janie Green Jesper Boye Andersen Julie Kaufman Leon Rost Linqi Dong Margaret Tyrpa Martin Voelkle Shane Dalke Siqi Zhang Stephanie Hui Thomas Christoffersen Thomas McMurtrie Tracey Coffin Wes Thompson Won Ryu Ace Nguyen Adam Poole Agne Rapkeviciute Ahmad Tabbakh Alejandro Guadarrama Andres Romero Ashley O'Neill Bell Cai Catrina Nelson Deb Campbell Elnaz Rafati Emmett Walker Fernando Longhi Pereira da Silva Florencia Kratsman Francesca Portesine Giovanni Simioni Greg Pray Jacob Karasik Jamie Maslyn Larson Jennie Peng Kevin Pham Kig Veerasunthorn Lucia Sanchez Ramirez Margaux Thys Max Moriyama Mher Tarakjian Neha Sadruddin Nicolas Lapierre Oliver Thomas Ruo Wang Ryan Hong Stephanie Bigelow Stephen Kwok Sue Biolsi Taylor Galanos Terrence Chew Tran Le Veronica Varela Veronica Watson Yushan Huang Ziad Shehab
Queens Chamber of Commerce Building Awards, 2024
Thornton Tomasetti
Sherwood Design Engineers
Altieri Sebor Wieber
Jensen + Tsai
Lerch Bates
Dot Dash
Code Consultants
Tectonic
Dirtworks
TMS Waterfront
Buckman Engineering PLLC
Shen Milsom & Wilke LLC
Cini Little
Northern Designs LLC
The Slowdown
Horizon Engineering Associates LLP
Bohler Engineering
LONDON, ENGLAND
CLIENT
Google UK | Argent Services
TYPOLOGY
Work, Space Planning
SIZE M2/FT2
80,819 / 869,936
STATUS
IN CONSTRUCTION
SHARE
Centrally located in King’s Cross and adjacent to the city’s largest station, Google’s London headquarters will be its first wholly owned and designed building outside the United States.
Comprising of more than 1 million sq ft, of which Google will occupy 650,000 sq ft, the purpose-built building is being developed from the ground up and will contribute to the Knowledge Quarter and King’s Cross’s growing knowledge-based economy.
The 11-storey building, combined with Google’s current building at 6 Pancras Square and an additional third building, will create a King’s Cross Campus with the potential to house 7,000 Google employees.
BIG’s design for the new ground up building is rooted in the local character of the area, taking advantage of the contextually defined building envelope while creating continuously cascading work environments that will connect Googlers across multiple floors. By opening up the ground floor and activating the roofscape, the light and airy workspaces are sandwiched between the terraced gardens on the roof, and market halls, auditoria and shops on the ground.
"We are excited to be able to bring our London Googlers together in one campus, with a new purpose-built building that we've developed from the ground up. Our offices and facilities play a key part in shaping the Google culture, which is one of the reasons we are known for being amongst the best places to work in the industry."
The project emphasizes sustainability in all aspects of the building’s design as Google works towards a carbon-free future. The kitchens and onsite equipment will be fully electric, which will allow Google to track hourly energy usage and match this with local renewable energy. A system of 13,500 interconnected devices around the office will improve energy efficiency in real time, while solar shading will help regulate the building’s temperature by reducing glare from the sun. Low-carbon, local materials are prioritized in the construction and interior design to reduce the carbon impact of the building by 20%.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Andy Young Bjarke Ingels Catherine Huang Chris Falla Claire Thomas Spiller Daniel Sundlin David Iseri Dominyka Voelkle Douglass Alligood Haochen Yu Jan Leenknegt Lauren Connell Falla Leon Rost Lorenzo Boddi Martin Voelkle Mike Yin Ming Cheong Ryan Harvey Shane Dalke Thomas Christoffersen Alice Cladet Andreas Müllertz Cadence Merrie Bayley Deyan Nenov Dimitrie Grigorescu Emily King Florencia Kratsman Giedrius Mamavicius Helen Shuyang Chen Jakub Wlodarczyk James Carr Kiley Anne Feickert Kurt Nieminen Lina Bondarenko Louise Frelaut Lucas Stanley Carriere Megan Fiona Cumming Montgomery de Luna Oliver Colman Paula Petkova Ren Yang Tan Richard Keys Stephanie Choi Thomas Yaher Troels Soerensen Yang Yang Chen Ziad Shehab
DrivenxDesign London Design Award, 2017
Heatherwick Studios
BDP
Gardiner & Theobald
AKT II
Atelier Ten
Olsson Fire & Risk
Sandy Brown
SWECO
Arup
Gillespies
Mott MacDonald
Eckersley O'Callaghan
ACD
Charcoalblue
SHW
Reef
Sturgis Carbon Profiling
Devin
RWDI
BIM Technologies<br> Inc.
ROSENTHAL
The vase “Skum” (Danish: foam) is modeled on BIG’s inflatable art pavilion, designed for the Roskilde Music Festival in 2016. Similar to soap bubbles, porcelain balls are joined together to form an object with a strong character that will stand out in any interior.
The “Skum” vase is available in four versions made of high-quality porcelain: in matt and glossy white, it scores with Scandinavian understatement, in Gold and Platinum it is a glamorous eye-catcher and limited to 99 pieces each.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Erik Kreider Joshua Woo
AARHUS, DENMARK
CLIENT
The Danish Neuroscience Center | Aarhus University Hospital
TYPOLOGY
Health
SIZE M2/FT2
19,000 / 204,514
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
First of its kind in the world, the new 19,000 m2 Danish Neuroscience Center brings together psychiatry and neuroscience under one roof to combine groundbreaking science and treatment of physical and mental brain diseases, spinal cord, and nervous systems.
BIG’s design mimics the gyrification of the human brain to utilize the limited site area most efficiently while creating synergies between the different disciplines within the hospital.
“Historically, hospitals have divided knowledge and expertise into different specialties and departments. DNC seeks to gather all current and future knowledge under one roof to create synergies between different expertise areas and a more holistic approach to understanding and curing brain disorders.”
Each department from neurology to nuclear medicine, headache clinic and psychiatry has its own distinct space and program functions, but to avoid separation and fragmentation between the disciplines and encourage crossbreeding between research groups, the functions are organized according to what they have in common.
“The brain is the most complex organ in the human body. Our design for the new Danish Neuroscience Center in Aarhus, replicates the most essential feature of the brain - the gyrification - to create more connections and space within limited confines. The building folds bring light, lots of new pathways and green pockets into the hospital making nature and biodiversity part of the hospital’s research and the healing journey of its patients.”
Natural materials such as wood and brick, will offer positive health benefits and a comforting atmosphere. The red concrete of the exterior blends well with the existing brick buildings and brings warmth to the spaces, contrasting the usual clinical and sanitized white environment of hospitals.
All office areas are naturally ventilated, and every floor has outdoor access. The stretched metal window mesh prevents glare and direct sunlight, providing each office, laboratory, or examination room with a pleasant natural light.
Anders Holden Deleuran Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Mantas Povilaika Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard Ulla Hornsyld Victor Moegreen Viktoria Millentrup Alexander Jacobson Andy Coward Bachir Benkirane Federico Martínez De Sola Monereo Jesper Kanstrup Petersen Julia Novaes Tabet Katrine Juul Kristoffer Negendahl Luca Pileri Lukasz Zbigniew Migala Natasha Lykke Lademann Østergaard Omar Mohamed Nabil Mohamed Saad Mowafy Taliya Nurutdinova Tore Banke Zuzanna Eugenia Montwill
Salling Fondene
TUCKER AND GRANT COUNTIES, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Virgin Hyperloop
TYPOLOGY
Infrastructure
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Hyperloop will fundamentally change the way we travel and, in the process, redefine the parameters that shape any mode of transportation. The paradigm shift requires setting new standards for technology, operation, and safety, as well as comfort and passenger experience.
Along with the technological development of the transportation system, the Hyperloop Certification Center is the next milestone in demonstrating the operation of the system as a commercial product. An 800-acre site in West Virginia will include a welcome center, a six-mile certification track, a pod final assembly facility, a product development test center, and training center for operations, safety, and maintenance.
Serving as a regulatory proving ground of sorts, the role of the HCC is a critical one as it serves as the necessary next step in taking proven technology and demonstrating to regulators and certifiers that it works and is safe for passengers.
Since the infrastructure is the most important element, the rest of the program is integrated with it as much as possible. In order to create a physical interface, the elevated vacuum tube wraps around itself and descends as a gentle ramp, ending in an airlock that allows for save entry and exits for pods. While the pill shaped loop of the tube forms the exterior façade of the facility, the support structure gets extended towards the interior as a sequence of concrete frames with fileted corners for lateral support.
Roof, floors and glass facades are infilled between the frames and form a simple warehouse-like structure that organizes the program as a continuous loop around a central courtyard.
The outdoor space can be used for assembly and testing of pod components, large gatherings, and as social space for the staff. It provides visual connections between the different departments and references the courtyard of Virgin Hyperloop’s LA campus. The facility also houses a test portal, that provides a passenger interface into the pods while they remain in the vacuum tube. This first prototype will be applied in the first commercial Hyperloop portals and continue HCC’s legacy of the first architecture turned Hyperloop infrastructure project.
Bjarke Ingels Gary Polk Jakob Lange Nojan Adami Shane Dalke Sören Grünert Thomas McMurtrie Anton Bashkaev Izabella Banas Kelly Neill Max Moriyama Mengzhu Jiang Nicolas Lapierre Ravina Puri Tracy Sodder
TORONTO, CANADA
CLIENT
Westbank Project Corporation | Allied Properties REIT
TYPOLOGY
Residential, Retail
SIZE M2/FT2
81,843 / 880,950
STATUS
IN CONSTRUCTION
SHARE
King Toronto Residences are set in a transitional area of Toronto between the tall towers of the Central Business District to the east and the low-rise neighborhoods in the northwest. Located at the meeting point of three 20th century neighborhood parks, the building is organized as a traditional perimeter block with a public park and plaza in the center.
The site includes several historic buildings, which King Toronto wraps around like a new organic frame. Each building unit is set at the size of a room, rotated 45 degrees from the street grid to increase exposure to light and air. The resulting urban volume is an alternative to the tower and podium typology prevalent in Toronto. It echoes some of Moshe Safdie’s most revolutionary ideas from Habitat 67 in Montreal, but rather than a utopian experiment on an island, it is nested in the heart of the city.
"With King Toronto, we wanted to find an alternative to the tower and podium you see a lot of in Toronto and revisit some of Safdie’s revolutionary ideas, but rather than a utopian experiment on an island, have it nested into the heart of the city. It would be strange if one of the most diverse cities in the world had the most homogenous architecture."
The existing city block at the site was developed a century ago with a network of lanes and passages; today, its home to a variety of restaurant patios and back entrances. BIG’s scheme picks up on this logic by integrating similar, publicly accessible pathways within the structure itself.
Organized as a traditional perimeter block with a public plaza in the center, King Toronto rises as a pixelated hilltop of housing, retail, and offices – avoiding the footprints of heritage buildings that already exist.
"At the core of our design we hoped to answer the question, how can architecture create community? We thought of this project as a way to demonstrate how architecture can meet some of society’s challenges."
The plaza is defined by two distinct atmospheres: a lushly landscaped forest paired next to an urban, hardscaped court. The resulting balance between these perceived opposites is a reflection of Toronto’s current state of rapid redevelopment: the union of old and new, an open community atmosphere in an intimate setting, calming green scenery within a bustling urban context.
An organic palette inspired by modernist Scandinavian architecture expresses the theme of warmth, while creating calming, modern spaces.
King Street’s topographical roofscape forms four mountains oriented towards the north, south, west, and east around a central courtyard. Each peak overlooks a different part of the city and rises above the expansive public realm at grade. Atop each of the four mountains, two penthouses form floating sanctuaries above the urban neighborhood of King Street West.
Each pixel is set at the size of a room; rotated 45 degrees from the street grid to increase exposure to light and air. At the base, pixels lift to provide 24/7 access across the courtyard, while the roof surface is manipulated to allow sunlight to penetrate the entire building, creating space for green terraces attached to each unit.
The resulting undulating façade is a connective topography – allowing increased circulation through the neighborhood while creating an abundance of green space normally reserved for the suburbs.
Agla Egilsdottir Agustin Perez-Torres Alejandra Cortes Alvaro Velosa Andrea Zalewski Andreas Buettner Beat Schenk Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Bryan Hardin Casey Tucker Chengjie Jacob Li Chia-Yu Liu Chris Tron Douglass Alligood Gabriel Jewell-Vitale Jakob Lange Jan Leenknegt Janie Green Jenna Dezinski Juan Diego Perez Diez Linqi Dong Margaret Tyrpa Norain Chang Rita Sio Ryan Harvey Sang Ha Jung Shu Zhao Simon Scheller Tara Abedinitafreshi Thomas Christoffersen Aaron Mark Alan Tansey Amina Blacksher Ava Kim Bart Ramakers Breno Felisbino da Silveira Brian Rome Bryan Maddock Casimir Esbach Corliss Ng Cristian Lera Silva Cristina Medina-Gonzalez Daniel Kidd Deb Campbell Edda Steingrimsdottir Elnaz Rafati Evan Saarinen Fabian Lorenz Florencia Kratsman Francesca Portesine Giulia Figueiredo Chagas Ian Gu Ibrahim Salman Iris Van der Heide Jaemin Seo James Babin Jin Park John Hilmes Joseph Kuhn Joshua Burns Josiah Poland Juan David Ramirez Julian Ocampo Salazar Karolina Bouros Kayeon Lee Kristoffer Negendahl Ku Hun Chung Lorenz Krisai Lucio Santos Luke Lu Margaret Kim Mateusz Wieckowski-Gawron Megan Ng Neha Sadruddin Oliver Thomas Ovidiu Munteanu Pabi Lee Phawin Siripong Samantha Okolita Seung Ho Shin Siva Sepehry Nejad Sue Biolsi Terrence Chew Thomas Smith Tiago Sá Tore Banke Tracy Sodder Yuanxun Xia Ziyu Guo
Diamond and Schmitt Architects
BA Group
ERA Architects Inc.
Gladki Planning Associates
Greenberg Consultants Inc.
Gunn Consultants
Reinbold Engineering Group
LMDG
MGM Consulting Inc.
Nemetz & Associates
Public Work
Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd.
BIG Ideas
HELLERUP, DENMARK
CLIENT
Gammel Hellerup High School
TYPOLOGY
Education, Sports
SIZE M2/FT2
1,080 / 11,625
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The Gammel Hellerup School just north of Copenhagen is a well-preserved piece of architecture and a good example of building on a human scale. BIG was asked to design two new buildings, a new multi-purpose hall and a new arts building for the growing school. The challenge was to develop a masterplan and architectural design for new buildings that met the school’s changing needs while still respecting the traditional architecture.
The roughly 1,100 m2 multi-purpose hall and the latest two-level arts building provide the students with generous spaces for social and creative unfolding, while increasing the capacity of the school in response to its growing popularity.
The first phase of the project was a large multi-functional space for physical activities, graduation ceremonies and social gatherings. BIG placed the new hall 5 m below ground in the school’s courtyard.
The shape of the roof is based on the formula for a ballistic arc drawing its signature curve from the physics of a handball being thrown.
Above ground, the hall’s softly curved roof doubles as an informal meeting place. The edge of the roof is designed as a long social bench, perforated with small windows to let natural daylight flow into the sports hall below.
After the opening of the sunken sports hall swept under the carpet and the resulting stronger presence in the neighborhood, Gammel Hellerup Gymnasium became the most sought after high school in the district.
At night, the furniture doubles as lighting. The echo of what happens beneath becomes the unanticipated invitation for the life above.
The two-level arts building provides the students with generous spaces for social and creative unfolding. Located between the school’s multi-purpose hall and adjacent football fields, the new arts building connects the sports areas with the gymnasium’s existing educational facilities in one continuous flow.
By placing parts of the new building beneath the football fields, the students are able to walk through the sunken sports hall at the center of the school´s courtyard, to the classrooms, cafeteria, and out to the main entrance at street level.
Construction materials and finishes known from the multi-purpose hall are integrated in reverse – where the sports hall is a sandwich of wood above and below with walls of concrete, the classrooms are the opposite – wooden walls spanning between concrete surfaces above and below. The continuity and repetition of the materials creates a coherent visual identity for the school.
The new facilities situated underground form the roof of the new arts building, extending the football fields into a green carpet for informal activity and to serve as informal seating overlooking future sporting events.
Bjarke Ingels Finn Nørkjær Frederik Lyng Jakob Lange Jan Magasanik Kamilla Heskje Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard Ole Elkjær-Larsen Agnete Jukneviciute Ambra Chiesa Ana Merino Anders Hjortnæs Brigitta Gulyás Dennis Rasmussen Enea Michelesio Greta Krenciute Henrick Poulsen Hjalti Gestsson Høgni Laksafoss Isabella Eriksson Jacob Paarsgaard Thomsen Jeppe Ecklon Ji-Young Yoon Michael Schønemann Jensen Narisara Ladawal Schröder Ole Schrøder Riccardo Mariano Rune Hansen Snorre Nash Thomas Jensen Tobias Hjortdal Vincent He Xu Li
Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards Finalist, 2014
Center for Active Design Excellence Awards Honorable Mention, 2014
Architizer A+ Awards Jury Winner 2014
AL Architecture & Light Design Awards Outstanding Achievement, 2014
Den Nordiske Lyspris, 2014
ARCHITECT Magazine Annual Design Review Grow Category Winner, 2013
Den Danske Lyspris, 2013
In Situ Prisen (Danish Concrete) Honorable Mention, 2013
CG Jensen
EKJ
Jens Lindhe
Grontmij
Midconsult I Herning
Bent Nygaard Sørensen
BIG Ideas
LONDON, ENGLAND
CLIENT
Serpentine Galleries
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
300 / 3,229
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
When invited to design the 2016 Serpentine Pavilion, BIG decided to work with one of the most basic elements of architecture: the brick wall. Rather than clay bricks or stone blocks – the wall is erected from extruded fiberglass frames stacked on top of each other.
The unzipped Serpentine ‘wall’ creates a cave-like canyon lit through the fiberglass frames, the gaps between the shifted boxes and the translucent resin of the fiberglass. As a result, the structure embodies multiple aspects that are often perceived as opposites: a structure that is free-form yet rigorous, modular yet sculptural, transparent and opaque, box and blob.
At the top, the wall appears like a straight line, while the bottom of it forms a sheltered valley at the entrance of the Pavilion and an undulating hillside towards the park.
The wall is pulled apart to form a cavity within it, to house the events of the Pavilion’s program. The unzipping of the wall turns the line into a surface, transforming the wall into a space. A complex three-dimensional environment is created that can be explored and experienced in a variety of ways: inside and outside.
The materials include wooden floors and extruded Lay Light by Fiberline profiles, providing every surface with a warm glow and linear texture – from the mesh of woven glass fibers to the undulating lines of the grain of the wood.
The simple manipulation of the archetypical space-defining garden wall creates a presence in the Park that changes as you move around it and through it. The north-south elevation of the Pavilion is a perfect rectangle. The east-west elevation is an undulating sculptural silhouette. Towards the east-west, the Pavilion is completely opaque and material. Towards the north-south, it is entirely transparent and practically immaterial. As a result, presence becomes absence, orthogonal becomes curvilinear, structure becomes gesture and box becomes blob.
Andy Young Beat Schenk Bjarke Ingels Claire Thomas Spiller Daniel Sundlin Jakob Lange Kai-Uwe Bergmann Kristian Hindsberg Thomas Christoffersen Aaron Powers Alice Cladet Kristoffer Negendahl Lorenz Krisai Maria Holst Petersen Maria Sole Bravo Max Moriyama Rune Hansen Tianze Li Tore Banke Wells Barber
Civic Trust Pro Tem Special Award, 2017
Architizer A+ Award Popular Choice Winner in Pavilions, 2017
Aecom
AKT II
Dinesen Gulve
Fiberline Composites A/S
Sapa Extrusions Denmark A/S
Stage One
BIG Ideas
BASEL, SWITZERLAND
CLIENT
Nüesch Development | UBS Fund Management | Christoph Merian Stiftung
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
30,000 / 322,920
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Situated next to the Herzog & de Meuron Foundation and the Academy of Art and Design FHNW, Transitlager is part of a larger redevelopment of a new arts district in Basel, Dreispitz. The neighborhood is characterized by weaving geometries of infrastructure: intersecting railways, loading docs, and a puzzle of linear buildings with sharp edges and staggered facade lines.
BIG converted the former 1960s Transitlager warehouse with an ‘opposite twin’: both the old and the new are the same size, born out of the same structural grid, but assuming different massing, geometry, and scales of use. One is straight, the other zigzagged; one is singular, the other serial; one is open and flexible, the other bespoke; public contrasts private while vibrant urban spaces complement private gardens.
The solid concrete building with deep floor plans and large spans had to be converted and expanded into a mix of restaurants, galleries, and apartments.
BIG’s design inherits features from its industrial surroundings, characterized by the geometries of infrastructures that weave through the city: intersecting railways, loading docks, and turning radiuses influence the staggered edges, pointed ends, and sharp corners of the warehouse’s new identity.
The extension doubles the size of the Transitlager and becomes an opposite twin – based on the same structure, but with a different geometry.
The combined building becomes a spectrum of optimal conditions – from open and flexible plans to tailor made units; from public programs to private residences; from vibrant urban space to peaceful green gardens; from cool industrial to warm and refined.
The resulting rooftop folds form a new type of ‘roofyard’ that enhances communal living with panoramic views to Florenzstrasse and nearby botanical garden.
The uppermost residential floors with 103 apartments and lofts – comprising open and flexible plans to tailor-made units – are rotated for optimal views and natural light to enter from more than one side. The double height spaces become lofts for living and working.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels Buster Christensen Finn Nørkjær Ioannis Gio Jakob Henke Jan Magasanik Jesper Boye Andersen Lorenzo Boddi Martin Voelkle Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard Ole Elkjær-Larsen Ricardo Palma Prieto Ryohei Koike Teodor Cristian Fratila Agnete Jukneviciute Alexandra Gustafsson Andreas Geisler Johansen Barbora Srpkova Brandon Cook Camila Luise de Andrade Stadler Dennis Rasmussen Dominic Black Enea Michelesio Erik de Haan Franck Fdida Gül Ertekin Helen Shuyang Chen Marcelina Kolasinska Maria Teresa Fernandez Rojo Miao Zhang Michael Schønemann Jensen Sergiu Calacean Tobias Hjortdal
Bollinger+Grohmann
Harry Gugger Studio Ltd
HL-Technik AG
Wenzel + Wenzel
Schnetzer Puska Ingenieure
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
CLIENT
Suitsupply
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
19,800 / 213,127
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The new Suitsupply headquarters is part of Kop Zuidas masterplan located in the south of Amsterdam. Sitting directly adjacent the main transport hub of Amsterdam RAI, the site punctuates the actual shift of Europaboulevard, creating a gateway moment in the city.
BIG’s proposal is a multifunctional hybrid of two office typologies; a tower and a horizontal block. A gradual setback in the front façade, liberates the front area of the building and creates a green pocket dedicated to the public realm. A sequence of terraces in the back provide breakout areas for the company’s employees.
The HQ’s south-facing façade is pushed back and oriented towards the main orbital motorway, attracting passersby and gaining visibility from passengers arriving from Amsterdam RAI trains or driving from Europaboulevard. The stepped-back façade also creates an entrance for the building itself, while serving as both passage for pedestrians and traffic barrier for residents in the Kop Zuidas community.
The Suitsupply store on the 2nd floor is visible from the street and hangs cantilevered to allow for a green urban pocket to emerge as a gentle entrance into the building.
To ensure an efficient, robust and healthy work environment for Suitsupply’s staff, the building hosts a sequence of terraces in gradual setbacks on the upper-level floors, allowing for relaxing moments during the work day. Dense tree and bush plantings on the lowest terrace floors offer wind protection, while grass and shrubs on the highest terrace floors resist the elements and allow for higher sun exposure.
Bjarke Ingels Dalma Ujvari Finn Nørkjær Hyojin Lee Jakob Lange Kekoa Charlot Matteo Baggiarini Matthew Thomson Roberto Fabbri Tyrone Cobcroft Ulla Hornsyld Vinish Sethi Andre Enrico Cassettari Zanolla Åsmund Skeie Dominic Black Dominika Trybe Duncan Horswill Edna Omeragic Ewelina Olechno Federico Salmaso Francesca Portesine Geoffrey Eberle Hongduo Zhou Jakub Klimes Jakub Wlodarczyk James Ross Mcrae Jo Hee Lee Katrine Sandstrøm Kevin Westerveld Kristoffer Negendahl Ksymena Borczynska Lukas Molter Mark Korosi Mark Pitman Matteo Dragone Norbert Nadudvari Raoul Skrein Rihards Dzelme Santtu Johannes Hyvarinen Sebastian Liszka Seda Yildiz Søren Aagaard Sunwoong Choi Sze Ki Wong Tore Banke Victoria Ross-Thompson Vladislav Saprunenko Yasmina Yehia
Brink
INBO
Van Rossum
Techniplan
Nieman
Kontek
DELVA
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Bo-Vita
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
6,800 / 73,195
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
For the Dortheavej residences located in the northwest part of Copenhagen, BIG mobilizes modular construction with modest materials, creating generous new living spaces at the urban as well as the residential scale.
The 5-story building winds through the area characterized by car repair shops, storage and industrial buildings from the 1930s–50s. BIG was hired by non-profit affordable housing association Lejerbo to create much needed affordable housing and public space in the area, while keeping the pedestrian passage-ways open and the adjacent green yard untouched.
The prefabricated elements are stacked in a way that allows every second module an extra meter of room height. By gently adjusting the modules, the living areas open more towards the courtyard while curving the linear block away from the street to expand the sidewalk into a public square. The resulting checkered pattern becomes the trademark of the building. Economical constraints often lead to scarcity — at Dortheavej, BIG managed to create added value for the individual as well as the community.
Conceived as a porous wall, the building gently curves in the center, creating space for a public plaza towards the street on the south side and an intimate green courtyard towards the north. On the street level, the building opens up to allow the residents and general public to pass seamlessly into the courtyard.
Large floor-to-ceiling windows in the apartments allow lots of daylight into the units and outside views to the green courtyard or the surrounding neighborhood. The size of the apartments ranges from 60-115 m2 and the materials are all kept very simple with wood and concrete in light colors dominating inside and out.
The housing modules repeat along the curve and are stacked to the height of the surrounding buildings. The stacking creates additional space for each apartment to have a small terrace, providing a setting for healthy, sustainable living.
On the sunny south side, balconies retract and add depth to the façade while on the northern side, the façade is even. Long wooden planks cover the façade on all sides, highlighting the modules and alternating to accentuate the checkered pattern.
Residents can look out from their balconies and the surrounding community can see the activity inside.
The small square created by the building’s slight curve is landscaped with cherry trees and spaces for bicycle parking – the preferred way of getting around the city.
The north facing façade looks towards an enclosed green courtyard which residents of Dortheavej and the neighboring buildings can use for recreational activities.
Bjarke Ingels Catherine Huang David Zahle Finn Nørkjær Frederik Lyng Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard Ole Elkjær-Larsen Per Bo Madsen Alberte Danvig Alejandro Mata Gonzales Alina Tamosiunaite Birgitte Villadsen Claudio Moretti Dag Præstegaard Daruisz Duong Vu Hong Enea Michelesio Esben Christoffersen Ewelina Moszczynska Henrik Kania Høgni Laksafoss Jakob Andreassen Jonas Aarsø Larsen Karl Johan Nyqvist Katerina Joannides Krista Meskanen Laura Wätte Liang Wang Lucas Torres Aguero Maciej Jakub Zawadzki Maria Teresa Fernandez Rojo Michael Schønemann Jensen Nigel Jooren Rasmus Pedersen Robinson Neuville Sergiu Calacean Taylor McNally-Anderson Terrence Chew Tobias Hjortdal Tobias Vallø Sørensen
EU Mies van der Rohe Award, Nominee, 2019
World Architecture Festival, Best Housing Category Finalist, 2019
Danish Architect Associations Lille Arne Award, 2018
Københavns Kommune, 2018
Copenhagen Municipality's Annual Building Award
MOE Cj Group
FRANKFURT, GERMANY
CLIENT
Tishman Speyer
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
70,000 / 753,480
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Frankfurt is an urban setting that combines the classical European perimeter block with the high-rises of a modern metropolis – forming a vibrant cluster of structures in the city center. This architectural combination offers density and a dynamic skyline, echoing the Taunus Mountains that bound Frankfurt to the north.
The Omniturm high-rise is located directly in the center of this mix of tall and low, informed by its context and program to offer a silhouette that is both rational and sculptural.
“We continue to pursue a strategy of developing and owning premier properties in world-class cities, and this project is a perfect example of that strategy in action. Omniturm underscores our confidence in the long-term strength of the German market and the opportunities to develop innovative and unique mixed-use projects that genuinely enhance the country’s urban landscape.”
Organized as a slender and rational stack of inhabited floors, the tower is interrupted by two sculptural moves where the program changes.
At street level the floors are shifted backwards and forwards to create green terraces and canopies facing the park. In the middle of the silhouette, where the tower turns residential, the floor plates slide out in a spiraling movement, creating terraces and outdoor space for residents. In its upper section the tower returns to a simple stack of optimized floor plates, completing its twist to rejoin the orientation of the floors below. These inhabitable movements bring human scale from street level into the skyline, embodying the unique character of Frankfurt.
The building expands at its center to capture and accommodate the best spaces for each specific program and height. The building houses a mix of two office types as well as residential and public spaces, utilizing each to create a form that is at once classical and sculptural.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Finn Nørkjær Jakob Lange Jesper Boye Andersen Lorenzo Boddi Lucian Tofan Raphael Ciriani Tomas Karl Ramstrand Viktoria Millentrup Vinish Sethi David Verbeek Dominic Black Emily King Enea Michelesio Francesca Portesine Gabrielė Ubarevičiūtė Giedrius Mamavicius Günther Edwin Weber Helen Shuyang Chen Ian Omumbwa Joanna Anna Jakubowska Joanna Gajda Joern Hendrik Fischer Joseph James Haberl Julieta Muzzillo Katarzyna Peikarczyk Lucas Stanley Carriere Lukas Kerner Maria Teresa Fernandez Rojo Maureen Rahman Maximiliano Rieutord Nathalie Stachnik Nicolas Millot Ovidiu Munteanu Sabine Kokina Simone Dianova Tchonova Thomas Sebastian Krall Tore Banke Yan Ma Yannick Macken
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, Award for Excellent, Best Tall Building 100m-199m, 2021 International Highrise Award, 2020
Emporis Skyscraper Award, 2019
IF Communication Design Award, 2012
BV Braun und Canton
Bollinger + Grohmann Ingenieure<br> Frankfurt DE
Bollinger + Grohmann Ingenieure<br> Frankfurt DE + ATF<br> Frankfurt DE
TechDesign<br> Frankfurt DE
K. Doerflinger
VRP Bauphysic<br> Weihnheim DE
BPG Landschaftsarchitekten<br> Biebertal DE
Jappsen Ingenieure<br> Oberwesel DE
Wessel
Prof. Eger
Licht Kunst Light
Pfeiferingterplan Bauberatung
BIG Ideas
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Copenhagen City Council | Lokale og Anlægsfonden
TYPOLOGY
Sports
SIZE M2/FT2
1,600 / 17,222
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Copenhagen’s harbor has transformed from an industrial port and traffic junction to being the cultural and social heart of the city. The Copenhagen Harbor Bath has been instrumental in this evolution. It extends one of the city’s most popular parks over the water by incorporating the practical needs and demands for accessibility, safety, and programmatic flexibility. In 2011, the Harbor Bath was recognized by the International Olympic Committee as one of the Best Sports Facilities in the world.
A new winter bath addition is expected to welcome swimmers in 2025.
Rather than imitating the traditional Danish indoor swimming bath, the Harbor Bath offers an urban harbor landscape with dry-docks, piers, boat ramps, cliffs, playgrounds and pontoons.
As a terraced landscape the Harbor Bath completes the transition from land to water making it possible for the citizens of Copenhagen to go for a swim in the middle of the city.
Incorporated as a natural extension of the existing harbor bath, the new winter bath will extend the existing wooden deck and lift to allow the underlying saunas and thermal baths to overlook the harbor. The winter bath experience is based on contrast: between cold and hot; outside and inside. These contrasts are what generate the physical experience and health benefits.
In the same way BIG’s proposal seeks to create two widely different experiences – the exterior is fully contextual and has emerged out of the local site conditions – the interior on the other hand has references to another time and place, as well as the contemporary Copenhagen art scene.
During the summer, the inclined roof surface of the winter bath functions as an amphitheater facing the pools as well as the park, increasing the connection between the bath and Islands Brygge. Throughout the winter the active zone is mainly under the lifted deck, where the winter bath facilities are placed facing southwest. During the dark months, the winter bath brings life to the area and can be seen as a lantern from both Islands Brygge and Kalvebod Brygge.
As a local reinterpretation of traditional Roman bath house mosaics the floor surfaces are decorated with mosaics of the artist Remember My Name (HuskMitNavn).
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Blake Smith David Zahle Finn Nørkjær Hanna Ida Johansson Christian Finderup Henning Stüben Igor Brozyna Ingrid Serritslev Jakob Møller Jeffrey Mark Mikolajewski Laura Wätte Marc Jay Ola El Hariri Ombretta Colangelo Se Hyeon Kim Taylor McNally-Anderson
International Olympic Committee Award Honourable Mention for Best Public Recreational Facility, 2007
European Prize for Urban Public Space, 2004
Julien de Smedt / PLOT
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Sjakket Youth Center | Realdania Foundation
TYPOLOGY
Education, Sports
SIZE M2/FT2
2,000 / 21,528
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Sjakket Youth Club is situated in Copenhagen’s Nordvest neighborhood, densely populated with old industrial buildings and contemporary housing. In 2004, when BIG and JDS were hired to convert the building, the area was mainly populated by lower income households and immigrant families. BIG decided to refurbish the factory without gentrifying its raw beauty and alienating its original occupants.
Today, Sjakket Youth Club still plays a significant role in the area, giving the neighborhood’s youth a safe space for recreation, education and enjoyment.
The buildings are renovated to incorporate as much of the existing elements as possible with a futuristic and bright overlay. Instead of removing the graffiti, it became a source of inspiration for BIG’s color scheme. Through color, a bridge was built between the generation of graffiti and the generation that is guiding the kids through Sjakket’s activities.
The exterior gables and structural walls of the existing building had to be preserved. Our starting point was to build upon the qualities of the existing factory – the natural light, full interior height, and materiality serving as a backdrop to the various activities.
The main purpose of the refurbishment was to create a place that serves many different functions and age groups, but most importantly could make a positive, bright statement that would serve the area. By listening to the center’s users and leadership as well as surrounding neighbors the focus was set on integration rather than alienation which many immigrant youth feel in their new home.
One of the vaulted spaces is gutted to make room for a vast sports hall, whereas the other accommodates a more intimate program. The vault to the south opens up entirely to the courtyard through three large industrial sized garage doors extending the interior into the urban realm.
A half pipe sun deck is wedged between the two vaults. This raised terrace is in many ways a secret oasis for the kids. Accessed from the
raised terrace is the ‘Ghetto Noise’ sound studio which bridges over the two vaults, like one of many containers which are so ubiquitous in the surrounding harbor landscape of Copenhagen. The studio is the
only architectural addition, as well as a recognizable feature announcing the center’s
presence on the industrial skyline of the neighborhood.
Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Nanna Gyldholm Møller Ole Elkjær-Larsen Anders Drescher Bo Benzon Christian Dam Julie Schmidt-Nielsen Kathrin Gimmel Louise Steffensen Mia Frederiksen Narisara Ladawal Schröder Nina Ter-Borch Ole Nannberg Olmo Ahlmann Sophus Søbye Soren Lambertsen
International Olympic Committee Award Silver Medal, 2011
Contract World Award for Best Interior in Education, 2008
Julien de Smedt / PLOT
TORONTO, CANADA
CLIENT
Westbank Project Corporation | Telus | Allied Development Corporation
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
118,707 / 1,277,752
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
Union Centre Tower located at the intersection of many of Toronto’s public transit systems at Union Station. It is connected to a major data center serving the greater Ontario area and allowing for the provision of heat energy by reuse of waste heat from the center. The project is integrated with the city grid by transforming the disused ‘Station Street’ into a pedestrian green way. The tower is accesses through an elevated walkway, as well as from the street. Both are lined with retail in a new low-rise street facing building. The building is composed of an efficient diagrid which stretches to become mega columns at ground level, allowing the building to float above the street. Beneath this hovering mass, a new concert venue is hug. The building iconic feature is the glass elevator core located on the outside of the building and transforming the building function into an urban spectacle.
Abdur-Rahman Harunah Agustin Perez-Torres Alan Maedo Alejandra Cortes Amir Mikhaeil Andreas Bak Andreas Buettner Bjarke Ingels Chia-Yu Liu Chris Tron Douglass Alligood Frankie Sharpe Gary Polk Gil Kilmo Kang Haochen Yu Jakob Henke Jan Leenknegt Lawrence-Olivier Mahadoo Martin Voelkle Nicholas Reddon Sebastian Claussnitzer Thomas Christoffersen Tom Lasbrey Ace Nguyen Ashton Stare Catrina Nelson Doug Stechschulte Elias Gunnar Brulin Emmett Walker Fabian Lorenz Filippo Cioffi Fiona Lu Florencia Kratsman Julian Ocampo Salazar Kig Veerasunthorn Kristoffer Negendahl Kurt Nieminen Max Moriyama Melissa Jones Neha Sadruddin Oliver Thomas Sijia Zhou Terrence Chew Tingting Lyu Valerie Derome-Masse Veronica Watson Yasamin Mayyas
Adamson Associates Architects
Read Jones Christoffersen
The Mitchell Partnership
Mulvey & Banani International
BA Consulting Group
GUNN Consultants
Public Work
Integral Group In.
COLE Engineering
RWDI Consulting Engineers
Urban Strategies
IMIGO
Y-Visual
BIG Ideas
BIG Engineering
ESBJERG, DENMARK
CLIENT
Henning G. Kruses Fond
TYPOLOGY
Public Realm
SIZE M2/FT2
1,000 / 10,764
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Esbjerg, a port city on the west coast of Denmark has long invested in cultural projects to make life more enjoyable for its residents. The new city square, Henning G. Kruses Plads designed by BIG Landscape is the latest example of creating a more lively public realm in Denmark’s fifth largest city.
Conceived as an extension of the local concert hall, Musikhuset, the white interior columns of the venue blend with the new birch trees on the plaza. A cymatic pool at the heart of the square picks up on the music vibrations in the concert venue and creates a gathering place for the locals who can sense the performances inside and outside.
”With Henning G. Kruses Plads, BIG’s architects and landscape designers have created a beautiful and functional living space in front of Musikhuset Esbjerg, which in a fantastic way both invites you to stay and enjoy the square, and also invites you inside our dynamic music house. We could not be happier with the result."
“The design is inspired by three elements: the existing architecture in Musikhuset, the music in Musikhuset, and the sea. Combining these considerations in a simple move that creates a gathering place for the city's residents and the visitors of Musikhuset. The cymatic pool is a surprising element - a poetic place for calm and reflection, a place that conveys and represents music like waves, so even kids can understand it.”
The square honors the city’s close ties to the sea. A 10 m round basin in the birch ‘forest’ creates patterns in the water surface through the vibrations of the music from the stages inside the building, or via pre-programmed vibrations, keeping the water constantly in motion.
”The new forecourt for Musikhuset Esbjerg and Esbjerg Kunstmuseum is composed of a number of architectural details designed specifically for the site. The curved steel lines, the circular gratings around the trees, the light posts, the bicycle racks, and the vibrating basin are all designed in 5 mm stainless steel, which stands in subtle contrast to the concrete's hand-brushed surface and the birch trees' white trunks and green crowns. Henning G. Kruses Plads represents a holistic urban 'work of art' on a smaller scale."
The site, which brings together Esbjerg’s old town center and the green city park around the music house, is planted with 55 pollen-free Betula Pendula Birch, which is a particularly robust tree type. All the trees are stemmed at a height of 4-5 m, so that visitors have a clear view of Musikhuset and Kunstmuseet.
Planted in a grid system, the trees align with the lines of the square around the pool respectfully framing Musikhuset’s inner column structure.
Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Søren Martinussen Ulla Hornsyld Matea Mađaroš Milan Moldenhawer Vladislav Saprunenko Yue Hu
Brinck Entrepreneue
Aqua-Teknik A/S
JOT.JOT
The Brick sofa series is designed to have strong architectural references. It consists of a chair and a pouffe, as well as both a two- and three-seater sofa.
The point of departure was a classic brick bond forming the cushion pattern. The cushions are tied together and fixed with a tailor-quality button made from fiber concrete.
Bjarke Ingels Jens-Martin Skibsted Lars Larsen
KiBiSi
PENANG, MALAYSIA
CLIENT
State Government of Penang, Malaysia
TYPOLOGY
Urbanism
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Malaysia is one of the most culturally and biologically diverse countries on Earth. Penang’s strategic location on the Malacca Strait, at the “Crossroads of the World,” is today a cosmopolitan hub for a variety of cultures and advanced manufacturing. For generations, Penangites, plants, and animals have coexisted, sharing resources where land and sea meet. However, the island’s dramatic topography and protected environment have increasingly begun to force new development into its coastal zones, disturbing natural habitats. These developments often lack diversity and soul, using nature as a fence rather than a link, often negatively impacting local communities and ecologies.
BIG’s masterplan BiodiverCity aims to expand human activity while not only preserving, but growing and strengthening habitats for all forms of life.
BiodiverCity proposes a manmade archipelago where natural habitats and human activity can coexist and thrive together. A place to secure economic, cultural, and ecological growth, marrying local sensibilities and global innovation.
A network of biologically-rich corridors and social destinations are interwoven to create a resilient and holistic approach that is responsive to the dynamics of water, accommodating diversity in communal experiences rooted within Malay heritage, and newly established BioHabitats.
Three diverse islands are conceived as urban lily pads, organized by a cellular structure of urban districts interspersed with, and connected by, natural patches and corridors for habitat.
“At the south-end of Penang Island, BiodiverCity’s ecologically diverse landscape promotes co-existence with natural elements while giving ground for communal experiences rooted within Malaysian heritage. A network of biologically rich islands is scaled and programmed to accommodate diversity in social experiences for Penangites and newly established habitats for native plant and animal species.”
The Channels, BiodiverCity’s first island, is constructed in 3 distinct and complementary phases, each supporting the next: in Phase 1, Active Destinations, including a wave garden and technology park, bring early footfall and revenue to the development; in Phase 2, a Civic Heart establishes governance and research institutions in the area; and in Phase 3, a Cultural Coast builds upon the heritage and vibrant creative energy of Georgetown to create a regional and international draw. These all come together in the Blue Plaza, the aqueous heart of the island.
“BiodiverCity will have an integrated system of localized water resources, renewable energy and waste management, tied altogether in a human-made ecosystem. Rather than design a city for cars, we designed BiodiverCity for waterways, rail and different kinds of personal mobility, forming a multi-modal environment of movement. The resultant urban landscape will be a celebration of Penang's position as a truly global crossroads of the world - economically, ecologically and socially.”
The Mangroves, BiodiverCity’s second and central island, is organized around a network of sheltered urban wetlands, providing the perfect environment for its namesake Mangrove forests – a super-rich habitat that sequesters more than 5 times as much carbon as typical forest. If the Channels are an island for Making, the Mangroves build on this focus to become an Island for Thinking, with a focus on business and services. In the center of the island, the Bamboo Beacon hosts meetings, conferences, and major events – broadcasting the knowledge and know-how developed in BiodiverCity out to the world.
Districts are efficiently connected below the BioPlatform’s surface to increase the efficiency of goods, services, and regional mobility, while maximizing pedestrian safety throughout the public realm. Above-ground streets not only move people, but also serve as BioMobility corridors for plants and animals. Urban space is shared, layered, and connected throughout each island.
A water, air, and land based autonomous public transportation network ensures a personalized 360-degree approach to mobility. BioProgramming promotes an interactive and mixed-use public interface. BioBuildings are designed to perform, clad in living facades that shade and covered in productive rooftops that capture and grow on-site BioResources: water, energy, and food.
The Laguna, BiodiverCity’s westernmost island, is an oasis for ecological living, organized around a central marine heart. 8 smaller islands form a miniature archipelago, where floating, stilted, and terraced housing takes advantage of the spectacular natural setting of Tanjung Gertak Sanggul.
The Penang BiodiverCity will be a cultural, economic, and ecological capital for Malaysia, Southeast Asia, and the globe. An extension that celebrates both the heritage and innovation that characterize Penang, and a home for growing economies, growing communities, and growing ecologies, at the ‘Crossroads of the World’.
Bella Yanan Ding Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Einat Lubliner Isabella Marcotulli Jeremy Alain Siegel Kai-Uwe Bergmann Leon Rost Lingyi Xu Mike Munoz Nasiq Khan Sang Ha Jung Shane Dalke Thomas McMurtrie Veronica Acosta Won Ryu Yao Tong Yi Lun Yang Alan Fan Autumn Visconti Casper Clausen Christian Cueva Christopher Pin Guillaume Evain Isa Akerfeldt-Howard Jamie Maslyn Larson Jeffrey Shumaker Jennie Peng Jordan Felber Mateo Fernandez Max Moriyama Montre'ale Jones Piotr Zalewski Stephanie Mauer Terrence Chew Tracy Sodder
Hijjas
Ramboll
Web Structures
Web Em
Ernst & Young
Knight Frank
KPK
Green Growth Asia Foundation
Universiti Teknologi Mara
Lucian R
BROOKLYN, UNITED STATES
As a contribution to the public conversation, BIG developed the BQP – turning the BQ-Expressway into a BQ-Park, while still accommodating significant vehicle flows along the route. The BQP provides a platform for adding significant new parkland along an underused corridor, while connecting Brooklyn Heights to Brooklyn Bridge Park with a preserved or re-constructed cliffside – crisscrossed by rampways, greenery, and park amenities. Read more about the proposal here.
BIG proposes for local park access to be accommodated on a meandering parkway, while space is created for a potential public transit corridor. The project extends south to Atlantic Avenue – where it creates a new crossing and urban nexus, and the beginnings of a linear park which could eventually connect DUMBO to Red Hook.
The simple structural approach, and one-time construction of the new roadway, creates a less costly solution for reconstruction of the BQE, while delivering far more benefits to its considerable city-wide usership – improving health outcomes for all those around it, and serving as a model for future aging infrastructure across New York City’s five boroughs.
By helping to link the waterfront, the plan will strengthen the emerging live-work corridor along the East River, providing better access to residents across neighborhoods, and help to support a growing Brooklyn economy.
Significant outreach with community groups, elected officials, city, and state agencies has been undertaken to inform the BQP concept. This has included over 50 public meetings, briefings, and workshops since February of 2019.
A technical study has been undertaken to determine and address the nature of any conflicts with existing infrastructure and landowners. In February of 2020, owing to this pro-bono BQP effort, the NYC Department of Transportation officially shelved previous plans, and an official New York City Council study endorsed the BQP approach, with City Council Speaker Corey Johnson stating “This is something we’re going to live with for the next 100 years. Let’s make sure we do it right”. Work is now set to begin on establishing a governance structure to take the project forward.
Bjarke Ingels Jeremy Alain Siegel Kai-Uwe Bergmann Martin Voelkle Veronica Acosta Autumn Visconti Douglas Breuer Jamie Maslyn Larson Stephanie Bigelow Terrence Chew
ASLA NY Honor Award, Un-Built Projects, 2020 AIA NY - ASLA NY Projects Citation Transportation + Infrastructure Design Excellence Awards, 2019
Regional Plan Association
Arcadis-US
Nova Concepts
BROOKLYN, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Van Alen Institute | New York City Council
TYPOLOGY
Infrastructure
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
The Reimagining Brooklyn Bridge competition hosted by Van Alen Institute brought together over 250 professionals and young students to share ideas and solutions for responsive short-term interventions and longer-term, large-scale reconfigurations of one of the most memorable and iconic structures in New York City and the world: The Brooklyn Bridge.
Prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic and demonstrations against police brutality, the competition brief required streets and shared spaces to address the present moment and past injustices, and to enable peaceful gatherings, safe transportation, a healthy environment, and opportunities for small businesses to flourish.
Built in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was a symbol for the powerful new energy of the American city, and an innovative transit artery that carried 425,000 passengers a day on its cable railway and streetcars, and by bike, foot and carriage.
Between 2008 and 2018, the number of cyclist traffic doubled on weekends and by 2019, more than 16,500 pedestrians are known to have walked the bridge on an average weekday.
BIG + Arup’s Back to the Future envisions a radical, yet incremental re-thinking of the Brooklyn Bridge by returning the 19th-century structure to its original iconic state, both architecturally and functionally, while piloting innovations in autonomous mobility and public space design.
“During the Black Lives Matter marches, we saw the Brooklyn Bridge transformed into a grand public space right outside the windows of our Dumbo office. We’d discovered that at its peak, the Bridge had moved more than three times as many people across the river than it used to. By proposing to move people rather than cars across the Brooklyn Bridge, we are essentially creating a future public promenade for New Yorkers above the East River.”
Back to the Future’s phased strategy takes advantage of congestion pricing and other innovations that will reduce and redistribute car traffic around our urban core. The proposal begins with the introduction of safe, dedicated bike lanes; slowly transitioning to include public transit routes; expanded space for pedestrians; and, finally, paving the way for an electric and autonomous future.
Towards New York Harbor, the resulting plaza in the sky is proposed as a flexible space accommodating new sweeping views, quiet spaces for reflection and a diversity of activities for New Yorkers and visitors that change with the seasons and evolve over time.
At the bridge anchorages, legacy car infrastructure has crowded the historic bridge vaults, impeded access to the waterfront and divided communities from one another for decades. As the bridge transitions away from vehicular use, these ramps can be removed, and life brought back to the historic vaults and their surroundings.
In DUMBO, Brooklyn, legacy city properties can be rethought to create spaces that welcome New Yorkers. As New York City’s aging subway system strains to keep up with demand, and the city continues to search for new and safe ways to commute in the coming years, the creation of safe, dedicated and shaded corridors for biking and collective transit is the most high-impact, low-cost urban investment towards recovery. The corridors in Back to the Future can be interwoven seamlessly with the existing network of vehicular streets, creating a city with room for both people and logistical demands.
As innovations at the Brooklyn Bridge and others are piloted, this network of People Streets can branch out across the city, strategically linking to the neighborhoods that need them most, and as the Brooklyn Bridge did one-and-a-half centuries ago, bringing New York back to the forefront of urban innovation.
Finally, Back to the Future seeks to release 32 acres of public realm, more than five times the area of the High Line, re-connecting neighborhoods and offering natural and recreational spaces for adjacent communities and a growing city.
Bjarke Ingels Jeremy Alain Siegel Kai-Uwe Bergmann Martin Voelkle Veronica Acosta Adam Poole Alan Fan Brandon Cappellari Christian Salkeld Jamie Maslyn Larson Jeffrey Shumaker Lorenz Krisai
ASLA New York Merit Award for Unbuilt Project, 2021
Arup
AMHERST, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
University of Massachusetts Building Authority
TYPOLOGY
Education, Interiors
SIZE M2/FT2
6,267 / 67,462
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The copper-clad Business Innovation Hub at the heart of the University of Massachusetts Amherst adds 70,000 sq ft of hyper-collaborative space to one of the top public business school in the United States.
The new expansion and partial renovation of the Isenberg School of Management nearly doubles the school’s current space to accommodate Isenberg’s last decade of growth, while introducing new facilities for more than 150 staff and 5,000 students in undergraduate, masters, and PhD programs.
Prominently situated on Haigis Mall near the entrance to the campus, a dramatic triangular glass entrance created by a domino-effect greets students. The building exterior is wrapped in straight, vertical pillars that gradually slope downward, creating a distinct appearance without any curved elements.
The Business Innovation Hub directly extends the school’s existing 1964 building from the north and east sides in a wide circular loop, linking back on the upper floors to maintain connectivity. The loop consolidates Isenberg’s faculty and staff under one roof, creating a singular place of arrival and a strong visual identity for the entire Isenberg School of Management.
The Business Innovation Hub’s exterior is clad in copper; long-term exposure to the elements will naturally weather the metal from a dark ochre to an enduring patina.
Upon entering, students and faculty arrive at the 5,000 sq ft Learning Commons. Daylight peers between the accordion-like pillars to illuminate the multi-story atrium, where the heart of the business school hums with students learning, networking and dining. The bright and spacious Learning Commons doubles as an event venue for guest speakers, award ceremonies, banquets and career fairs. In any room or hallway, natural light reaches inside from both the campus and the inner courtyard.
Throughout the Business Innovation Hub, spaces are designed with student interactions, teamwork, and chance encounters in mind: soft chairs adorn the corridors, benches are affixed to the grand stairway, and classroom chairs can easily maneuver for theater-style lectures or small-group work.
On the second and third floors, students and staff occupy the innovation labs, advising spaces and faculty offices. To support the career development of every Isenberg student, classrooms are equipped with integrated technology for distance learning. In addition, the Chase Career Center gains 15 new interview rooms, and various conference rooms and breakout areas are distributed throughout the loop.
The inner spaces of the extension face a circular courtyard which connects back to the campus via two pathways between the original Isenberg building and the Business Innovation Hub. The buildings are fused by two bridges above the paths: the large bridge cloaked in copper becomes the gateway to the courtyard while the small bridge glazed with glass forms a visual continuity around the interior courtyard.
“The Business Innovation Hub is conceived as an extension of both the building and the campus mall. The linear structure is bent to form a full loop framing an internal courtyard for the life of the students. The façade is pulled away in a domino effect to create a generous invitation from the Haigis Mall to the Learning Commons. The mall and the courtyard–inside and outside form a forum for the students, the faculty and the profession to meet, mingle and mix society and academia.”
Beat Schenk Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Douglass Alligood Hung-Kai Liao Jan Leenknegt Kai-Uwe Bergmann Margaret Tyrpa Pauline Lavie-Luong Thomas Christoffersen Yu Inamoto Alice Cladet Amina Blacksher Barbara Stallone Cheyenne Vandevoorde Daniel Kidd Davide Maggio Deb Campbell Denys Kozak Derek Wong Domenic Schmid Elena Bresciani Emily Mohr Fabian Lorenz Francesca Portesine Ibrahim Salman Justyna Mydlak Kristoffer Negendahl Ku Hun Chung Linda Halim Lucas Hong Manon Otto Maria Eugenia Dominguez Mustafa Khan Nicolas Gustin Pei Pei Yang Peter Lee Seo Young Shin Simon Lee Terrence Chew Tianqi Zhang Tore Banke Yehezkiel Wiliardy Manik Yixin Li
Prix Versailles Exterior World Award, 2020
Goody Clancy Architects
Richmond So Engineers
Arup
Nitsch
VAV
Towers Golde
Haley & Aldrich
Acentech
HLB
SGH
PEER
WIL-SPEC
VJA
Lerch Bates
LN Consulting
Mohar Design
Dimeo
BIG Ideas
SAN PELLEGRINO TERME, ITALY
CLIENT
San Pellegrino S.P.A.
TYPOLOGY
Infrastructure
SIZE M2/FT2
17,500 / 188,368
STATUS
IN CONSTRUCTION
SHARE
The new San Pellegrino Flagship Factory, located in the heart of Bergamo, Italy, is an extension of the rational and functional architecture of the existing factory where the natural mineral water has been bottled since 1899.
Framed by the river valley and the mountains, employees and visitors will feel immersed in nature from all directions, with abundant views of the flowing river, the forested slopes, the snowy summits, and the clear skies.
A new road system and the access bridge to the facility will reduce heavy vehicle traffic through the inhabited center. Furthermore, the photovoltaic panels, high energy-efficiency systems, and water recovery systems for rational consumption of water resources will be implemented – an approach in line with the company’s focus on environmental longevity.
"The factory extension is imagined as the aquatic equivalent of a wine cellar: light, transparent, fresh, and natural. Like the mineral water itself, the Factory will appear to spring from its natural source, rather than imposing a new identity on the existing complex. This creates a seamless continuity between the environment of production and consumption, preparation, and enjoyment."
By interweaving heritage, nature, and architecture, BIG’s design revisits the classic elements of Italian architecture and urbanism – the arcade, the viale, the piazza, and the portico – to create an architectural environment where production and consumption; nature and architecture; outside and inside; and making and enjoying are integrated to elevate the experience for visitors and San Pellegrino staff alike.
The architecture of the Factory and Experience Lab is designed to feel timeless, mobilizing elements such as the arc – the most materially efficient and structurally elegant way to span across large spaces for production, exhibitions, and events – and the arcade.
Combining the modular architecture of the Factory with the repetitive elements of Italian Classicism and Rationalism, the space is sculpted by expanding and contracting the span of the arches. Like the aquatic equivalent of a wine cellar, the architecture of the Factory and Experience Lab feels both familiar and fresh; it is firmly rooted in heritage, yet evolves into the future.
Exposed architectural concrete arches frame the factory, providing glimpses of the Orobie Alps.
Beat Schenk Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Chris Tron Daniel Sundlin Danna Lei Douglass Alligood Elizabeth Mcdonald Gaurav Janey Giulio Rigoni Jan Leenknegt Jelena Vucic Julie Kaufman Lawrence-Olivier Mahadoo Margaret Tyrpa Molly Hsiao Rou Huang Nicholas Reddon Simon Scheller Stephanie Hui Thomas Christoffersen Veronica Acosta Won Ryu Adi Krainer Amro Abdelsalam Armen Menendian Aslan Taheri Ava Nourbaran Benson Chien Deb Campbell Denys Kozak Derek Wong Edda Steingrimsdottir Ethan Duffey Fabian Lorenz Francesca Portesine Gabriella Den Elzen Jennifer Wood Ji-Young Yoon Jordan Felber Josiah Poland Kelly Neill Kevin Pham Kristoffer Negendahl Kurt Nieminen Lorenz Krisai Ma Ning Maki Matsubayashi Maria Eugenia Dominguez Max Moriyama Megan Ng Megan Van Artsdalen Melissa Jones Nicole Passarella Santtu Johannes Hyvarinen Sharon Kwan Stephen Kwok Stephen Steckel Terrence Chew Tianqi Zhang Tore Banke Tracy Sodder Veronica Moretti Vincenzo Polsinelli Wells Barber Yang Yang Chen Yehezkiel Wiliardy Manik
Atelier Verticale
West8
Crew
SBP - Schlaich Bergermann Partner
Front
Arup
Squint/Opera
MIC - Mobility in Chain
Wet
Studio Piero Castiglioni
BIG Ideas
Schirra/Giraldi
LEÇA DO BALIO - MATOSINHOS, PORTUGAL
CLIENT
Farfetch & Castro Group
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
330,000 / 3,552,090
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
Farfetch, the leading global technology platform for luxury fashion, seeks to further connect creators, curators, and consumers in a purpose-built urban fashion village on the slopes of Leça River in Porto. Situated within the larger Fuse Valley site – also designed by BIG and developed in collaboration with Castro Group – the new HQ is scheduled to break ground by early 2023, and open its doors in 2025.
The new Farfetch HQ features 12 interconnected buildings that each represent the various elements of the company’s organization, with the design of each space tailored accordingly. BIG’s design seeks to amplify the exchange of ideas between the different aspects of the organization and create new opportunities for the 3,000 Portugal-based Farfetch employees, the local community and visitors.
As a manmade extension of the hillside, the roofs of the new buildings rise and fall to create peaks and valleys, with slopes and terraces providing employees with generous spaces to enjoy breaks and host gatherings – surrounded by views of the river. Natural paths extend from the landscape to the roofscape, creating flexible wayfinding for people to move around the complex – both inside and out, and above, below, and within the building.
"We are very excited about this project and the vision that Bjarke Ingels has presented to us, not only because of what it will mean as a milestone for the company, for our people, but also for the community. This project will be a revolution on the current concepts of workspaces, marked by its futuristic nature, by the orientation towards sustainability and well-being. It will be a space not only for FARFETCH, but for the entire community.”
On the ground floor, the facades recede to expand the public realm, creating natural canopies to welcome visitors, collaborators, and customers. The chamfered corners of the buildings merge to create archways and openings between the courtyards that act like canvases for different artistic expressions, bringing color and texture to the streetscape.
“The individual buildings that constitute the various elements of the organization are connected to form large continuous work environments – physically consolidated, but spatially varied to create a human-scale experience.“
Each building is tailored to its specific program, with gently–altered floorplans creating an equally lively and varied interior architectural experience.
Atelier-like attics with additional ceiling heights and open mezzanines are created by the sloping roofs of the buildings. Open connections extend from the attic mezzanines all the way to the ground, creating visual and physical connectivity across all floors.
The interior experience prioritizes an immersion in nature, providing a biophilic environment that aims to increase productivity and wellbeing. Similarly, the dense urban fabric and ample vegetation provides a naturally shaded, cooled environment.
The new Fuse Valley combines maximum connectivity with a varied visual and physical experience, stimulating human exchange and innovation.
The larger Fuse Valley is organized around plazas, parks, and courtyards which are landscaped and programmed to extend the life inside the buildings to the outside. Like an urban fabric, the individual buildings rest on a series of urban terraces connecting the main road to the east, with the Leça River to the west. Along the central arrival axis, an urban alley opens all the way from the street to the river, featuring all the major public programs and amenities along the riverfront of Farfetch: lobbies, an academy, an auditorium, canteen, and wellness facilities.
Agustin Perez-Torres Álvaro Villanueva Angel Barreno Gutiérrez Bjarke Ingels Dominika Kłopotek Francisco Abajo Duran German Otto Bodenbender Giulia Orlando Gonzalo Ivan Castro Vecchiola Hanna Ida Johansson Jakub Fratczak João Albuquerque Mathieu Michel Cardinal Matthew Reger Mireia Sala Font Paula Madrid Pietro Saccardi Stefani Fachini De Araujo Ulla Hornsyld Alberto Gonzalez-Garces Mediero Andreas Francesto Raphael Winter Ariadna Carolina Mejias Alvarez Elena Ceribelli Eszter Oláh Filip Galic Florencia Kratsman Gabriela Lira Dal Secco Gabriella Luppi Mackenzie Geoffrey Eberle Gonzalo Coronado Maceda Henrik Kania Javier Mora Sánchez Jorge Ferrer Castillo Lena Mariella von Buren Luca Fabbri Miquel Benedito I Ribelles Nandi Lu Natacha Fernandes Da Ponte Viveiros Pernille Uglvig Sangvin Ragna Nordstrom Raphaël Logan Barber Sergi Sauras Tristany Serra Vladimir Savcic Wei Lesley Yang Yingxin Du Yuanxun Xu Yue Hu
Arup
OODA
Ventura & Partners Arquitectos
Dimscale
Quadrante
PROAP Arquitectura Paisagista
Filamento
Pacifica
Limsen
FEUP/IC
VHM
Ambisitus
Engimind
CORE
Castro Red
AFA
NdBIM
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Kvarterløft Governmental City Renewal Project | Lokale og Anlægsfonden | The Urban Development Fund
TYPOLOGY
Sports
SIZE M2/FT2
2,000 / 21,528
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Maritime Youth House is located on the island of Amager, in Copenhagen. In 2002, PLOT (BIG + JDS) was invited to design a new building for two user groups with different requirements: a sailing club that needed most of the site to moor their boats and a youth center that wanted outdoor space for the kids to play. The geotechnical report revealed pollution on the site with 2/3 of the building budget allocated to moving the topsoil from the site to a landfill.
BIG turned the conflicting user needs and the pollution at the site into a key driver for the design: by covering the site with a wavy wooden landscape, the polluted soil could stay where it was (and the funds could instead be spent on the building and amenities), the underside of the deck could be used for boat storage while the kids could run around and play on top of it.
The interior of the building is very low key: the front room oriented towards the coastline, is used as a common room where most of center’s daily activities take place. It utilizes a higher level of materials and detailing than the workshop and storage areas.
The floor in the workshop is a standard grey concrete whereas the commons area has a polished Aalborg white concrete with white aggregate. The presence of hard surfaces used on the interior is meant to contrast the wooden exterior, an inversion of what is commonly done. This is meant to reflect the dominance of outdoor activities of the youth house.
Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels Finn Nørkjær Thomas Christoffersen Bo Benzon Henning Stüben Henrik Juhl Nielsen Jesper Wichmann Jørn Jensen Mads H. Lund Marc Jay Nina Ter-Borch Xavier Pavia Pages
Træprisen Danish Wood Award, 2008
Mies van der Rohe Award Honorable Mention, 2005
AR+D Emerging Architecture Award 1st Place, 2004
Copenhagen Award for Architecture, 2004
European Architecture Award Luigi Cosenza, 2004
Julien de Smedt / PLOT
Birch & Krogboe A/S
Jesper Gudman
BILLUND, DENMARK
CLIENT
Kirkbi A/S
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
6,585 / 70,881
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Vejlevej 11 is a residential building comprising a unique combination of private, public and elderly care homes in Billund, Denmark.
The 6,600 m2 residence includes 25 units of public housing to be built for Billund Housing Association, 10 elderly care homes for Billund Municipality, and 28 rental apartments for development group Kirkbi. The building forms a gentle curve along the corner streets of Vejlevej and Hans Jensens Vej, rises to the height of the building on the opposite street, while the corner ends are pressed down to meet the scale of the neighboring buildings.
The overall building expression is conceived as a set of “brick blocks”, associated with the feeling of quality and robustness. The materiality is further strengthened by covering the balconies and the underside of the cantilevering parts with bricks. The top part of the cantilevering boxes become the balconies for the apartments above, enclosed by a transparent handrail of glass.
The building rises in the form of stacked boxes with each unit staggering to create niche spaces for terraces and balconies. The size of the façade openings gradually decrease towards the middle of the building and increase towards the end corners.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels Finn Nørkjær Jeppe Langer Mads Engaard Stidsen Sascha Leth Rasmussen Alex Bogdan Ritivoi Allen Shakir Amanda Østenkær Angela Wei Anna Wiktoria Wozniak Federica Longoni Floriane Fol Greta Tafel Gül Ertekin Hanne Halvorsen Joos Jerne Laj Karsten Rasmussen Lone Fenger Albrechtsen Luca Pileri Mark Korosi Matthew McCluskey Nataly Timotheou Norbert Nadudvari Philip Rufus Knauf Richard Howis Søren Aagaard Thomas Sebastian Krall Tiago Barros Tommy Bjørnstrup Wiktor Kacprzak
Rambøll
Rambøll Landskab
Lendager Group
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
City of New York | NYC Department of Design & Construction
TYPOLOGY
Urbanism
STATUS
IN CONSTRUCTION
SHARE
The East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project emerged from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Rebuild by Design competition, which sought to develop innovative design solutions to increase the resiliency of Sandy-impacted communities.
The 2.5 mile project area is located within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 100-year floodplain and spans from Montgomery Street to East 25th Street. The ESCR project is designed to protect and improve the resiliency of the large and diverse residential community of more than 110,000 New Yorkers, including approximately 28,000 NYCHA residents. ESCR will also offer protection to critical infrastructure – including a major pump station and an electrical substation that powers much of Lower Manhattan – as well as numerous local schools and libraries.
In 2024, NYC Mayor Adams announced the completion of the first section of ESCR, between East 15th St. and the Asser Levy Playground, with flood barrier walls and gates, a new dog run, ballfields, and other public amenities.
In order to make the case for the protection of Lower Manhattan, the BIG team undertook extensive quantitative and qualitative analysis – demonstrating impacts by Hurricane Sandy, and outlining future risks to life, property, and economic activity.
Working with the city, BIG identified Manhattan’s East side as a priority area which is home to more than 110,000 low-income residents living in one of the largest reservoirs of public housing in the city.
In addition, the area is home to multiple critical public assets including the country’s economic epicenter; one of its most significant historic districts, the South Street Seaport and extensive transportation infrastructure.
Over the course of the concept design, the BIG team held 11 public workshops and 40+ smaller stakeholder sessions, with more than 1,000 participants from the community and surrounding neighborhoods providing input. Taken together, the ESCR project builds physical, social, and economic resiliency, strengthening the City’s coastline while reestablishing public space, enabling outdoor gathering opportunities, and improving waterfront accessibility.
At East River Park, a system of “bridging berms” between the FDR Drive and the park will help protect the neighborhood from future storm surge and rising sea levels while reimagining access and pedestrian bridges into the park, supporting diverse new plantings, enhancing views into the park, and creating better open spaces along the waterfront.
At Stuyvesant Cove, elevated open spaces will work together with a new ferry landing, cultural facilities, and kayaking amenities to create a vibrant waterfront. The use of deployable elements will maintain views and access to the water at critical locations, ensuring continued connections between the neighborhood and its waterfront.
Andreas Buettner Ania Agnieszka Podlaszewska Beat Schenk Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Douglass Alligood Isela Liu Jakub Kulisa Jeremy Alain Siegel Juan Diego Perez Diez Kai-Uwe Bergmann Lisbet Fritze Trentemøller Margaret Tyrpa Nasiq Khan Oliver Siekierka Sang Ha Jung Stephanie Hui Thomas Christoffersen Thomas McMurtrie Veronica Acosta Adam Poole Agnieszka Majkowska Andreea Vasile Hoxha Aslan Taheri Athena Morella Autumn Visconti Benjamin Dinapoli Chao-Wei Chiang Daniele Pronesti Deb Campbell Douglas Breuer Emily Bauer Emmett Walker Erik Kreider Fiona Lu Gabriel Hernandez Solano Gaurav Sardana Guillaume Evain James Donaldson Jamie Maslyn Larson Jessica Jiang John Sng Jonathan Hein Jonathan Ong Jordan Felber Juan David Ramirez Kalina Pilat Kam Chi Cheng Karolina Bouros Kate Cella Kayeon Lee Kelly Neill Kurt Nieminen Mai Lee Malcolm Rondell Galang Manon Otto Margaret Kim Mateusz Wieckowski-Gawron Max Moriyama Maxime Le Droupeet Mo Li Morgan Mangelsen Nandi Lu Nicholas Potts Nicole Passarella Ruicong Tang Seo Young Shin Simon David Tammy Teng Taylor Burgess Taylor Fulton Taylor Hewett Terrence Chew Tracy Sodder Vincenzo Polsinelli Wells Barber William Campion Yaziel Juarbe Yixin Li Ziyu Guo
AKRF Engineers
Arcadis
JACOBS
MNLA
Hardesty Hanover
Siteworks
Wesler Cohen
Hazen & Sawyer
ONE Architecture
Pentagram
SKÆRBÆK, DENMARK
The 25 m tall “Marsh Tower” is located in the marshlands of Denmark’s popular National Park, Wadden Sea which was recently given UNESCO World Heritage status as the largest unbroken system of intertidal sand and mudflats in the world.
Created for Marsk Camp, a tourist destination that aims to showcase the unique landscape of southern Jutland, the spiraling double-helix appears as a giant sculpture rising out of the landscape, inviting locals and tourists up for a 360-degree view of the natural environment.
Wadden Sea National Park is one of the last remaining large-scale intertidal ecosystems in the world and is widely known for its unique natural environment of sea, dune, woods, heaths, fauna, and wildlife.
BIG collaborated with the local organization Marsk Camp Group to create an experiential destination that presents the unique landscape from a new perspective.
“Our ambition is to elevate Southern Jutland’s tourism experience to a new level and present this unique landscape from a new perspective to tourists from all over the world. Marsk Tower affirms this goal, celebrating the contextuality of Wadden Sea National Park’s unique landscape and the Wadden Sea as a UNESCO World Heritage Site to be enjoyed by locals and tourists alike,”
The design of the double helix means visitors traverse 146 steps on the way up and 131 steps on the way down. Each direction wraps around the elevator located at the core of the tower which allows access for wheelchair users.
“Because of the earth's curvature, visitors will gradually see more of the horizon as they walk to the top of the tower. At the foot of the tower, visitors can see 4 km into the distance, but from the top of the tower the view is expanded to an 18 km view into the horizon. The stairs widen at the top of the tower, creating a generous lookout spot with views stretching to city of Esbjerg, the Islands Rømø and Sylt, and even beyond the Wadden Sea."
The 12-hectare Marsk Camp area is a tourist destination that includes restaurants, a mini golf course, glamping tents, an icehouse, and accommodations for up to 126 motorhomes.
Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Jakob Lange Erik Kreider Federico Martínez De Sola Monereo Joshua Woo Matilda Olivia Blomgren Tobias Hjortdal
HB Trapper
AFRY
PHILADELPHIA, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Liberty Property Trust
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
9,244 / 99,501
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
1200 Intrepid is a LEED Gold certified office building in Philadelphia’s Navy Yard neighborhood, shaped by the encounter between Robert Stern’s masterplan of rectangular city blocks and James Corner’s iconic, circular Central Green Park.
The building’s double curved, precast concrete façade bows inwards to create a generous urban canopy that responds to the ‘shock wave’ of the park’s circular running track, activity pods and planting vignettes – rippling outwards like rings in water to invade the building’s footprint. Visitors and employees can admire the mothballed ships sitting in the adjacent docks while embracing the Central Green Park.
“The ‘shock wave’ of the public space spreads like rings in the water, invading the footprint of the building to create a generous urban canopy at the entrance. The resultant double-curved façade echoes the complex yet rational geometries of maritime architecture. Inside, the elevator lobby forms an actual periscope, allowing people to admire the mothballed ships at the adjacent docks.”
1200 Intrepid’s front façade is created by the strategic stacking of High Concrete’s precast panels of varying sizes, figured in a basket-weave pattern to realize the top of the building’s straight edge. As the panels reach upward they also tilt outward, creating an inviting, cave-like canopy over the building’s front sidewalk. Each of the building’s other three sides stand straight up, maintaining the structure’s signature paneling.
Referencing the Navy Yard’s maritime history while providing much needed natural light, a functioning periscope penetrates the core of the building, projecting views of the Navy Yard basin into the center of the elevator lobby.
Aran Coakley Beat Schenk Bjarke Ingels Douglass Alligood Kai-Uwe Bergmann Michelle Stromsta Sören Grünert Thomas Christoffersen Annette Miller Armen Menendian Brandon Cook David Brown Deb Campbell Janice Rim Natalie Kwee Ming Yie Peter Lee Taylor Hewett Terrence Lallak Thea Gasseholm Thomas Fagan
PCI Harry H. Edwards Industry Advancement Award, 2016
PCI Best Office Building Award, 2016
Philadelphia Business Journal Best Real Estate Deal, 2016
Environetics
In-Posse
LRSLA Studio
Pennoni
Re:Vision
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Two Trees Management
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
118,637 / 1,277,000
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
The Brooklyn waterfront is continually evolving. What was once a soft shoreline of wetlands, marshes, shallows, beaches, and tidal flats, is now a series of elevated piers, bulkheads, and physical barriers, compromising the relationship between water and city.
In collaboration with Two Trees Management and James Corner Field Operations, BIG’s design for the mixed-use River Ring development on the Williamsburg waterfront, provides a total of 1,000 units of market-rate and affordable housing while seeking to enhance the connectivity of the public waterfront, restore natural habitats, elevate the standard for urban waterfront resiliency, and transform the way New Yorkers interact with the East River.
River Ring intends to complete the continuous public waterfront that stretches from Bushwick Inlet Park to Domino Park, addressing a major missing link in the public route from Williamsburg to Greenpoint. Located at an important junction where Metropolitan Avenue terminates at the East River, the masterplan extends the urban connection from the city grid out toward the water, encouraging people to explore the ecological park.
“Our proposal closes one of the last remaining gaps in the continuous transformation of the Williamsburg waterfront into a post-industrial natural habitat. Rather than stopping at the hard edge of the old dock, Metropolitan Avenue is split into a pedestrian loop extending all the way into the river, connecting the dots of the concrete caissons to form an urban archipelago of recreative islands while protecting a beach and body of water for water sports and wetlands. The radical transformation of Copenhagen’s port into a swimmable extension of the public space that we helped pioneer two decades ago, now seems to be knocking at the door in Williamsburg and the entire East River. The River Loop will be the first of many invitations for New Yorkers to dip their toes in the water.”
By deconstructing and re-naturalizing the built urban shoreline, the water’s edge is expanded into the city, creating a beach that brings people out to the water. A circular path frames a protected cove, providing 360° panoramic views of Brooklyn and Manhattan. By extending landscape-piers to the concrete caissons existing today, breakwaters are created that dissipate wave action from river waves and wakes from boats. This protected cove will support in-water recreation such as swimming and boating, while mitigating the effects of storm surge on the neighborhood.
The expanded and enhanced shoreline creates six acres of new park space (including three acres of in-water programming), featuring an outdoor tidal classroom, tidal pools, picnic and hammock grove, and a nature walk. Habitat restoration addresses the biodiversity gap on the East River and builds off other initiatives in the region. This encourages the return of wildlife to the East River that we are already beginning to see today.
The building footprint results from expanding the public realm, significantly increasing public park space while minimizing the building area at the ground level. Framing the new park are public facing programs – a new 47,000 sq ft YMCA; 30,000 sq ft of neighborhood-oriented retail space; and 4,500 sq ft of community occupied kiosks.
The residential towers are oriented to limit view obstruction from the neighborhood and maximize the Metropolitan Avenue view corridor. Blending the towers with the landscape softens the relationship between building and park, forming a gateway that welcomes the community to the water.
“We investigated the opportunity to stretch the Williamsburg waterfront landward with a circular pier and protected cove for water-based activities, inviting New Yorkers to take back and enjoy the river as a social and ecological public amenity. Surrounded by a necklace of recreation, educational and commercial programs, we envision the historic piers to be renewed and teeming with life. The masterplan proposes splitting Metropolitan Avenue into two diagonal pathways that connect to the waterfront promenade, resulting in triangular building footprints with views to the East River. Two towers inspired by Williamsburg warehouses are injected with neighborhood-oriented retail at its base, while the traditional podium is replaced by cascading terraces that frame and soften the relationship to the park.”
Agla Egilsdottir Beat Schenk Bernardo Schuhmacher Bjarke Ingels Chris Tron Daniel Sundlin Danna Lei Dominyka Voelkle Douglass Alligood Jakub Kulisa Janie Green Nicholas Reddon Shane Dalke Stephanie Hui Adam Poole Andreea Gulerez Bell Cai Carlos Castillo Charlotte Chan Christian Salkeld Jamie Maslyn Larson Jeffrey Shumaker Ji-Young Yoon Jordan Felber Kevin Pham Max Moriyama Melissa Jones Melody Hwang Neha Sadruddin Oliver Thomas Paulina Panus Siobhan Finlay Terrence Chew Tony-Saba Shiber Tracy Sodder Xi Zhang Yeling Guo Yerin Won Yushan Huang
ASLA New York Honor Award for Unbuilt Project, 2021 AIA NY, Citation Award in Urban Planning, 2021
James Corner Field Operations | Fried Frank
QUITO, ECUADOR
CLIENT
Uribe Schwarzkopf
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
44,000 / 473,000
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
With BIG’s first building IQON recently completed in Ecuador, BIG once again joined forces with Uribe & Schwarzkopf to bring a vertical neighborhood to Quito, the greenest capital in South America.
The 24-story mixed-use tower EPIQ is located on the southern tip of La Carolina Park in the center of the city. The shape of the site is a quarter of a circle and occupies the west corner intersection of Avenida de la Republica and Avenida Eloy Alfaro, across the street from the new Quito subway. The rounded corners of the building allow for panoramic views of the city while maximizing daylight exposure.
At its base, a pedestrian through-block connection forms a new gateway to the park and the recently completed subway station. Throughout its height, soft openings are carved into the building mass to create eight distinct blocks. These ‘buildings within a building’ are connected by large, communal green terraces at different elevations.
While the façade pattern is based on the scale of the individual apartments, the red and pink hues give each volume its own identity. Together, these residential blocks form a vertical neighborhood that exemplifies a new approach to integrating outdoor space into a high-density residential building aimed at fostering a community.
Alvaro Velosa Amir Mikhaeil Angel Barreno Gutiérrez Beat Schenk Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Clara Sanfeliu Douglass Alligood Emily Chen Jan Leenknegt Margaret Tyrpa Pauline Lavie-Luong Stephanie Hui Thomas Christoffersen Veronica Acosta Won Ryu Ace Nguyen Anton Bashkaev Benjamin Novacinski Deb Campbell Emmett Walker Florencia Kratsman Francesca Portesine Josiah Poland Lorenz Krisai Lucia Sanchez Ramirez Magdalena Narkiewicz Maria Sole Bravo Megan Van Artsdalen Oliver Thomas Stephanie Choi Stephanie Mauer Terrence Chew Tracy Sodder Tran Le Ziad Shehab
Uribe Schwarzkopf
Fernando Romo
JB&B
Rene Lagos
Geoestudios
Incoyam
Ciel Atelier
SUSONO, JAPAN
CLIENT
Toyota Motor Corporation
TYPOLOGY
Urbanism
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
In 2020, BIG and Toyota Motor Corporation revealed Toyota Woven City – the world’s first urban incubator dedicated to the advancement of all aspects of mobility at the foothills of Mt. Fuji in Japan. Envisioned as a living laboratory to test and advance mobility, autonomy, connectivity, hydrogen-powered infrastructure and industry collaboration, Toyota Woven City aims to bring people and communities together in a future enabled by technology yet grounded in history and nature.
Located at a 175-acre former factory site in the city of Susono in Shizuoka, Toyota Woven City creates a new equality among vehicles, alternate forms of movement, people and nature, streamlined by the promise of a connected, clean and shared mobility.
The Woven City is conceived as a flexible network of streets dedicated to various speeds of mobility for safer, pedestrian-friendly connections. The typical road is split into three, beginning with the primary street, optimized for faster autonomous vehicles with logistical traffic underneath. The Toyota e-Palette – an automated, clean, multi-purpose vehicle – will be used for shared transportation and delivery services, as well as for mobile retail, food, medical clinics, hotels, and workspaces.
The recreational promenade is occupied by micro-mobility types such as bicycles, scooters and other modes of personal transport, including Toyota’s i-Walk. The shared street allows residents to freely meander at a reduced speed with increasing amount of nature and space.
"A swarm of different technologies are beginning to radically change how we inhabit and navigate our cities. Connected, autonomous, emission-free and shared mobility solutions are bound to unleash a world of opportunities for new forms of urban life. With the breadth of technologies and industries that we have been able to access and collaborate with from the Toyota ecosystem of companies, we believe we have a unique opportunity to explore new forms of urbanity with the Woven City that could pave new paths for other cities to explore."
The third type of street is the linear park, a path dedicated to pedestrians, flora and fauna. An intimate trail provides a safe and pleasant environment for leisurely strolls and nature breaks through the ecological corridor connecting Mount Fuji to the Susono Valley.
A mix of housing, retail and business – to be built primarily of carbon-sequestering wood with photovoltaic panels installed on the roofs – characterize each city block, ensuring vibrant and active neighborhoods at all times of the day. Toyota’s R&D spaces house robotic construction, 3D printing and mobility labs, while typical offices flexibly accommodate workstations, lounges and indoor gardens.
Residences in the Woven City will test new technology such as in-home robotics to assist with daily living. These smart homes take advantage of full connectivity using sensor-based AI technology to perform functions such as automatic grocery deliveries, laundry pick-ups or trash disposal, all while enjoying spectacular views of Mt. Fuji.
Hidden from view in an underground network lies the infrastructure of the city, including hydrogen infrastructure, storm water filtration and a goods delivery network. The buildings at the Woven City will advance mass timber construction and strive towards carbon neutrality.
By combining the legacy of Japanese craftsmanship with modern technology, Japan’s construction heritage lives on, while building sustainably and efficiently into the future
Agla Egilsdottir Alessandro Sciolari Alvaro Velosa Andrea Hektor Bartłomiej Lew Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin David Iseri Einat Lubliner Gary Polk Giulia Frittoli Isabella Marcotulli Jason Wu Jialin Yuan Kristian Hindsberg Leon Rost Lingyi Xu Linqi Dong Louise Mould Lucrezia Picinali Minjung Ku Nasiq Khan Pauline Lavie-Luong Ryan Duval Shane Dalke Tara Abedinitafreshi Thomas McMurtrie Wes Thompson Will Chuanrui Yu Yi Lun Yang Yu Inamoto Yumiko Matsubara Agne Rapkeviciute Ahmad Tabbakh Alexander Jacobson Amanda Lima Soares Da Cunha Amie Yao Andres Romero Andy Coward Bell Cai Brandon Cappellari Brian Zhang Carlos Castillo Christopher Pin Cristina Medina-Gonzalez Duncan Horswill Fernando Longhi Pereira da Silva Frederic Lucien Engasser Guillaume Evain Helen Herget James Donaldson Jeffrey Shumaker Jennifer Minjee Son Jesper Kanstrup Petersen Jin Park Joanne Chen Jonathan Hein Jose Lacruz Vela Joseph Baisch Kam Chi Cheng Kayeon Lee Kelly Neill Lucia Sanchez Ramirez Mai Lee Maki Matsubayashi Margherita Gistri Melissa Jones Nicolas Lapierre Nouran Wael Mohamed Rashad Mohamed Sherif Olga Khuraskina Oliver Thomas Olivia Ann Egeberg Omar Mohamed Nabil Mohamed Saad Mowafy Paul Johann Henrich Kohlhaussen Pearlyn Mei Fen Chang Pernille Uglvig Sangvin Peter Andres Ehvert Peter Sepassi Raven Xu Samantha Okolita Shuo Yang Sille Foltinger Sinam Hawro Yakoob Terrence Chew Tore Banke Tracy Sodder Tran Le Valentino Gareri Veronica Watson Xi Zhang Xingyue Huang Xuechen Kang Yiqi Song Yushan Huang
World Architecture Festival Smart City WAFx Award Winner, 2021
Kume Sekkei
Arup Japan
Placemedia
Sato Facilities
Nikken Sekkei
Squint/Opera Inc.
Mobility in Chain
Atelier Ten
2021
CLIENT
Marc Lore, Junto Group
TYPOLOGY
Urbanism
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Telosa is a vision for a new city in America aiming to set a global standard for urban living, expand human potential, and become a blueprint for future generations and future urban environments.
Envisioned collaboratively by Marc Lore and BIG, the 150,000-acre proposal includes eco-friendly architecture, sustainable energy production, and a drought-resistant water system. Telosa has a target population of five million by 2050, with the first phase of construction expected to house 50,000 people by 2030.
A timber skyscraper dubbed “Equitism Tower” in recognition of Telosa’s new economic model for society is planned to serve as a beacon for the city. Telosa envisions transparent governance through Equitism, a model based on the premise that citizens should have a stake in the land; as the city does better, the residents do better. With Equitism, Telosa aims to create a much higher level of social services offered to residents without additional burdens on taxpayers. Equitism Tower’s projected features include space for water storage, aeroponic farms, and a photovoltaic roof.
Surrounding Equitism Tower, the city of Telosa focuses on people-centric design. Telosa’s public realm is vibrant and active, with open space woven throughout the dense city fabric forming its central spine. Lush in native planting, parks host carefully managed reservoirs, which store water for the city and provide all residents with open space within minutes of where they live.
Designed to be a 15-minute city, Telosa’s layout allows workplaces, schools, and basic goods and services to remain within a 15-minute commute from residents’ homes. Vehicles powered by fossil fuels will not be permitted inside city limits, with an emphasis instead being placed upon walkability and the use of scooters, bicycles, and autonomous electric vehicles – including the Sky Tram, part of Telosa’s transport system.
“Telosa embodies the social and environmental care of Scandinavian culture, and the freedom and opportunity of a more American culture."
Telosa will provide a model of how best to incorporate an existing natural environment into a new city’s design and operations to ensure continuity of the natural resource flow. The air quality of the region will be maintained by banning fossil-fuel vehicles, requiring zero stack emissions, and minimizing the heat-island impact of the city to avoid associated air quality issues. Maximum permeability of the city’s footprint for water infiltration and groundwater recharge will require green infrastructure with all buildings, thoroughfares, and open spaces.
The city is committed to instituting a circular materials economy that minimizes the need to extract additional natural resources, and thus, reduce the loss of natural habitats. Most importantly, however, and unlike any city in the world, Telosa will establish a fund to restore critical habitats and preserve the natural resources of the greater region.
Alana Goldweit Alejandra Cortes Bjarke Ingels Cheng Zhong Douglass Alligood Frankie Sharpe Isela Liu Jeremy Alain Siegel Juan Diego Perez Diez Lingyi Xu Luca McLaughlin Martin Voelkle Norain Chang Pooja Annamaneni Quanjiang Li Autumn Visconti Casper Clausen Catrina Nelson Florencia Kratsman Jeffrey Shumaker Mateo Fernandez Mengzhu Jiang Morgan Mangelsen Paul Clemens Bart Philip Andersson Shuo Yang Terrence Chew Tracy Sodder
Buro Happold
Squint/Opera
Two Bridges Film
HELSINGØR, DENMARK
CLIENT
Frederiksborg County | Helsingør Hospital
TYPOLOGY
Health, Interiors
SIZE M2/FT2
6,000 / 64,584
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Before designing the new Ellsinore Psychiatric Hospital, BIG dove into the programmatic requirements and needs of the client, as well as the daily users of the clinic, it’s staff, patients and relatives. The input from these different groups pointed to several conflicting requirements and ambiguities. To meet these needs and the requirements of modern psychiatric treatment, BIG set out to redefine the traditional hospital typology.
The building opened in 2006 with Crown Princess Mary of Denmark cutting the symbolic red ribbon.
The two level Ellsinore Psychiatric Hospital is tucked into the green and hilly landscape. Half hidden in nature the clinic avoids spoiling the view for the neighboring hospital building and at the same time provides the hospital’s users with a multitude of experiences of the surrounding lake and forest.
The roof construction of the building is a key element in the clinic’s contextual disguise. In places where the building is half rooted underground the green lawn slips over the roof, making the clinic a natural environment for the cure of mental illness.
Functionally the psychiatric clinic is organized into two main programs: a program for living and a program for treatment. The two parts consist of many different and individual functions that nevertheless must work together.
By using a clover structure in organizing the residential program each patient’s room is oriented toward its own part of the landscape – two sets of rooms facing the lake, and one set of rooms facing the surrounding hills. That way the intimate living program has been folded into the landscape being on a level with the lake. Between the functions emerges a new collective space that is embraced by offices and bed units and populated by small patios.
To many psychiatric patients a safe and calm environment is crucial to their well-being. Surroundings, that reminds them of their illness, cause instability and the feeling of being insecure.
In the design concept for Ellsinore Psychiatric Clinic BIG steered clear of all clinical stereotypes: the traditional hospital hallway without windows and rooms on both sides; artificial easy-cleaning materials like plastic paint, linoleum floors or ceilings made of gypsum, etc. Instead, all materials have their natural surfaces. Cast floors in concrete or lively colors and walls made of glass, wood and concrete. Functionally the hospital is tailor-made to modern psychiatric treatment and therapy. Experientially the hospital appears as anything but a hospital.
Part of the hospital contains observed treatment areas where patients for the good of self protection and their surroundings will have limited freedom to move, though without feeling claustrophobically trapped.
The day-and-night sections are spatially open, both offering an overall view to the staff and careful not to make the patients feel themselves observed or under surveillance.
The psychiatric hospital offers rooms for socializing and spontaneous meetings between people and at the same time opportunities for seclusion and contemplation.
The design of the hospital minimizes walking distance across the building, and at the same time provides individual sections with a maximum of autonomy and intimate spaces.
Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Finn Nørkjær Leon Rost Nanna Gyldholm Møller Thomas Christoffersen Anders Drescher Anna Manosa Ask Hvas Casper Larsen Christian Finderup Dennis Rasmussen Hanne Halvorsen Henrik Juhl Nielsen Ida Marie Nissen Jakob Eggen Jakob Møller Jamie Meunier Jesper Bo Jensen Jesper Wichmann Jørn Jensen Kasper Brøndum Larsen Leif Andersen Lene Nørgaard Louise Steffensen Simon Irgens-Møller Xavier Pavia Pages
Julien de Smedt / PLOT
Moe & Brødsgaard
Schønherr Landskab
David Mollerup
Lise Weile
PARIS, FRANCE
CLIENT
City Nove
TYPOLOGY
Retail
SIZE M2/FT2
13,000 / 139,931
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Le Marais is a unique quarter in the heart of Paris characterized by the porosity of its city fabric. On the outside a traditional Parisian neighborhood of city blocks – on the inside a labyrinth of interconnected courtyards. Parallel worlds to discover and explore. Walls cave in to become gateways. Facades fold out to cover courtyards, or loop around to form roofs.
The historical heritage of Le Marais has provided us with a rich urban fabric of quirky courtyards and intimate spaces. BIG decided to expand this legacy from below to above and inside to outside. The future starts in the past. The outside begins on the inside.
At Rue de la Verrerie the façade pushes a bridge across the street to connect to its neighbor. The traditional elements of architecture fuse into a continuous warped surface: wall becomes roof becomes ceiling becomes gate becomes bridge. At a glance the new architecture blends seamlessly with its neighbors. On closer inspection it is a social sculpture shaped by the flow of people passing between its streets and archways, courtyards and rooftops.
Bjarke Ingels Danyu Zeng Francisco Castellanos Jakob Sand Marie Lancon Monika Dauksaite Roberto Fabbri Sarkis Sarkisyan Alexander Jacobson Andrea Angelo Suardi Andy Coward Davide Pellegrini Duncan Horswill Elias Gunnar Brulin Fabiana Cortolezzis Geet Gawri Gül Ertekin Hulda Jonsdottir Jakub Klimes Jesper Kanstrup Petersen Joanna Anna Jakubowska Ka Yiu Karry Li Luca Pileri Masashi Hirai Seunghan Yeum Tore Banke
Systematica
INCET
Studio Fahrenheit
BMF
BIG Engineering
BIG Ideas
PARIS, FRANCE
CLIENT
Sorbonne Université
TYPOLOGY
Education
SIZE M2/FT2
15,992 / 172,136
STATUS
IN CONSTRUCTION
SHARE
The new multidisciplinary research center of Sorbonne University, located between Jean Nouvel’s Institut du Monde Arabe and the open green park of Sorbonne’s Jussieu Campus will become a significant addition to the campus, strengthening the international appeal and openness of the leading French University for Science and Medicine. The facility will bring together academic scholars and the business community, while re-connecting the university physically and visually with the city of Paris.
Located in the visual axis of the Notre Dame Cathedral in a dense context of university buildings from different historical periods, BIG proposes a building geometry that adapts to the specific conditions of all adjoining sides, optimized for daylight, views and accessibility. The three-dimensional envelope retracts from the neighboring facades, opens up towards the Mohammed V Square and the park, and folds into a publicly accessible rooftop landscape, resulting in an adapted sculptural building volume.
A central canyon provides daylight and a visual connection between laboratories and offices. In the atrium a cascade of informal meeting spaces lead to the public rooftop terrace and faculty club. A public stair to the rooftop offers glimpses into the activities of the laboratories which are divided by transparent walls throughout the building to ensure visual connections between the working spaces. The upper levels have panoramic views towards the Notre Dame and the skyline of Paris.
“Like a scientific incubator, Cité de l’innovation Sorbonne Université will provide the physical environment for nurturing growth of cultures and sharing of ideas - through the internal mix of laboratories, research facilities and informal meeting spaces, and through a reunification with the public life of the city."
The iconic view of the Notre Dame cathedral is not only brought into the daily life of the building though the large panoramic windows, but the façade facing Mohammed V Square is also slightly angled, so a mirror image of the cathedral becomes visible from eyelevel on the square – connecting the innovation center visually to its iconic location.
Aimee Louise Desert Andrea Hektor Andreas Bak Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Filip Rozkowski Finn Nørkjær Francisco Castellanos Francois Ducatez Gerhard Pfeiler Jakob Sand Jean Paysant Jose Ignacio Balaguer Palacios Matteo Baggiarini Michael Leef Nanna Gyldholm Møller Robert Grimm Roberto Fabbri Sorcha Burke Thomas Lejeune Alex Bogdan Ritivoi Alexander Codda Alexandre Carpentier Alžbeta Hlinová Amro Abdelsalam Andrea Angelo Suardi Andy Coward Antonina Tsepurnohh Bernhard Touzet Bjarke Koch-Ørvad Boris Kadiyski Cæcilie Søs Brandt-Olsen Camille Crepin Duncan Horswill Edouard Boisse Edward Durie Elena Bresciani Emma Isabelle Olsson Ewa Zapiec Fabio Garau Filip Fot Gabrielle Nadeau Gül Ertekin Ingrid Albina Oliva Lampa Janis Bronka Jonathan Russell Lore Vyfeyken Lucie Krulichova Quentin Blaising Ricardo Candel Robinson Neuville Sergiu Calacean Simona Reiciunaite Tiina Liisa Juuti Timo Harboe Nielsen Tobias Hjortdal Yang Du
SPAN
OXO Architectes
Igrec Ingnierie
Bureau Michel Forgue
Franck Boutté Consultants
Theatre Projects
Geoff McFetridge
BONDY, FRANCE
CLIENT
Société du Grand Paris
TYPOLOGY
Infrastructure
SIZE M2/FT2
10,000 / 107,640
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
The Gare du Pont de Bondy continues the Parisian tradition of utilizing bridges as social spaces and cultural landmarks. Located at the encounter between the communities of Bondy, Bobigny and Noisy-le-Sec, the station is conceived as both bridge and tunnel wrapped around a giant atrium, connecting the riverbank to the train landing. The deepest train tunnels will now open directly to the Parisian sky, and all three surrounding neighborhoods will be united in a single inclusive loop – a new architectural hybrid of urban infrastructure and social space.
The Gare is the connecting element between the recently built parks bringing the canal back to evidence as a public space. The top light is the station’s element of reference: whether one arrives from Bobigny, Bondy, Noisy-leSec or from underground, the large glazing structure identifies the Gare.
In that sense this is not a building that sits on top of the platforms, instead it is a bridge that wraps around the top light, becoming a station and then a tunnel, letting the sunlight down to the platforms, and inviting travelers from all sides of the site.
Anisoara Crilic Bjarke Ingels Claudia Bertolotti Filip Rozkowski Francisco Castellanos Francois Ducatez Gaurav Janey Gerhard Pfeiler Jakob Lange Jakob Sand Jean Paysant Jiawen Huang Laurent De Carniere Marie Lancon Martyna Kloda Masa Tatalovic Matteo Baggiarini Michael Leef Nicoli Attili Pereira Robert Grimm SeongHun Yoon Alex Bogdan Ritivoi Alexandra Nicolova Andrea Angelo Suardi Antoine Gisèle Maes Biqin Li Cristina Minguela Ewa Natalia Szajda Floriane Fol Gabrielė Ubarevičiūtė Giedrius Mamavicius Jacques Zhang José Carlos De Silva Kristoffer Negendahl Laurène Marie Alice Lucy Maija Ose Malgorzata Mutkowska Margarita Nutfulina Mariana De Soares e Barbieri Cardoso Orges Guga Pascale Julien Patrice Gruner Quentin Blaising Rahul Girish Ramon Julio Muros Cortes Sahil Rattha Sara Najar Sualdea Shiqi Zhao Tiago Sá Tore Banke Vilius Linge Wenjun Mai Xiaoyi Gao
Silvio D'Ascia Architecture
Systematica
Elioth/ EGIS Concept
EGIS Bâtiments
Agence Babylone
SNAIK
8'18"
Eiffage
SETEC
HERNING, DENMARK
CLIENT
HB Trapper & Stål A/S
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
920 / 9,795
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The design brief for HB Trapper & Stål’s HQ was to combine a serene office environment with the excitement of a large, impressive showroom. While originally manufacturing primarily steel stairs and balconies, HB Trapper & Stål has expanded into other fields of the building process, including bespoke wall, floor, and ceiling solutions defined by high-quality finishes and detailing.
With the facilities to manufacture and assemble most parts of the building already on-site, it was important that the new administration building exemplify both the manufacturing capabilities of the company, and the versatility of the steel material that underscores HB Trapper & Stål’s expertise.
HB Trapper & Stål co-designed the building and acted as the main contractor. Minimizing construction costs and the carbon footprint of the renovation were key factors in the design of the project. As such, the new building is an adaptive reuse project that integrates parts of three existing buildings, celebrating exposed structures and raw material surfaces: the exterior north wall of the manufacturing building, the foundation and floor slab of the old administration building, and most of the original brick administration building, reducing the project’s material use.
On the exterior, the building is clad in full-height, weathered Corten steel plates on two sides, blending the building in with the red brick manufacturing buildings, while a simple glass façade wraps the other two sides.
Inside, several small new spaces, together with the existing reused buildings, make up a small village of functional areas. This subdivides the large space that is defined by the exterior steel and glass skin, providing visitors with a glimpse of the unique material properties of different types of steel.
The building orients all work areas towards the north, maximizing diffused daylight and minimizing solar heat gain. The roof integrates solar panels with a large skylight, providing further diffused daylight to the office areas and functioning as part of the building’s hybrid natural/mechanical ventilation system, resulting in low energy use and reducing running costs for the building.
The close collaboration with our client also allowed for bespoke steel designs that could be quickly mocked up and tested on site, including everything from door handles and meeting tables to kitchen elements, railings, electric outlets, ventilation grills, and glass façade mullions.
Finn Nørkjær Frederik Lyng Ole Elkjær-Larsen
HB Trapper
NEVADA
Scaled to 1/500,000th of the Earth’s surface, the inflatable metallic sphere is a source of social gravity and shade for a temporary city in the Nevada desert attended by more than 70,000 people each year.
The planet like sculpture is an inflated spherical mirror, constructed of the same fabric as NASA weather balloons and supported by a 32 m-long inclined steel mast, baseplate, and foundation anchors.
The Orb’s material is designed to easily inflate and deflate, leaving no trace.
During the day, The Orb and life below the installation reflects onto its belly to serve as a beacon in the night and a destination in the desert.
Because of The Orb’s curvature, it reflects the space and people around it, showing the social energy and exchange from an entirely new perspective – essentially turning public life into public artifact.
Agustin Perez-Torres Alana Goldweit Alvaro Velosa Andy Young Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Casey Tucker Chris Tron Daniel Sundlin Elizabeth Mcdonald Giulio Rigoni Henriette Helstrup Isabella Marcotulli Jakob Henke Jakob Lange Jan Leenknegt Jason Wu Jelena Vucic Jeremy Alain Siegel Kai-Uwe Bergmann Laurent De Carniere Lawrence-Olivier Mahadoo Leon Rost Linus Saavedra Martin Voelkle Michael Leef Ola Sobczyk Raphael Ciriani Richard Elbert Ryan Harvey Sarkis Sarkisyan Sebastian Claussnitzer Simon Scheller Sören Grünert Thomas Christoffersen Veronica Acosta Abigail Kelly Alda Sol Hauksdóttir Alessandro Zanini Alex Bogdan Ritivoi Alexander Dennis William Niemantsverdriet Andy Coward Anna Bertolazzi Ariel Diaz Athena Morella Autumn Visconti Bart Ramakers Benjamin Novacinski Benson Chien Cæcilie Søs Brandt-Olsen Catalina Rivera Rothgaenger Chelsea Chiu (Yeuk Lam) Corliss Ng Cristina Medina-Gonzalez Dong-Joo Kim Duncan Horswill Emily Bauer Emmett Walker Ewa Zapiec Fabian Lorenz Filippo Testa Florencia Kratsman Gabriel Hernandez Solano Guillaume Evain Hilda Heller Hongduo Zhou Hugo Yun Tong Soo Jakub Klimes Jakub Wlodarczyk Jarrod Caranto Jennifer Dudgeon Ji-Young Yoon Jonas Aarsø Larsen Karolina Bouros Kayeon Lee Kelly Neill Kim Christensen Laura Wätte Luca Pileri Ma Ning Mads Christian Klestrup Pedersen Manon Otto Mariana De Soares e Barbieri Cardoso Mattia Di Carlo Mattie Kennedy Max Moriyama Melissa Jones Michael Rene Hansen Morgan Day Nicolas Lapierre Nicole Passarella Patrick Hyland Peter Sepassi Phillip Macdougall Pia Møller-Holst Riccardo Garrone Samantha Okolita Sanam Salek Sebastian Grogaard Seo Young Shin Seunghan Yeum Taylor Hewett Thomas Smith Timo Harboe Nielsen Tore Banke Tracy Sodder Weronica Zaborek Xinying Zhang
None
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Danish Architecture Center
TYPOLOGY
Culture
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
FORMGIVING – An Architectural Future History from Big Bang to Singularity explores how the world around us has taken shape – and has been given shape – from the past to the present, with different BIG projects as glimpses of and gifts to our future.
The 1,350 m2 solo exhibition began with the Big Bang, the oldest known point in time and traversed the stairway of Danish Architecture Center’s BLOX building to lead visitors into the main gallery dedicated to the present: projects that populate the drawing boards, model workshops and databases across BIG’s studios worldwide, providing hints of the future.
At the core of BLOX, the main gallery hosted 71 projects grouped according to the Gifts they each give to their users, neighborhood, city, landscape and environment in the form of 10 strategies: Adapt, Show, Respond, Marry, Host, Lift, Bond, Productize, Grow and Pool.
“The Danish word for ‘design’ is ‘formgivning’ – which literally means, to give form to that which has not yet been given form. In other words: to give form to the future. And more specifically: to give form to the world that we would like to find ourselves living in – in the future. To create the sense of how the world around us has taken shape – and has been given form – from the past to the present – we have transformed the stairs of the Danish Architecture Center into a timeline counting down from the Big Bang to the present. Our projects provide glimpses of specific fragments of our future five, ten, and fifty years into the future. Rather than attempting to predict the future, we have the power to propose our future.”
“The urban development of the future needs architects who can walk unexpected paths. Bjarke Ingels turns huge, global challenges into limitless possibilities. He is a Danish world phenomenon who mobilizes sustainable urban development with spirit, creativity and imagination. BIG shows us that architecture can be unpretentious and down to earth. Realdania is delighted to support this exhibition, which demonstrates through play and learning that architecture creates the framework for our lives and therefore has an impact on us all.”
The “Golden Gallery” dedicated to LEGO allowed children and adults to imagine, co-create and co-habit the world they want to live and play in.
25 BIG-designed buildings were recreated in LEGO bricks by AFoL (Adult Fans of LEGO) master builders from all over the world. Each model was paired with the building’s three-dimensional digital information model that embodies all technical aspects of the project – from the functional layouts, structure and circulation to the mechanical services and materials – into a single digital twin of the built reality. With these two data points – the ‘low-res’ physical abstractions of the LEGO models and the ‘high-res’ digital specifications – visitors could see the complexity behind the playful simplicity.
The timeline continued as visitors descended the stairs from the present to the Singularity: the furthest hypothetical point in time predicted by futurist Ray Kurzweil. Each stair landing expanded on the future of Thinking (emergence of artificial and collective intelligence); Sensing (virtual and augmented reality); Making (manual construction to robotic manufacturing); and Moving (Interplanetary migration).
A catalogue exploring the notion of Formgiving was published by Taschen in 2020, marking the third collaboration between BIG and the publisher.
Anders Holden Deleuran Andreas Klok Pedersen Bernardo Schuhmacher Bjarke Ingels Brian Yang Catherine Huang Daria Pahhota Jakob Lange Jakob Sand Jan Leenknegt Jens Majdal Kaarsholm Kai-Uwe Bergmann Mads Primdahl Rokkjær Mantas Povilaika Marius Tromholt-Richter Mathis Paul Gebauer Matteo Pavanello Norain Chang Paula Madrid Søren Dam Mortensen Victor Moegreen Ada Gulyamdzhis Adam Poole Agnieszka Majkowska Alexander Jacobson Amanda Lima Soares Da Cunha Ana-Maria Vindfeldt Andre Enrico Cassettari Zanolla Andrea Angelo Suardi Andy Coward Artemis Antonopoulou Cæcilie Søs Brandt-Olsen Carmelo Gagliano Charlotte Chan Cheng-Huang Lin Davide Pellegrini Dimitrie Grigorescu Dominiq Nana Osei Kwabena Oti Duncan Horswill Eduardo Javier Sosa Trevino Edward Connor Burnett Ella Coco Murphy Elnaz Rafati Francisca Christina Marga Hamilton Gabrielle Nadeau Geetika Bhutani Giovanni Simioni Ipek Akin Irie Meree Izabella Banas Jaemin Seo Jagoda Helena Lintowska James Caruso James Donaldson January Chen Jesslyn Guntur Jiyoon Lee Karolina Olga Krzyżanowska Kongphob Amornpatarasin Kristoffer Negendahl Mai Lee Marija Lukoseviciute Mattia Di Carlo Mauro Saenz de Cabezon Aguado Nicholas Flutter Nikolaos Romanos Tsokas Ombretta Colangelo Palita Tungjaroen Pernille Kinch Andersen Peter Sepassi Qamelliah Yusuph Nassir Ricardo Diogo Chamacho Vieira De Oliveira Robert Siegfried Bichlmaier Rron Bexheti Scott Sung Joon Moon Tiffany Wong Tobias Hjortdal Tore Banke Walid Bhatt
Jeffrey Inaba
Adam and Rebekah Neumann
Jonah Nolan and Lisa Joy
Aaron Koblin
Chris Milk
Douglas Coupland
David Eagleman
Jeppe Hein
Scott Dadich
Andrew Zuckermann
Michael Rojkind
Didier Lootens
Solène Wolff
Jan Bunge
TED
Mangoshake Studio
BIG Lego Builders: Anders Thuesen<br> Anders Horvath<br> Anne Mette Vestergaard<br> Are Heiseldal<br> Elisabeth Horte<br> Emil Lidé<br> Esben Kolind<br> Glenn Knoesgaard<br> Helgi Toftegaard<br> Jan Smed<br> Jessica Farrell<br> Lars Barstad<br> Lasse Vestergaard<br> René Askham<br> Rocco Buttliere<br> Trine Dalsgaard Jensen<br> Zio Chao<br> Tormod Askildsen<br> Tanja Friberg
BETHEL WOODS, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Klein House
TYPOLOGY
Residential, Interiors
SIZE M2/FT2
14 / 150
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Klein House is a building scaled down to a product, sized to be delivered on site in modules made of 100% recyclable materials. Future homeowners can purchase, tailor, and build the house in any location for any purpose, from weekend getaways to a guest room, a music studio, or a creative retreat.
The design is an evolution of the traditional
A-frame cabin, known for its pitched roof and angled walls, which are easy to construct and known for being durable in harsh climates.
By rotating the structure 45 degrees, the lowest part of the house is transferred to two corners, maximizing the ceiling height inside to a soaring 13 ft height.
Generous frameless windows and marine-grade canvas stretch over the structure to create a seamless, weatherproof enclosure. The exposed timber frame and dark insulating cork bring nature inside, while accentuating views out to the wilderness. A small fireplace is nestled in one corner, while the off-grid equipment is tucked in the back, supporting a fully reliable and self-powered home.
“The possibility of owning a small getaway retreat that is designed with the utmost care for living quality and built with the highest standard of craftsmanship is what Klein is all about. The idea is to offer a variety of tiny homes designed by some of the world’s leading architects, starting with BIG.”
“Rotating the classic A-frame structure 45 degrees means that the lowest part of the house only touches on two corners, maximizing the wall height inside. A45 becomes a more spacious version of the original A-frame and ends up having an interesting volume - from certain angles it almost looks like a cube and from other angles it looks like a spire or a classic piece.”
Klein’s crystal-like shape gives the cabin an ever-changing appearance – from certain angles a simple cube, from others a tapered spire or a classic A-frame silhouette.
Bjarke Ingels Thomas Christoffersen Jian Yong Khoo Kalina Pilat Max Moriyama Rune Hansen Sara Ibrahim Abed Tianqi Zhang
AIA Small Projects Award, 2019
ArchDaily Building of the Year, 2019
Søren Rose Studio
Dinesen
Morsø
Gaggenau
Kvadrat
Carl Hansen & Søn
Suite New York
Københavns Møbelsnedkeri
XAL
Vola
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CLIENT
Government of United Arab Emirates
TYPOLOGY
Space
SIZE M2/FT2
56,810 / 611,503
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Mars Science City is a prototypical test site for a sustained city on Mars. Using the same techniques as on the Moon – robotic construction, excavation, 3D printing, and inflatable membranes – BIG aims to build a campus on Earth to host education and engineering, science and agriculture, conferences, and exhibitions related to interplanetary exploration and settlement.
Working and living in Mars Science City will allow us to gain experience with climate control, safety, quality of construction, and resilience of human-made ecosystems that will be invaluable when we finally go to Mars and to our work on Earth. Part academic, part commercial, part exhibition, it will act as a Martian embassy on Earth – the first foothold of our neighbor planet on Terran soil.
Mars is our immediate neighbor, one spot farther away from the Sun. When Earth and Mars are aligned, it only takes three months to get there.
Designing to low gravity, low atmospheric pressure, extreme colds, and high levels of radiation radically changes the architect’s tool kit and the resulting forms and spaces.
Often referred to as The Red Planet due to the iron oxide prevalent on its surface, at nightfall, fine-grain dust particles in the thin atmosphere turn the Martian sunsets blue.
Due to its rotational period, as well as its axial tilt relative to the ecliptic plane, its season and day cycles are extremely similar to Earth’s. It is the home to the highest mountain in the Solar System, Olympus Mons – a staggering three times taller than Mount Everest. It is also home to Valles Marineris, one of the largest canyons in the Solar System. Mars has two tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos – the Greek gods of fear and terror.
Mars has an abundance of regolith, which can get sorted into ice for water, stones, and sand. Sorting the sand further creates aluminum and glass to make technology and solar cells. This leads to the production of power; with power and water, we can make electrolysis and split the water into hydrogen and oxygen.
With the CO2-rich atmosphere on Mars, we can use a Sabatier reactor to create methane for rocket propellant – to enable travel back to Earth.
The byproducts are water and carbon monoxide. Combined with the iron oxide, we can make steel and with further chemical reactors, we can make hard and soft plastics! Every single resource will be recycled. The soft plastics will give us inflatable membranes, so we can make pressurized environments where we can grow plants… and have rootzone gardens for water purification so we can even start enjoying the water. We can create agriculture, hydroponics, and aquaponics to grow food… to sustain human life!
BIG has created an entire human-made ecosystem working with the ingredients
that are already there plus the knowledge, creativity, and tools that we bring from Earth.
Learning from Earth, we basically have three different ways to build:
Inflatables are great for creating pressurized environments, but not really for shielding
against radiation or meteors. 3D-printed structures using local regolith provide shelter
and privacy but insufficient protection—and finally excavated spaces provide full protection
but no daylight. So no alternative works on its own, but combined they tick all boxes!
The modules can multiply and combine to form neighborhoods and cities leading to a human habitat in 2217. In the meantime, the Mars Science City prototype will be built in Dubai, in a landscape visually similar to Mars, but a lot warmer.
"When you begin to inhabit a world that has no existing eco-system, environmentalism takes on a whole new meaning. The challenge is not to preserve the existing environment, but rather to design and engineer a whole new man-made ecosystem, making us take the step up from custodians to creators of our own little Martian circle of life."
People will be able to walk the 3D-printed streets of a Martian town and experience how living on Mars will be very different from the pre-conception of living in a small confined space.
At its most fundamental, architecture is the art and science of making our world more suitable for human life. This becomes fundamentally clear when we venture beyond our Terran origins to settle in foreign worlds. The most successful architecture is that of vernacular architecture – where it adapts to the local climates and landscapes.
The question “Why Mars” comes up often with the many issues we face on Earth. However, looking at the 17 sustainable development
goals of the United Nations, eight of them deal directly with the built or planned environment. Earth has 1.5 billion cubic meters of water while Mars only has 5 million; Earth has rather abundant agriculture, while on Mars we have to be 10 times more efficient; on Earth, the main source of global warming is our reliance on fossil fuels, while Mars has no fossil fuels – because there are no fossils – so all power will be renewable. The very same principles and technologies that will allow us to live on Mars are the ones that will make us great custodians on the planet we live on today.
The answer to our challenges here on Earth may very well be found on Mars!
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Joanna M. Lesna João Albuquerque Paula Madrid Teodor Cristian Fratila Tyrone Cobcroft Ulla Hornsyld Viktoria Millentrup Andrea Terceros Barron Andy Coward Cæcilie Søs Brandt-Olsen Christian Eugenius Kuczynski Diana Daoud Dimitrie Grigorescu Duncan Horswill Hugo Yun Tong Soo Ivaylo Ignatov Joanna Anna Jakubowska Kristoffer Negendahl Luca Pileri Mattia Di Carlo Ovidiu Munteanu Sze Ki Wong Tore Banke Yasmin Asan Yehezkiel Wiliardy Manik
Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre
Dubai Municipality
BIG Landscape
BIG Ideas
BIG Engineering
LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
London & Regional Properties
TYPOLOGY
Work, Residential, Retail
SIZE M2/FT2
241,546 / 2,600,000
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
The Arts District in Los Angeles is experiencing a rapid renaissance, drawing creatives to the city from the fine arts to engineering. When hired to design Los Angeles Arts District (LAAD), or 670 Mesquit – a mixed-use development incorporating housing, offices, and public spaces – BIG asked: how can the Arts District be renewed by embracing rather than replacing the qualities that have spawned this unique urban culture?
Located along the Los Angeles River, the complex consists of two connected 30-story buildings organized on a grid of concrete cubes, measuring 46 ft on each side. Like a flexible framework, the project operates on two scales: the big bare bones of the buildings, and the human-scale completion by its individual inhabitants.
Downtown Los Angeles today is composed of different areas ranging from a fashion district
to a skid row, and it is the hub of the city’s Metro rapid transit system. The Arts District lies on the eastern edge of Downtown Los Angeles. The city community planning boundaries are Alameda Street on the west which blends into Little Tokyo, First Street on the north, the Los Angeles River to the east, and Violet Street on the south.
The Arts District and its immediate surrounding is paved with historic buildings and industrial structures. The warehouses, most of them dating back to the turn of the 20th century, were built cost efficient and highly functional with prefabricated concrete or steel elements. Most of them offer high quality, open spaces with ultimate flexibility. The raw and industrial beauty of the warehouses is typical for the neighborhood and many have been retrofitted into something new.
The warehouses and Los Angeles’s industrial past becomes inevitably important when defining the future character of the Arts District.
BIG’s research included the The Case Study House program, initiated by the editor of Arts and Architecture magazine, John Entenza. The program ran intermittently from 1945 until 1966 and holds a significant role in the emergence of American modernist architecture.
The goal of the program was to enable architects design and build low-cost modernist houses and it resulted in some of the most succesful residential designs in the period, setting the image of California modern and the tone for BIG’s design for LAAD.
At the new LAAD the freedom of the warehouse loft meets the individual customization of the stick-built case study house. The large size of the modules allows interior spaces to be subdivided based on program types and tenant needs.
The structure is filled with secondary, lighter volumes of two to four levels, occasionally spilling out to inhabit roofs and sundecks. The coexistence of the two scales – the industrial and the human, the warehouse and the case-study house – turns the ancient dilemma between the generic and the specific inside out.
Reaching 30 stories at the highest point, the stepped complex will include 800,000 sq ft of office space and approximately 250 residential units. Two boutique hotels, retail and restaurant spaces, and a grocery or farmer’s market will also be included in the development.
“As a gateway to the Arts District and the LA river, LAAD will constitute a major step toward reclaiming and transforming the river bank into a vital new urban landscape that can be enjoyed and appreciated by residents and visitors to this vibrant part of Los Angeles.”
Andreas Buettner Ania Agnieszka Podlaszewska Aran Coakley Beat Schenk Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Douglass Alligood Hector Romero Jakob Henke Jan Leenknegt Jialin Yuan Julie Kaufman San Yoon Simon Scheller Stephanie Hui Thomas Christoffersen Tom Lasbrey Yi Lun Yang Ahmad Tabbakh Brian Zhang Davide Maggio Denys Kozak Derek Wong Gabriella Den Elzen Gus Steyer James Caruso Juan David Ramirez Lasse Kristensen Mateusz Wieckowski-Gawron Melissa Jones Michelle Duong Neha Sadruddin Nicole Passarella Ovidiu Munteanu Phawin Siripong Sanam Salek Stephanie Choi Sylvia Sijia Zhou Terrence Chew Tracy Sodder Tran Le Wells Barber Yixin Li Youngjin Yoon
Plus Development
Gruen Associates
Mia Lehrer + Associates
tk1sc
Thornton Tomasetti
Fehr & Peers
Arup & Partners
HANGZHOU, CHINA
CLIENT
OPPO
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
229,330 / 2,468,488
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
Founded in 2004, OPPO has grown to become China’s largest smartphone company in a short period of time. OPPO’s new R&D HQ building in Hangzhou’s Future Sci-Tech City represents a commitment to the brand’s spirit of endless innovation in the pursuit of perfection.
Hangzhou, colloquially know as ‘Heaven on Earth’, is not just a hub for innovation – it is also home to China’s most popular natural attractions including three of the world’s 55 UNESCO Heritage sites. The city has been shaped by a rich cultural history of technology, information exchange and trade for over 5,000 years as one of the origin sites of the Silk Road and Grand Canal.
BIG began working with the leading global smart device brand at the beginning of 2019 to create an R&D Headquarters and a masterplan.
Prominently located in the heart of Yuhang District, Hangzhou, OPPO R&D Headquarters rests between a natural lake, an urban center, and a 10,000 m2 park. As an anchor point along a major access road stretching east to west from Hangzhou, the OPPO R&D Headquarters Tower will be an iconic landmark and gateway to the Future Sci-Tech City and Hangzhou itself.
The needs of contemporary tech companies frequently put them in a position to choose between ideal deep and flexible floor plates to support creative and dynamic workspaces, and shallow floor plates that provide optimal work environments including access to daylight and views that benefit employee well-being and productivity.
The new OPPO R&D Headquarters, or O-Tower, resolves these competing requirements by translating a traditional office slab with the perfect depth for access to daylight into a cylindrical courtyard building that is compact yet also providing large, contiguous floor area. Pushing down the southern edge of the building to the ground minimizes the external surface area of the more solar exposed façade while maximizing views out from the inward façade, which is in turn self-shaded from solar gain by the geometry of the tower. The massing is a manifestation of a building form optimized to reduce energy use and maximize access to natural light.
“Through this project, Hangzhou will become one of the most important centers of research and development for OPPO in China. The iconic expression of the landmark O-Tower designed by BIG is perfectly complemented and enhanced by Yuhang's beautiful and pleasant natural waterbody and wetland landscape. Looking forward into the future, we believe through our collaboration, OPPO’s Global Mobile Terminal R&D Headquarters will not only be a perfect representation of OPPO’s brand identity and culture, but will also become the most iconic landmark in Yuhang, Hangzhou. This will precisely represent the keystone in OPPO’s hundred-year-plan.”
A series of triple-height void spaces and interconnected terraces under the sloping O roof surface will provide visual and physical connectivity between floors, and the opportunity to introduce biophilic social spaces and shortcuts for all OPPO staff. These spaces will bring human interaction out to the facades, where staff can enjoy views out while populating and activating the skyline of the city.
Wrapped with adaptive façade louvers that are oriented according to sun angles and building geometry to minimize solar gain, the façade will become a fingerprint for the building, with a specific imprint that exists only for the O-Tower, and only in Hangzhou. The fingerprint façade will reduce solar gain by up to 52%, providing significant savings for cooling loads and better thermal comfort for OPPO staff, while at the same time reducing glare, reflectivity and light pollution.
At the heart of the O-Tower, a publicly accessible courtyard will become an urban living room for the city. The mineral hardscape at its center transforms into a green and lush landscape at the periphery as it extends out to the waterfront. This urban oasis provides fresh air, retains water, and supports a biodiverse public realm connected to the daily life of the city.
“Technology at its best should be a seamless extension of life. The new OPPO R&D Headquarters embodies this notion, sitting with ease in the scenic wetlands of Hangzhou, while negotiating between the dense urban fabric on one side and the natural landscape on the other. It will be an architectural manifestation of an OPPO product: effortlessly elegant, while elevating the quality of human life in the city.”
The ground floor of the O-Tower will be open with an interconnected public space that seamlessly leads visitors and staff through lobbies, exhibition spaces, or out to the park. The first three floors will be reserved for public programming including exhibition space, conference centers, a canteen, and an incubator for external workshops.
Within the R&D Headquarters will be a variety of flexible floor plates from spacious and large floors suitable for R&D departments and special projects, to smaller more traditional floors for administrative and executive functions. All floors of the building integrate workspaces with biophilia and social spaces.
“We have attempted to imagine the future work environment of OPPO to be sustainable on a triple bottom line: economically, ecologically and socially. The compact form folding in on itself provides large flexible floorplates with the daylight access and fresh air of a slender tower. The adaptive louvered façade omits incoming solar glare and thermal heat gain, enhancing the passive performance of the building. The tilted loop of the warped roof creates a social shortcut for the OPPO employees and their collaborators connecting the ground to the summit. And the central oasis and the surrounding wetland park expands the public realm into the heart of the complex. Each element is intrinsically intertwined forming the melted loop that is perceivable at all scales - from the urban landmark to the human experience - becoming a manifestation of the design simplicity that is an intrinsic part of OPPO’s brand,”
Adrianna Karnaszewska Aimee Louise Desert Anders Holden Deleuran Andrea Hektor Bjarke Ingels Brian Yang Buster Christensen Carlos Ramos Tenorio Catherine Huang Eddie Can Eric Li Finn Quang Lôc Nguyen Hung-Kai Liao Jan Magasanik Jens Majdal Kaarsholm Juhye Kim Julia Szalkiewicz Karim Muallem Kekoa Charlot Mads Primdahl Rokkjær Natalia Politano Paula Herrera Lahoz Petros Palatsidis Roberto Fabbri Seongil Choo Søren Dam Mortensen Su Myat Nge Nge Tomas Karl Ramstrand Tyrone Cobcroft Ulla Hornsyld Will Chuanrui Yu Yunus Alperen Basak Zhonghan Huang Ada Gulyamdzhis Adam Busko Agnieszka Magdalena Trzcińska Agnieszka Wardzińska Alda Sol Hauksdóttir Alessandro Zanini Alexander Jacobson Andra Belea Andy Coward Bart Ramakers Camille Breuil Celine Linxi Wu Chiara Arena Cris Guoyu Liu Cristina Giménez Daniel Ferrara Bilesky Daniel Pauli Davide Tarditi Edoardo Avellino Elisa Evelyne Annick Niglis Eugenio Superchi Ewa Bryzek Filip Fot Florencia Kratsman Geetika Bhutani Giulio Mennini Gül Ertekin Gwanghyeon Park Jeremias Sas Iros Jiayao Zhao Jonathan Russell Julia Gotovski Kristoffer Negendahl Kwang Hoon Lee Laura Kovacevic Liang Zhang Lito Karamitsou Lucía García De La Peña Mads Mathias Pedersen Malka Logo Maria Capuozzo Martino Hutz Martyna Sylwia Kramarz Mats Kolmas Max Alexander Bonecker Mengyuan Li Minh Do Quang Nancy Nobrega Nandi Lu Naphit Puangchan Olaf Grzegory Oliwia Jagla Omar Mohamed Nabil Mohamed Saad Mowafy Ombretta Colangelo Ovidiu Munteanu Philip Kaefer Polina Galantseva Przemyslaw Chmielarski Rasam Aminzadeh Shengpeng Mao Shuting Zhang Steen Kortbæk Svendsen Stefan Plugaru Tore Banke Weronika Siwak Xavier Thanki Xiaochang Qiu Xingyue Huang Yueying Wan Yusheng Huang Zhaoqi Chen Zhehan Shawn Tang Zuzanna Eugenia Montwill
ZIAD
WSP
RBS
RFR
CCGT
BPI
Savills
TFP
UAD
WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
The Smithsonian Institution
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
107,767 / 1,160,000
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Since its founding in 1846, the Smithsonian Institution has grown to become the world’s
largest hub of 19 museums and galleries, research facilities, and educational institutions. This campus constellation is mostly clustered along the National Mall in Washington D.C.
Based on extensive feedback from the community, BIG’s vision for the Smithsonian Institution masterplan seeks to improve and expand existing facilities; create clear connections, access points and visibility between the museums and gardens; and to replace aging building mechanical systems that have reached the end of their lifespan, including structural reinforcements of the Castle to withstand potential seismic activity.
Located along Independence Avenue SW from 7th to 12th street, the roughly 17-acre site includes the Castle, the Arts and Industries Building, the Freer Gallery, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden – all individually listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places – and the mostly subterranean Quadrangle Building which is home to the National Museum of African Art, the Sackler Gallery of Art and the S. Dillon Ripley Center.
The Castle is the cradle of the Smithsonian,
and its eclectic architecture somehow
captures the diversity and breadth of the
Smithsonian today. With its location at the
center of the South Mall campus, the Castle is
not only the historical point of departure, but
also the physical center of the Smithsonian.
BIG proposes to rebuild the roof garden south
of the Castle as a green island surrounded by
a “moat” of skylights, flooding the interiors
with light and views of the sky above. By
lifting the northeast and northwest corners,
the entire landscape opens up toward the
Mall, revealing the underground museums to
the public.
Underneath, the museums are flooded in
daylight from the glass moat above, that also
provides visual clues as to where people are
in the campus. Direct views of the Castle, the
Freer, and the Arts and Industries Building
above, provide an intuitive orientation below
and above ground.
BIG intends to preserve the peaceful nature of the Haupt Garden and its diverse landscape, while also serving the wider needs of DC and the growing Southwest Ecodistrict community.
Alana Goldweit Alvaro Velosa Aran Coakley Bjarke Ingels Chris Falla Emily Chen Jeremy Alain Siegel Kai-Uwe Bergmann Martin Voelkle Otilia Pupezeanu Thomas Christoffersen Aaron Hales Alexandre Hamlyn Andrew Hong Andriani Atmadja Annette Miller Ava Nourbaran Benjamin Dinapoli Benjamin Novacinski Cadence Merrie Bayley Choonghyo Lee Daisy Zhong Daniel Kidd Daniele Pronesti Doug Stechschulte Gabriel Hernandez Solano Jacob Karasik Janice Rim Jennifer Shen Jihoon Hyun Julian Ocampo Salazar Kalina Pilat Katarzyna Starczewska Kristoffer Negendahl Lina Bondarenko Mahsa Malek Manon Otto Ola El Hariri Ravina Puri Saecheol Oh Sara Ibrahim Abed Sean Franklin Stephen Kwok Stephen Steckel Suemin Jeon Tammy Teng Taylor Fulton Tianqi Zhang Tore Banke Vincent Fulia Wells Barber Wesley Chiang Yehezkiel Wiliardy Manik Zhifei Xu Ziad Shehab
AIA National Honor Award for Regional and Urban Design, 2016
Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) Excellence Honor Award, 2015
AIANY Design Awards Project Merit, 2015
Surfacedesign Inc.
Robert Silman Associates
GHT Limited
EHT Traceries
Stantec
Atelier Ten
VJ Associates
Wiles Mensch
PE Group
FDS Design Studio
Kleinfelder
TIRANA, ALBANIA
CLIENT
Fusha LLC
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
8,000 / 86,111
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
The bow tie-shaped National Theatre of Albania is a three-in-one cultural venue tailored to Tirana’s thriving theatre and performance art scene. Located in the cultural and administrative heart of downtown Tirana, adjacent to the iconic Skanderbeg Square, the National Opera and the National Art Gallery, the new building replaces an aging theatre building that no longer met the needs of the actors, guests, or the general public.
The 9,300 m2 contemporary venue will host local and touring theatre companies in the nation’s capital, bring three new indoor performance spaces, a rooftop amphitheater as well as a covered public space underneath the building, reinforcing the city’s goal for more urban gathering places in Tirana.
The prism shaped volume is compressed and lifted in the center, creating connections and public plazas on both sides of the theatre at street level. Visitors and theatre enthusiasts can enter the building from either side or simply stay under the arch of the building to enjoy impromptu performances and other cultural events.
The two main facades of the National Theatre of Albania are opened up to expose the spaces inside the building to the public outside. One side reveals a foyer, lounge, bar, and restaurant as well as two experimental stages to passersby, like rooms in a doll house.
The other side reveals the entire section of the backstage, side stages, under stage, and fly tower, exposing the entire theatre machine to curious observers. Where a theatre typically wouldn’t be open to the public until the early evening, the new Albanian National Stage will become a spectacle of production as well as performance throughout the day.
"Our design for the new National Theatre of Albania will continue the city’s efforts for making Tirana’s public spaces more inviting and its public institutions more transparent. The theatre is conceived as two buildings connected by the main auditorium: one for the audience and one for the performers. Underneath, the theatre arches up from the ground creating an entrance canopy for the audience as well as for the performers, while opening a gateway to the new urban arcade beyond. Above, the roof mirrors the archway, forming an open-air amphitheater with a backdrop to the city’s skyline."
The program organization of the venues informs the bow tie-shaped volume on the outside: the main auditorium is located in the middle, sandwiched by the front-of-house activities facing south, and all of the back-of-house activities and services to the north. The facades on each side of the building reveal the interior program to passersby outside, creating a storybook for the public and allowing the theatre operation to act as a stage in its own right.
A rooftop venue and café are accessible to the public as well. The sloping of the roof creates an amphitheatre-like space that is framed by a dramatic backdrop of the city itself. With open venues, one sheltered and one with a rooftop view – and traditionally hidden theatre spaces being revealed out towards the city – the new National Theatre of Albania will be both stage and actor in the city of Tirana.
Adrianna Karnaszewska Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels Catherine Huang Claudia Bertolotti David Zahle Federica Fogazzi Finn Nørkjær Jens Majdal Kaarsholm Jinho Lee Juhye Kim Kekoa Charlot Liliana Cruz Matteo Baggiarini Matteo Pavanello Tyrone Cobcroft Alex Bogdan Ritivoi Alexander Dennis William Niemantsverdriet Anna Wiktoria Wozniak Anton Olof Malte Ling Arvin Nadimi Brian Lee Bo Ying Carlos Suriñach Penella Christopher Buckley Taylor Dimitrie Grigorescu Eva Seo-Andersen Fabiana Cortolezzis Federico Martínez De Sola Monereo Ipek Akin Izabella Banas Jacek Baczkowski Juras Lasovsky Ka Yiu Karry Li Kei Atsumi Luca Pileri Lucas Stanley Carriere Marcela Dominika Rydalska Maria Natalia Lenardon Mats Kolmas Matteo Dragone Mauro Saenz de Cabezon Aguado Milyausha Garaeva Nataly Timotheou Norbert Nadudvari Paula Joanna Tkaczyk Rihards Dzelme Seda Yildiz Stanisław Daniel Rudzki Stefan Plugaru Tobias Hjortdal Tomas Rosello Barros Tore Banke Wei Lesley Yang Weronica Zaborek Yanis Amasri Sierra Yasmin Bianca Kobori Belck
Theatre Projects
Son Engineering & Construction
MIAMI, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
UIA Management LLC
TYPOLOGY
Residential, Retail
SIZE M2/FT2
125,419 / 1,350,000
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Located at the center of Allapattah, an industrial district northwest of Downtown Miami, BIG’s design for Miami Produce aims to create a new destination for the city while retaining the neighborhood’s industrial character.
The architecture is conceived as a three-dimensional urban framework, designed with large industrial-sized floor plates to provide maximum programmatic flexibility. The site will be activated by urban farming, restaurants, storefronts, co-working offices, apartments, and educational programming.
At the ground floor, a series of existing produce warehouses will be restored and re-programmed to create a vibrant public realm while preserving the industrial spirit of the neighborhood. Between the warehouses, three public spaces will exhibit a variety of lush landscapes that create diverse microclimates and allow the buildings’ programs to extend outdoors.
A stack of new linear buildings floats above the existing warehouses, generating a large urban courtyard at the center. A forest of columns with varying dimensions depending on loads and heights create a permeable perimeter around the site.
On top of each building, programmed roofscapes will extend the public realm vertically to capture stunning views of greater Miami. The resultant composition is a vertical overlay of three neighborhoods, one on top of the other, forming a new hybrid between industry and agriculture, office park and residential city block.
Agustin Perez-Torres Alejandra Cortes Alvaro Velosa Anders Holden Deleuran Beat Schenk Bjarke Ingels Chris Tron Douglass Alligood Emily Chen Haochen Yu Julie Kaufman Michelle Stromsta Otilia Pupezeanu Ryan Duval Sebastian Claussnitzer Shane Dalke Thomas Christoffersen Thomas McMurtrie Veronica Acosta Agne Rapkeviciute Bart Ramakers Corliss Ng Emine Halefoglu Jacob Karasik Jennifer Ng Josiah Poland Karolina Bouros Kevin Pham Kig Veerasunthorn Kristoffer Negendahl Manon Otto Matthijs Engele Morgan Mangelsen Paulina Panus Raymond Castro Sanam Salek Siva Sepehry Nejad Stephanie Bigelow Taylor Hewett Terrence Chew Tore Banke Tracy Sodder Xander Shambaugh Ziyu Guo
Kimley Horn
Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP
NASSAU, BAHAMAS
CLIENT
Albany Bahamas
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
15,478 / 166,600
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Albany is a modern paradise-like beach and golf resort community, located on the south coast of New Providence Island. With a state-of-the-art mega-yacht marina and an 18-hole championship golf course, the resort is pushing the boundaries of luxury and convenience, creating a true post-industrialist environment that parallels an optimistic utopian vision from the 60s.
While most of the development consists of villas and clustered country-style amenity buildings, BIG’s masterplan for the Marina Residences seeks to introduce an element of urban density. The six to eight story buildings frame the marina and capitalize on the views of the boats and the water.
The first building completed within the masterplan is The Honeycomb, designed in response to the Bahamian lifestyle. Each home has a giant balcony forming an outdoor living room with a summer kitchen and a pool sunken into the floor. The floor slab dips down to accommodate the body of water. The weight of the water is carried by the four-meter-high partition wall between the homes below serving as a room high concrete beam. The fourth wall of the pools is made from acrylic aquarium glass. Swimmers become fully immersed in the view of the marina like a human aquarium. The resultant façade, composed of interlocking hexagonal pools, appears like a giant beehive.
The striated volume appears like a rippled seashell made from parallel walls facing east and west to block the low incoming sunrays, while opening up toward the Marina and the private garden. The undulating roof is made from tilted slabs ensuring that there are no parallel surfaces between floor and ceiling. The resultant elevation appears like parallel columns of light like the digital display of an equalizer.
Diverging from the condominium typology is a world-class recording studio, The Sanctuary – located adjacent to the public plaza on the most prominent site in the entire resort. Despite being the lowest lying structure in Albany, its location at this significant intersection maintains convenient access to the marina, plaza, golf course, beachside, and other resort amenities. Surrounded by extraordinary views of the marina and its surrounding community, the state-of-the-art recording studio attracts the world’s most famous recording artists to Albany to record their next chart-topping hits.
The studio’s circular shape dismisses the front side-back side logic of a conventional building and produces a non-hierarchical shape that becomes most appropriate in its context of public space. The circular footprint also maximizes its surrounding public space, allowing the recording studio to become more of a sculpture rather than a building. Because the program of the studio has different requirements for clear heights, the roof elevation is strategically varied to form three peaks. These peaks occur at the live room, artists’ private lounge, and academy studios to provide generous space to its users, creating a playful yet elegant roof line reminiscent of the fluidity of sound. The form is then optimized to produce a series of equal horizontal modules that maintain the readability of the undulating roof edge and efficiency of the building structure.
To achieve a comfortable level of privacy for the artists in the studio, the surfaces running east-west perpendicular to the most public space become opaque while the north-south glass façade connects its users with stunning marina views.
Divided into four zones – the tracking zone, academy of music, artists’ lounge, and support space – the spatial layout is rational and efficient despite its circular form.
The processional corridor along the south edge of the live room also strategically acts as a sound buffer to further isolate sound from the outside.
The interior treatments of these spaces, particularly the live room, take its geometric inspiration from a rigorous understanding of acoustic principles. Cladded floor to ceiling with highly polished oak, the live room possesses a naturally delicate ambience heavily favored by recording artists and provides an outstanding aural experience, inspiring artists to create their greatest hits.
The Coral is the cornerstone of the Albany Masterplan. Located at the southern tip of the public promenade, it has a unique relationship with the harbor entry and with the South West Bay beyond. It is one of the largest buildings in Albany with wraparound balconies offering spectacular, panoramic views from the marina to the ocean, and beyond. Different unit sizes introduce dynamic irregularities in the pattern, similar to the staggered elevation of The Honeycomb and The Cube. The rounded motif of the plan is repeated in elevation and creates a natural opening that exposes a dipping pool for every balcony at the demising wall of the units below. These unique pools have a transparent edge towards the marina and ocean, eliminating the visual barrier between the pool and the surrounding environment and allow bathers to become fully immersed in the view of the marina and the ocean beyond.
Upon its completion in 2025, The Coral will become a beacon and spectacular introduction for yachts entering the marina. It completes the pearl necklace of marina residences along the waterfront.
Aran Coakley Beat Schenk Bjarke Ingels Jan Leenknegt Molly Hsiao Rou Huang Sören Grünert Thomas Christoffersen Yu Inamoto Amina Blacksher Benzion Rodman Brandon Cook Brian Foster Casimir Esbach David Spittler Deb Campbell Jennifer Phan Jennifer Shen Karen Shiue Ku Hun Chung Lam Le-Nguyen Lujac Desautel Romea Muryn Seth Byrum Terrence Lallak Tianqi Zhang Tran Le
ENR Global Best Projects Award of Merit for Residential / Hospitality, 2017
Concrete Industry Board Roger H. Corbetta Award for Quality Concrete Merit, 2016
HKS
Michael Diggis & Associates
EXP U.S. Services Inc.
DeSimone Consulting Engineers
Caribbean Coastal Services
BIG Ideas
OSLO, NORWAY
Anchored in the City of Oslo’s “2019 Strategy for the Development of the Knowledge Capital”, the new 1.4 million m2 Oslo Science City seeks to create a physical framework for Norway’s innovation environment of estimated 150,000 scientists, students, entrepreneurs, and contribute to the country’s transition to renewable energy.
Oslo Science City located in central Oslo, is currently home to approximately 300 start-up companies, 7,500 researchers, 10,000 hospital employees and 30,000 students. The yearlong feasibility study to add 1.4 million m2 is the first step towards creating the physical framework for an innovation district in the country to accommodate Oslo regions growth estimated to 22% by 2045.
“Our design for Oslo Science City seeks to strengthen and develop the existing communities and neighborhoods while expanding the area’s diversity through new spaces to live, work and share knowledge. To manifest the identity of Oslo Science City, the elements of the master plan are tied together in a continuous loop of welcoming multifunctional buildings and spaces that open out towards the streets and create an engaging urban environment.”
The plan identifies four thematic areas to position Oslo Science City as a leading center for innovation, knowledge-based value creation and sustainable solutions based on existing and future activities: Health and Life Sciences, incl. Norway’s largest Life Sciences building for research and teaching to be completed by 2026 and an expansion of Oslo Cancer Cluster. Climate, Energy and Environment, establishing a campus and a power center for research and innovation between the country’s leading research institute SINTEF, The Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), the Norwegian Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) and the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU) amongst others. Digitalization and Computational Science, fostering collaborations between organizations such as the Department of Informatics (IFI) at the University of Oslo, The Norwegian Computing Center (NR), NORA – Norwegian Artificial Intelligence Research Consortium, which explores artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics, and many others; and Democracy and Inclusion where new knowledge will be developed about the threats and solutions to strengthen democracy, the role of democratic institutions in a time of technological disruption, increased economic inequality and anti-democratic forces.
The objective of Oslo Science City is to significantly strengthen innovation power in Oslo and Norway, through ensuring a close and efficient interaction between motivated students and excellent researchers, dynamic start-up communities, knowledge-based business and industry, a future-oriented public sector and competent capital.
Oslo Science City aspires to be a good example of a holistic approach to planning, where efficient land use and densification go hand in hand with increasing the amount of biomass in the area. Environmentally friendly buildings, climate adaptation with the help of nature-based solutions, incl. a new green and densely vegetated corridor through OSC, extensive tree planting throughout the entire neighborhood, emission-free mobility, energy efficiency and circular principles will characterize all development in Oslo Science City.
“In Oslo science City we seek to create meeting spaces both outdoor and indoor, between scientists, students, visitors and residents. The loop connects the area and create a string of meetings, and innovation hubs that are key in creating meeting areas. The innovation hubs should be part of the urban strategy and act both as urban connector, contain urban qualities and knowledge sharing. The loop and its elements solve physical barriers and create meeting spots, integrating the nature as well as linking the area to mobility in and out of Oslo Science City,”
Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Kamilla Heskje Paula Madrid Camille Breuil Eirini Karamfyllidou Jenna Hukkinen Laura Wätte Vladislav Saprunenko Xiaochang Qiu
Team A-Lab
Comte Bureau
Civitas & Menon
2019
CLIENT
Oceanix
TYPOLOGY
Urbanism
SIZE M2/FT2
500,000 / 5,381,955
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
By 2050, 90% of the world’s largest cities will be exposed to rising seas. The vast majority of coastal cities will be impacted by coastal erosion and flooding, displacing millions of people, while destroying homes and infrastructure. As part of UN-Habitat’s New Urban Agenda, blue tech company OCEANIX and BIG proposed a blueprint vision for the world’s first resilient and sustainable floating community for 10,000 residents: OCEANIX city.
Designed as a man-made ecosystem, OCEANIX City is anchored in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, channeling flows of energy, water, food and waste to create a blueprint for a modular maritime metropolis. In December 2021, OCEANIX City named Busan as the site in which the blueprint will be prototyped.
OCEANIX City is designed to grow, transform and adapt organically over time, evolving from neighborhoods to cities with the possibility of scaling indefinitely. Modular neighborhoods of 2 hectares create thriving self-sustaining communities of up to 300 residents with mixed-use space for living, working and gathering during day and nighttime. All built structures in the neighborhood are kept below 7 stories to create a low center of gravity and resist wind. Every building fans out to self-shade internal spaces and public realm, providing comfort and lower cooling costs while maximizing roof area for solar capture.
“9 out of 10 of the world’s largest cities will be exposed to rising seas by 2050. The sea is our fate - it may also be our future. The first sustainable and self-sustained floating community OCEANIX City is designed as a human made ecosystem channeling circular flows of energy, water, food and waste. Oceanix City is a blueprint for a modular maritime metropolis anchored in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The additive architecture can grow, transform and adapt organically over time, evolving from a neighborhood of 300 residents to a city of 10,000 - with the possibility of scaling indefinitely to provide thriving nautical communities for people who care about each other and our planet.”
Aggregating to reach a critical density, six villages connect to form a city of 10,000 residents with a strong sense of community and identity. A larger protected harbor is formed in the heart of the city. Floating destinations and art, including six specialized landmark neighborhoods with a public square, market place and centers for spirituality, learning, health, sport and culture create destinations drawing residents from across the city and anchoring each neighborhood in a unique identity. All communities regardless of size will prioritize locally sourced materials for building construction, including fast-growing bamboo that has six times the tensile strength of steel, a negative carbon footprint, and can be grown on the neighborhoods themselves.
Social, recreational and commercial functions are placed around the sheltered inner ring to encourage citizens to gather and move around the village. Residents can easily walk or boat through the city using electric vehicles.
Below sea level, beneath the platforms, biorock floating reefs, seaweed, oysters, mussel, scallop and clam farming clean the water and accelerate ecosystem regeneration.
Alana Goldweit Bernardo Schuhmacher Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Jeremy Alain Siegel Thomas McMurtrie Andy Coward Ashton Stare Autumn Visconti Carlos Castillo Cristina Medina-Gonzalez Florencia Kratsman Jacob Karasik Kristoffer Negendahl Mai Lee Manon Otto Terrence Chew Tore Banke Tracy Sodder Walid Bhatt William Campion Yushan Huang Ziyu Guo
Hive 50 Innovator, Honoree in Design, 2019
MIT Center for Ocean Engineering
Mobility in Chain
Sherwood Design Engineers
Center for Zero Waste Design
Transsolar
KlimaEngineering
Global Coral Reef Alliance
Studio Other Spaces
Dickson Despommier
BROOKLYN, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
RFR Holding LLC
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
78,039 / 840,000
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Centrally located within Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood, the 139,000 sq ft site fronts the Gowanus Canal offering a unique opportunity to re-activate the former industrial neighborhood with community focused programming while contributing to the canal’s environmental remediation and sustainable water management.
By combining public space with a diverse range of building uses including education, light industrial, co-working office and mixed residential, the project aims to play a significant role transforming Gowanus into an active destination to bridge surrounding Brooklyn communities of Carroll Gardens and Park Slope.
Beginning from the canal’s edge, a gentle sloping ramp ascends along the building to elevate the waterfront park up toward a series of rooftop terraces with views of Brooklyn and Manhattan. The slope gradually increases its pitch with the lowest incline along commercial levels for easy access by bicycle and steeper slopes at the top to serve private residences with outdoor access and gardens.
Looking from the grocery along 3rd Street is the building’s most grand elevation of a lush sloped park that zigzags back and forth climbing up building. From the adjacent 3rd Avenue, the building form features large steps that relate to surrounding buildings heights and interior program requirements.
The façade design builds off of Gowanus’ rich industrial history by harmonizing the warm tones of weathering steel and red-pigmented concrete with the neighboring red brick warehouses. Evoking an industrial logic, the building’s organic slopes are composed of only straight elements creating a unique faceted form. Through its architecture, public waterfront and diverse mix of program, our proposal aims to strengthen the distinct characteristics of Gowanus into an iconic community oriented destination.
Andreas Buettner Ania Agnieszka Podlaszewska Bjarke Ingels Casey Tucker Douglass Alligood Jakob Henke James Pratt Jeremy Alain Siegel Martin Voelkle Nasiq Khan Pooja Annamaneni Shane Dalke Thomas Christoffersen Ahmad Tabbakh Andreea Gulerez Andrew Hong Cesar Crespo Elnaz Rafati Ema Hristova Bakalova Florencia Kratsman Jennifer Ng Melissa Jones Neha Sadruddin Ruicong Tang Sean O'Brien Youngjin Yoon
Zachary Bernstein
Fried Frank
FANØ BAD, DENMARK
CLIENT
Steen Lassen
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
1,500 / 16,146
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Fanø is a sandy island in the Wadden Sea off the coast of southwestern Denmark. It is known for its infinite sandy beaches and strong westerly winds. The site of Lycium, a small local museum, sits between old villas and a late 1960s prefabricated hotel on a naturally formed, waving sand dune covered with patches of lime grass.
BIG’s design for the museum is conceived as a literal cast of the dune – a human-made imprint from the natural geological sand formations.
The existing terrain is used to form the shell by casting concrete directly on the sand with all its layers including grasses, mosses, and seashells, like an amber sand dune frozen in time. Once the concrete is dry the space is excavated underneath, leaving the thin sheet of frozen beach hovering above. Like a new sand dune vernacular for Fanø, Lycium will appear as if it was always there, shaped by the winds and the water moving sand across centuries.
Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels Celia de la Osa Muñoz David Zahle Filip Rozkowski Jakub Kulisa Ole Elkjær-Larsen Viktoria Millentrup Alessandro Zanini Andy Coward Dobrochna Anna Klimczak Federico Salmaso Geet Gawri Giedrius Mamavicius Jesper Kanstrup Petersen Lucian Mihail Racovitan Miles Treacy Nina Vuga Paul Johann Henrich Kohlhaussen Tore Banke Vladislav Saprunenko
Dr. Lüchinger+Meyer Bauingenieure AG <br> Johansson & Kalstrup P/S
LAS VEGAS, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Virgin Hyperloop
TYPOLOGY
Infrastructure
SIZE M2/FT2
12 / 129
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Designed by BIG and Kilo Design, Virgin Hyperloop’s Pegasus pod made history in the Nevada desert as it successfully carried its first passengers in the newest form of travel in over a century.
Pegasus, also known as ‘XP-2’, is a new vehicle typology for an autonomous transportation system to achieve hyperloop travel at the speed of over 1,000 km/hour, the fastest form of land-based travel.
BIG and Kilo’s role in Pegasus was to design for this first use case while also defining the design language and characteristics for future Virgin Hyperloop vehicles. While the production vehicle will be larger and seat up to 28 passengers, this 2-seater pod was built to demonstrate that passengers can safely travel in a Hyperloop vehicle.
Virgin Hyperloop has gained significant momentum on the regulatory front, having unveiled West Virginia as the location for the Hyperloop Certification Center (HCC), also designed by BIG. The advancements at the HCC and the historic safety demonstration achieved with this test paves the way for the certification of Hyperloop systems around the world – the future of time and space, warped by Pegasus.
After over a year of close collaboration, the first passengers trialed this new form of transportation at Virgin Hyperloop’s 500 m DevLoop test site in Las Vegas, where the company has previously run over 400 tests in un-occupied pods. The demonstration was overseen by the industry-recognized Independent Safety Assessor (ISA) Certifier, and its success marks a historic moment in transportation as Pegasus becomes the first manned and fully functional system for Hyperloop travel.
Pegasus is conceived as a pressurized vessel designed inside and out as a new and radically different vehicle typology. The design focuses on unifying and covering both the pressure vessel and sled, creating a seamless appearance that combines both performance and human-centered characteristics. Since Hyperloop travel exists in a near vacuum environment, the need for aerodynamics becomes minimal, leading to a sleek design without the need for aerodynamic features. This environment makes the transportation system much more energy efficient than traditional rail transit. It’s engineered with magnetic levitation and avoids the drag of wheels, allowing for the maximum amount of speed to move the maximum number of passengers or cargo. Pegasus pods move individually as well, with a high arrival- and departure-rate allowing for on-demand travel. The front ‘scoops’ of the vessel create natural steps for comfortable entry and egress, and apertures on the sides of the fairing as well as the front door contain a forward-facing window for outward viewing down the tunnel.
Pegasus’ external design is entirely informed by the engineering, where repeating soft forms and pill shape cut-outs are used to highlight depth, layers and entryways.
Inside, the seating elements and extended arms serve multiple functions including as an entry and egress aid, and as storage for safety equipment, oxygen throughput and lighting. The seats can also be quickly assembled and disassembled for rear equipment access. Having undergone a rigorous and exhaustive safety process, Pegasus demonstrates many of the safety-critical systems that will be found on a commercial Hyperloop system and is equipped with a state-of-the-art control system that can detect off-nominal states and rapidly trigger appropriate emergency responses. The 6m2 interior is custom-built with occupant safety and comfort in mind, with the necessary safety equipment and controls built into the furniture.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Sören Grünert Erik Kreider Joshua Woo Lars Larsen Laura Lebeau Philip Andersson
Kilo Design
Aria Group
CHONGQING, CHINA
CLIENT
Terminus Group Co., Ltd.
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
135,000 / 1,453,128
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
The future home for Terminus Group, the world-leading smart service provider shaping the next generation of technology and cities, will be in AI CITY. BIG envisions the hi-tech campus as the new center of innovation for China, dedicated to Terminus Technologies’ ambitions in artificial intelligence of things, robotics, networking and big data.
AI CITY is located in Chongqing, also known as the “mountain city” for being a sprawling megacity that’s crisscrossed by rivers and mountains in southwest China. The site of AI CITY is specifically situated within the Chongqing Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, with the 75,000 m2 Cloud Valley anchoring the Science and Technology Headquarters in the first phase of the masterplan.
Cloud Valley takes its inspiration from the natural Wulong Karst in the Chongqing Wulong National Park, where valleys and mountain form stunning connections between the earth and the sky. BIG’s proposal for Cloud Valley is conceived as two plots along Xinzhou Avenue and Gaoxin Avenue, that mimic each other’s opposites. There is the Mountain, which forms a striking landmark in the area that gives shelter to a protected network of courtyards filled with inviting public functions. Then there is the Valley, which offers the largest publicly accessible green rooftops in China for open-air events. Below the roofscape, the building opens up to the surrounding public to invite visitors into this new neighborhood.
In Cloud Valley, the barriers between nature and buildings will be removed. The porous structure of the urban fabric will create generous green courtyards with natural light and ventilation throughout both plots. Each courtyard will be programmed to host specific public activities. Sports events, art exhibitions and product fairs will be hosted in the technological park spread between the buildings.
The barriers between human and artificial intelligence will also be removed. Newly created spaces including AI exhibition spaces, markets and cafés will invite the public to join under the roof. Under the same roof, professionals and robotics working in the most innovative companies of the country will develop future technologies. The traffic strategy focuses on a flexible transition towards a future re-balance of nature with development. Throughout Terminus Future City, e-bikes, robotic vehicles and self-driving cars will define a new, smart mobility system.
With Chongqing’s unique location between the mountains, impressive cloud formations shield the building from direct sun exposure and creates a special atmosphere condition that allows the façade designs to be more transparent than usual. To protect the façades and exterior public spaces from further sun radiation and heavy rain, the building’s rooftops are extended by a significant distance, depending on the façade’s orientation. The roof also drops all the way to the central courtyard in one place, creating access to the roof lush garden, and in other places, the roof lifts in two corners to create entryways from the inside.
The roofscape is one of the most important components that shapes the spirit of the Cloud Valley. It allows for an abundance of nature to co-exist with the office programs, thus preserving the wild landscape experience that’s traditionally difficult to access within the city limits. The green roof also embodies an ecological cohesive coexistence between human, nature, climate, and technology. To display the ultimate gesture of nature meeting technology, the green roof carpet shaping the valley and the mountain turns into the largest digital display in China at night.
Andrea Hektor Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels Carlos Ramos Tenorio Celia de la Osa Muñoz Dora Jiabao Lin Eddie Can Eric Li Federica Fogazzi Filip Rozkowski Filippo Cartapani Haochen Yu Jakob Lange Jan Magasanik Laurent De Carniere Nanna Gyldholm Møller Ole Elkjær-Larsen Per Bo Madsen Peter Høgenhaven Seonhwan Kim Teodor Cristian Fratila Ulla Hornsyld Yara Rahme Alexander Jacobson Ana-Maria Vindfeldt Andy Coward Antonina Tsepurnohh Biqin Li Bjarke Koch-Ørvad Bo Kuiper Cheng-Huang Lin Daniel Ferrara Bilesky Dimitrie Grigorescu Dominic Black Ella Coco Murphy Emil Westlin Enea Michelesio Erik Kreider Eva Seo-Andersen Ewa Zapiec Filip Fot Frederic Lucien Engasser Gabrielle Nadeau Henrik Jacobsen Høgni Laksafoss Ian Law Ipek Akin Isaac Rodrigo Tejeira Jean-Sébastien Pagnon Jesper Kanstrup Petersen Jiakun He Jonathan Russell Kamila Abbiazova Karolina Lepa-Stewart Katrine Juul Konstantinos Samer Zouraikat Kresimir Blazina Kwang Hoon Lee Lasse Ryberg Hansen Laura Wätte Linnea Lujak Lucas Coelho Netto Mamak Mazaheri Marah Wagner Marcel Götz Marcela Dominika Rydalska Maria Capuozzo Marija Cvijović Mattia Di Carlo Milan Moldenhawer Miles Treacy Mussa Algasra Nandi Lu Natchaluck Radomsittipat Norbert Nadudvari Paul Johann Henrich Kohlhaussen Qingfeng Li Runke Luo Seda Yildiz Sergiu Calacean Sui King Yu Timo Harboe Nielsen Tore Banke Tristan Harvey Vladislav Saprunenko Ying Lin Zheng Liu
Huiting
CMCU
Forster
LUXEMBOURG, LUXEMBOURG
CLIENT
LUX Airport
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
78,479 / 844,748
STATUS
IN CONSTRUCTION
SHARE
Located in Findel, Luxembourg, the Skypark Business Center (SBC) is situated within the Niederanven municipality adjacent to the Luxembourg Airport and is one of the key elements of the Airport City Masterplan.
The building comprised of timber in its upper structures, bridges and slabs features a long and slim footprint covering an area of ca. 19,000 m2. SBC makes full use of the allowed maximum building height of 30.5 m across seven floors, and is based on an ideal office bar typology measuring 17 m in width. Instead of one single zig-zag volume, as envisioned in the masterplan, BIG’s design consists of two stacked and rotated zig-zagging bars.
The design creates numerous outdoor spaces, exciting views from all angles, as well as highly flexible interior spaces. The entire volume forms an undulating wall in elevation, effectively performing as an acoustic barrier for the public space and further buildings in the Airport City.
SBC can be perceived as a sequence of distinct volumes, from the base up: the mineral parking plinth, the fully-glazed transparent and permeable ground floor, and the lower and upper rotated copper snaking across the different levels.
The rotation of the office volumes is central to the design concept, creating fantastic sculptural views from every angle while maximizing outdoor spaces. Green terraces are accessible every 50 meters, while intimate courtyards welcome visitors from along the main road.
The thin volume of the office bars allows every user to have an unobstructed view towards either the Luxembourg Airport’s runway or the Grand Ducal Golf Course. There are no dead corners within SBC; whenever the ‘snake’ turns, corners are softened and rounded to provide panoramic views and to resonate with the rest of the buildings in the masterplan.
This poetic play with the meandering volumes is combined with an efficient and flexible office layout. All cores are placed in the building sections where the two “snakes” overlap, enabling direct elevator access for every tenant.
A flexible system of continuous office floorplates makes it very simple to divide and subdivide the leasable area in order to cater to the needs of any tenant. Arriving on the northern side, generous, well-lit courtyards with lush front gardens welcome the visitor. Entering through a double door pill-portal, visitors access the permeable ground floor’s inner passage known as the Grande Galerie.
Located in the spine of the building, the spacious passage below the intertwining office volumes connects all cores, flanked on both sides with alternating programs such as restaurants, a fitness studio or retail. From here, one can step out onto the southern courtyards to enjoy the gardens and take in the unique view of the 4 km long runway.
At the east end, the ground floor enclosed by a lightweight canopy seamlessly connects Terminal A with the departure level. Here, visitors can also enjoy lunch or relax on the landscaped plaza.
On floor B1, travelers can pick up their vehicle from the car rental/valet service located in the connection bridge within minutes of arriving in Terminal A, and drive off directly with the utmost convenience. On the western end, the upper “snake” is extended and cantilevered out to provide shelter and shade, whilst simultaneously creating a striking symbolic entrance gesture to the Airport City for everyone coming from the Luxembourg city center.
The final design is a performative office building with three different levels of roof gardens, providing users with abundant opportunities to enjoy unique views and be surrounded by lush greenery.
Anders Fønss Andrea Hektor Bjarke Ingels Brian Malig Collado Filip Rozkowski Finn Nørkjær Francois Ducatez Frederik Skou Jensen Gaurav Janey Gerhard Pfeiler Giovanni Salvatore Bitonti Jakob Sand Jan Magasanik Jens Majdal Kaarsholm Jose Ignacio Balaguer Palacios Laura Diaz Vizoso Liliana Cruz Louise Mould Mads Engaard Stidsen Martyna Kloda Matteo Baggiarini Matthew Thomson Patrycja Pisarek Roberto Fabbri Sascha Leth Rasmussen Tyrone Cobcroft Ulla Hornsyld Ahmed Badra Ákos Márk Horváth Albina Saifulina Alex Bogdan Ritivoi Alexa Haraga Alexander Dennis William Niemantsverdriet Alexandra Farmazon Alexandra-Madalina Nita Alysia Lara Arnold Ana-Maria Vindfeldt Andrea Angelo Suardi Andy Coward Anna Bertolazzi Anne Søby Nielsen Antonio Rajković Anushka Pramod Karnawat Arielle Khosla Bart Ramakers Camille Breuil Carl Pontus Timmerås Cristina Giménez Dag Præstegaard Dagmara Anna Obmalko Dina Brændstrup Duncan Horswill Elisabetta Costa Enea Michelesio Eskild Schack Pedersen Eva Seo-Andersen Ewa Zapiec Filip Fot Francesca Portesine Gayathri Achuthankutty Geet Gawri Gokce Naz Tercioglu Gustav Albert Perez Nordahl Hajar Kabbara Helen Shuyang Chen Henrik Kania Ivaylo Ignatov Jean Valentiner Strandholt Jesper Bo Jensen Jesper Kanstrup Petersen Jiyoon Lee Jonas Aarsø Larsen Joos Jerne Julius Victor Schneevoigt Kaoan Hengles De Lima Katia Valenzuela Williams Katrine Sandstrøm Kei Atsumi Kongphob Amornpatarasin Kristian Mousten Ksenia Zhitomirskaya Lasse Ryberg Hansen Luca Pileri Magni Waltersson Maija Ose Mamak Mazaheri Martyna Zychowska Melissa Andres Merve Kavas Mykolas Seckus Neringa Jurkonyte Nick Beissengroll Ningnan Ye Olivier Lamaignere Pernille Uglvig Sangvin Rafael Mitrosz Roberto Outumuro Castro Santa Krieva Sijia Zhong Tommy Bjørnstrup Weronica Zaborek Wiktor Kacprzak Xinyi Chen Yasmin Bianca Kobori Belck
AuCarre
Dr. Lüchinger+Meyer Bauingenieure AG
Jean Schmidt Engineering
Lamoureux
Les Eclaireurs
METAFORM
Phoenix Consult
Transsolar
TR Engineering
WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
9,290 / 100,000
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Through the scorching heat of the Arabian Desert to the unforgiving chills of the Finnish tundra, HOT TO COLD: an odyssey of architectural adaptation took the visitors of National Building Museum in D.C on a journey across the globe to explore the forces that shape our cities and buildings.
Running from January 2015 through August 2015, Hot to Cold marked BIG’s first major North-American exhibition offering a behind-the-scenes look at BIG’s creative process and how the studio’s designs are shaped by cultural and climatic contexts. More than 60 architectural models, mock-ups and prototypes were suspended at the second-floor balconies of the museum’s historic Great Hall, turning the architecture of the National Building Museum into the architecture of the exhibition.
"Architecture never happens in the clinical conditions of a lab. It is always responding to a series of existing conditions - the context, the culture, the landscape, the climate. Our climate is the one thing we can't escape - the one condition we always have to respond to. HOT TO COLD is conceived as a colorful exploration of how architecture evolves in response to its context and climate and as an artistic contemplation of how life in return reacts to the framework created by the architecture. I can't imagine a greater venue than the National Building Museum for this journey, looking back at our work and massive transformation over the last six years from both sides of the Atlantic."
As visitors moved through the exhibition, they learned about the harsh demands of climatic extremes, where architecture becomes more about shading from the heat or sheltering from the cold. The milder or more temperate environments often leave more room for other factors, such as culture, program, politics and legislation to shape the buildings.
A gallery on the museum’s second floor featured films that describe life as it occurs within and around BIG’s buildings. Films by Ila Beka and Louise Lemoine, Kaspar Astrup Schroder, WAAITT and Squint/Opera documented and showed the life that emerges once the cranes have left and the buildings are complete.
The exhibition was accompanied by a 700-page catalogue designed in collaboration with Grammy Award-winning graphic artist Stefan Sagmeister, published by Taschen. The book is available for purchase via Amazon.
Alana Goldweit Alvaro Velosa Bjarke Ingels Daria Pahhota Haochen Yu Jakob Lange Kai-Uwe Bergmann Martin Voelkle Otilia Pupezeanu Sarkis Sarkisyan Thomas Christoffersen Adam Busko Agnieszka Filipowicz Ahsan Akbar Aiden Bowman Aino Aho Alberte Danvig Ali Chen Andrea Scalco Anna Lockwood Armen Menendian Chi Chi Lin Christopher Wilson Daeho Lee Daniel Kidd David Spittler Dimitrie Grigorescu Edmond Lakatos Emily Watts Eva Maria Mikkelsen Everett Hollander George Abraham Iannis Kandyliaris Iben Falconer Joanna Anna Jakubowska John Hilmes Juan David Ramirez Julia Boromissza Julien Beauchamp-Roy Julieta Muzzillo Karen Shiue Katarina Mácková Kenneth Matthews Leonardo Miranda Mateusz Rek Maureen Rahman Maximiliano Rieutord Natalie Kwee Ming Yie Nicholas Coffee Paddy Fernandez Perle van de Wyngaert Sarah Habib Sida Zhang Tammy Teng Terrence Lallak Timothy Burwell Toni Mateu Tore Banke Wells Barber Wojciech Swarowski
WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
National Building Museum
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
346 / 3,724
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
BIG was invited to design the temporary summer installation at The National Building Museum in Washington D.C. The giant sky lit Great Hall, carried by eight 75 ft marble columns is used for events throughout the year and tends to go quiet in the summer months.
The museum’s leadership asked BIG to look into creating a maze for the museum’s summer guests. Instead of a traditional maze, where visitors get lost as they move deeper into the labyrinth, BIG proposed to invert the traditional maze experience for a grand reveal upon reaching the center of it.
Playing with the height of the walls, BIG replaced the monotony of evenly extruded barriers with a variation in height to block or open views. A cone is subtracted from the solid of maze creating a central valley surrounded by sloping hills in all directions.
As visitors journey through the 57×57 ft maze the variation in height transforms the proportion of the corridors from narrow canyons to open valleys – from the back alley to the central square.
From outside, the BIG Maze’s cube-like form hides the final reveal behind its 20-foot-tall walls. On the inside, the walls slowly descend towards the center which concludes with a grand reveal – a 360 degree understanding of your path in and how to get out. The maze attracted more than 50,000 visitors over the course of 3 months.
Bjarke Ingels Kai-Uwe Bergmann Annette Miller Chi Chi Lin Iben Falconer Thea Gasseholm Ziad Shehab
Costar Group
Clark Construction Group
Davis Construction
Glass Construction
Grunley Construction Company
Sigal Construction Corporation
GCS Inc.
The Home Depot Foundation
ACECO
Robert Silman Associates
Cumming Construction
VJ Associates
Hargrove
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Times Square Alliance
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
9 / 100
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
From 2008 to 2012, the Times Square Alliance hosted an annual public art sculpture to celebrate Valentine’s Day. In 2012, BIG’s sculpture, BIG ♥ NYC utilized the flow of people, air, and touch to bring the sculpture to life.
The 10-foot tall glowing heart consisted of 400 transparent, LED-lit, acrylic tubes. A hovering heart suspended within a glowing grove of glass-like poles, reflected and bent the light from the flashing billboards of Times Square.
A heart-shaped sensor in front of the installation would glow brighter and beat faster upon people’s hands touching the pad – converting human energy into more light.
BIG ♥ NYC was a reflection of what Times Square is made of: people and light. The more people, the stronger the light. Like a daisy chain of human contact, the more people who held hands or made contact with others while touching the heart, the brighter and faster the heart would pulse.
"The heart was one of the main characters in the human stories taking place in Times Square that month, and it was also the stage for many marriage proposals and hundreds of renewed wedding vows. As locals and tourists began interacting with the heart, the cold of that February in New York was warmed by the visible outpouring of love and affection."
BIG’s entire NYC team decided to test the sculpture with their own hands, showing how BIG ♥ NYC indicated human energy in one of the most energized places on earth.
Bjarke Ingels Chris Falla Jeremy Alain Siegel Sören Grünert Daniel Kidd Ho Kyung Lee Julian Liang Marcella Martinez
Flatcut
Local Projects
Zumtobel Lighting
Robert Silman Associates
BARCELONA, SPAIN
CLIENT
Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology
TYPOLOGY
Education
SIZE M2/FT2
24,600 / 264,792
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Umbracle in Catalan means something that provides shade. Rather than creating a building plus a pergola, BIG proposes to do both in one single move for the new building of Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST). By setting the building back at ground level, BIG creates a single, generous, sheltered public plaza at the foot of BIST. On the back, it gently retracts to preserve urban continuity.
The forest of columns is augmented by a grid of trees, a symbiosis between natural & man-made. The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology also celebrates vernacular adaptations to Barcelona’s architectural values, with the use of traditional constructive methods, as the volta catalana.
Inside, the atrium increases in size creating terraces that enable the community to mingle and engage. The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology is the home to 4 institutions, dedicated to research of medical sciences, including laboratories, offices, and synergy spaces. The design is based on the pre-existing parking grid, as a highly pragmatic structural system.
Agustin Perez-Torres Bjarke Ingels Giulia Frittoli João Albuquerque Ulla Hornsyld Gonzalo Auger Portillo Jose Gomez Carbonell Julieta Muzzillo Lena Mariella von Buren Marcel Götz Nandi Lu Wei Lesley Yang
IDOM
FREDERIKSBERG, DENMARK
CLIENT
St. Thomas Church
TYPOLOGY
Civic
SIZE M2/FT2
350 / 3,767
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
St. Thomas Church is one of many churches that were built in Copenhagen in the late 1800s as part of the city’s expansion beyond the old town borders. Constructed in 1898, the neo-gothic church is defined by its simplicity. Plain in material and decoration, the double symmetrical, cross-shaped floor plan creates solemnity that permeates the structure.
BIG was engaged to create symbiosis between old and new – in both stylistic and atmospheric terms – housing community activities and support rooms, a large hall that has the power to unite, inspire and create space for the parish to come together. BIG’s proposal is based on the existing architecture of the church. The geometry is formed as an extension of one of the church’s four wings, with all the new functions placed at ground level.
The faceted building merges the pitched roof of the existing church and the simple outline of programs at ground floor. Inside, the brick façade of the old church becomes a triple height back wall in the large hall, celebrating and preserving the ornamented neo-gothic architecture of the last century.
In an act of turning the inside out, the existing façade of the historical church becomes the inner façade of the new space. Like a gigantic artifact on display in a contemporary art gallery, the façade becomes a fragment of the past in the new environment.
Andrea Hektor Andreas Bak Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Finn Nørkjær Jakob Lange Jan Magasanik Jesper Boye Andersen Jesús Fernández Fraile Lars Thonke Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard Oliver Steen Anna Sofie Kirstine Krøyer Julius Emil Westlin Giedrius Mamavicius Gwendoline Eveillard Jens Max Jensen Jonas Aarsø Larsen Kristoffer Negendahl Leon Rassloff Ole Dau Mortensen Oscar Abrahamsson
Faith & Form Award for Religious Art & Architecture, 2015
BIG Ideas
HUALIEN CITY, TAIWAN
CLIENT
Taiwan Land Development Corporation | Hualien County Government
TYPOLOGY
Hospitality
SIZE M2/FT2
120,000 / 1,291,669
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Hualien is a small town in a beautiful
landscape between mountains and rice fields
on the east coast of Taiwan. In this rural region, bound to experience massive growth, BIG was invited to conceive a dense development of holiday homes and hotels.
In designing the Hualien masterplan, BIG was faced with the archetypical dilemma of creating a tourist destination: how to
preserve and enhance the natural beauty
and dramatic landscape while increasing the
population to inner-city density? BIG’s proposal aims to create a dense type of urban development with the quality and character of a mountainous natural landscape.
The rural setting is characterized by the
parallel bands of rice fields and other crops.
BIG imagined an environment where both
built and unbuilt would be defined by the
same undulating ribbons of landscape.
In Taiwanese landscape paintings, threedimensional mountain formations are
indicated by layering of simple outlines
to create a sense of space and depth. In a
similar way BIG creates three-dimensional
structures by superposing simple profiles to
achieve the desirable floor depths.
The resultant architecture appears like a
stylized natural landscape of peaks and
valleys, hillsides and canyons. Pools appear
like mountain lakes, running tracks like
hiking paths, and balconies and terraces like
plateaus and ledges.
With sculpted sections contrasted by practical
floor plans, the Hualien Hills are a pragmatic
utopian attempt at rural densification. The
design preserves the ecological qualities of
nature by extending and amplifying it without consuming them with a lifeless
urban environment.
A 1,000 m2 prototype was built at the project site to showcase a residence within the Hualien masterplan. The model unit offers a glimpse into the lifestyle and amenities of the development, including a new furniture line designed exclusively for the Hualien Residences by the BIG Product team.
On a backbone of efficient layouts and rational
circulation, the undulating roofs provide
the neighborhood with a great variation in
residence types and communal spaces.
Inside, the apartments inherit attributes
from the angled silhouettes to add an almost
traditional vernacular feeling of attics and
porches in the middle of dense modern
development.
Beatrice Melli Bjarke Ingels Catherine Huang Eric Li Finn Nørkjær Jakob Lange Jan Magasanik Jesper Boye Andersen Jinho Lee Kekoa Charlot Lorenzo Boddi Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard Molly Hsiao Rou Huang Ryohei Koike Teodor Cristian Fratila Vinish Sethi Adriana-Bianca Diaconu Agnieszka Kwiecien Aivars Zogla Alberto Herzog Alvaro Garcia Mendive Alysen Hiller Ambra Chiesa Andreas Müllertz Andrew Lo Anna Juzak Anu Marjanna Leinonen Bartosz Kobylakiewicz Camila Luise de Andrade Stadler Chris Beaudin Christin Svensson Dominic Black Dominik Mroziński Dominyka Mineikyte Eduardo Camarena Eivor Davidsen Emily King Espen Vik Frederik Wegener Giedrius Mamavicius Gwendoline Eveillard Horia Spirescu Ioana Fartadi Scurtu Jakub Wlodarczyk Jamie Oliver Galienne Jesafa Templo Joanna Anna Jakubowska Johanna Nenander Jonas Aarsø Larsen Joos Jerne Juan Antonio Silvestre Bengoa Junjie Yan Kasper Reimer Hansen Kirsty Badenoch Laura Wätte Lise Jessen Lola Conte Lora Borislavova Luca Senise Lucas Stanley Carriere Maciej Jakub Zawadzki Magdalena Maria Mróz Manon Otto Maria Teresa Fernandez Rojo Mathias Bank Stigsen Megan Fiona Cumming Miao Zhang Min Ter Lim Nicolas Millot Nigel Jooren Nina Vuga Paddy Fernandez Pedro Savio jobim Pinheiro Perle van de Wyngaert Qianqian Ye Rasmus Pedersen Ren Yang Tan Richard John Seymour Richard Mui Richard Teeling Romea Muryn Sandra Fleismann Santtu Johannes Hyvarinen Sebastian Liszka Sergiu Calacean Sigrún Harpa Þórarinsdóttir Song He Soo Woo Taylor McNally-Anderson Terrence Chew Tobias Vallø Sørensen Vilius Linge Xi Chen Xin Su Ying Zhang
World Architecture Festival Future Best Housing Category Finalist, 2016
ARUP
R.J. Wu and Associates
PARK CITY, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Kimball Art Center
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
2,558 / 27,500
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Park City is the home of the Sundance Film
Festival and a major hub for art, culture, and
winter sports. It was originally settled as a silver-mining town by a large population of Scandinavian immigrants, who brought with them their traditional construction techniques; using interlocking logs to build
cabins, mining tunnels, and grain silos.
The new Kimball Art Center will replace the existing Kimball building which is a horse stable, turned car repair shop, turned museum. In designing the winning proposal, BIG asked – could the iconic Silver King Mining Coalition Building which the city lost in a fire be revived in the design for the new institution? Could the new Kimball Art Center tell the story of the past while still looking to the future?
For more than 80 years, the Silver King Mining Coalition Building was the tallest structure in Park City. It was the most recognizable building, greeting incoming visitors and locals, as they approached from the canyon. When it burned to the ground in 1982, the city lost the last icon linking its mining past, with its skiing present.
The continued success of the museum has given them an opportunity to expand their exhibition and education programs while improving recognition and visibility.
BIGs winning proposal was a quaint volume exactly the same size and silhouette of the Silver King. Built from interlocking logs, the wooden volume is rotated from its wooden base to its roof to greet newcomers from the main access roads.
A continuous spiral of circulation is expressed
clearly on the interior of the timber façade,
connecting the lower gallery to the roof.
While the Kimball Museum loved the design
and awarded BIG the project, the city didn’t grant the project the necessary dispensations to move forward. BIG designed a second proposal within the tight confines of the existing zoning, working closely with the city officials to make sure the project remained within their interpretation of the rules. After a mixed response from the public and the city officials, BIG embarked on the journey of designing a third proposal.
BIG’s third proposal for the new Kimball Arts center is designed as a series of gabled roofs, oriented on site for best daylight conditions and creating a volume that is compatible with the vernacular of the Park City area. Layering the program and mitigating the height difference between the site edges, the geometry steps back from the busy road at the upper level and extends towards ground plane to create a unified roofscape that houses galleries, classrooms, art studios, restaurant, and administrative spaces.
Double height spaces create a visual connection between the different programs. The structural approach consists of concrete slabs and timber framing supporting a roof that is draping across the site in peaks and valleys. The landscape around the building provides two larger open entry plazas and a series of outdoor studios spilling out from inside, creating a gradient between softscape and hardscape around the site.
Beat Schenk Bjarke Ingels Chris Falla Finn Nørkjær Hung-Kai Liao Leon Rost Mike Munoz Sören Grünert Thomas Christoffersen Agne Rapkeviciute Andreia Teixeira Brendan Carr Callum Nolan Carlos Castillo Christian Salkeld Cristina Medina-Gonzalez David Spittler Ho Kyung Lee Jacob Karasik Jonathan Russell Kiley Anne Feickert Natalie Kwee Ming Yie Romea Muryn Suemin Jeon Terrence Chew Tracy Sodder Ziad Shehab
BARCELONA, SPAIN
CLIENT
Metrovacesa
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
60,000 / 538,200
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
3 Xemeneies is a former steam power plant that was constructed 50 years ago in Barcelona, and stands as a monument to its outdated technology. Once the plant was retired, the remaining three chimneys and turbine hall became a local cultural landmark. The three chimneys still standing remain the tallest structures in the region and are undeniable icons in search of new symbolism and significance.
BIG’s proposal preserves the sculptural beauty of the three chimneys by wrapping the new programs around them like vines around tree trunks. Lifted above the ground, they allow a
new pedestrian promenade to pass through and under the majestic structure – replacing the flow of steam with the footfall of people.
Bjarke Ingels Catherine Huang Kekoa Charlot Ulla Hornsyld Amanda Lima Soares Da Cunha Bart Ramakers Carlos Suriñach Penella Edda Steingrimsdottir Jacek Baczkowski Jiajie Wang Joanna Wirkus Karolina Olga Krzyżanowska Luca Pileri Lucas Stanley Carriere Marcos Anton Banon Mauro Saenz de Cabezon Aguado Ragna Nordstrom Tomas Rosello Barros Wai Yan Li Wei Lesley Yang Yuanxun Xu Yueying Wan
OUA
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
WWW.BIG.DK designed in 2005 eliminated superficial flash moves and focused on exploiting flash’s potential to structure and communicate our projects. Each project is embodied by an icon that captures the essence of the project and can be sorted in chronological, alphabetical, programmatic, scale or plot order – like laying out a deck of cards in different ways on your desktop. Each configuration provided an intuitive quantitative overview of our work. When were we busy? What are our specialties? The pop-ups allow us to give lectures anywhere with nothing else but an internet connection! The configuration of icons became the graphic expression. The reshuffling became the animation. The content became the form.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange
Ruby Studio
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Silverstein Properties & 21st Century Fox / News Corp
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
139,354 / 1,500,000
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
2 World Trade Center (2 WTC) is the capstone in the redevelopment of the World Trade Center and the final component of the revitalization of Lower Manhattan. Located at 200 Greenwich Street and bound by Church Street to the east, Vesey Street to the north and Fulton Street to the south, the tower will rise to approximately 1,340 ft, respectfully framing the 9/11 Memorial Park.
BIG’s proposal was designed to serve as the new headquarters for 21st Century Fox and News Corp who were planning to move and consolidate their companies and more than 5,000 people under one roof. The design concentrates the needs and requirements of the media company and other tenants into seven separate building volumes, each tailored to their unique activities, while simultaneously creating 38,000 sq ft of outdoor space.
From the 9/11 Memorial, the building appears as a tall and slender tower just as its three neighboring towers, while the view from TriBeCa is of a series of stepped green terraces. The building is aligned along the axis of World Trade Center masterplanner Daniel Libeskind’s ‘Wedge of Light’ plaza to preserve the views to St. Paul’s Chapel from the Memorial park.
The volumes of varying sizes and depths are stacked on top of each other from the largest at the base to the smallest towards the top. The stacking creates large outdoor terraces full of lush greenery and unprecedented views of the surrounding cityscape, extending life and social interaction outdoors. The modernist skyscraper and the contemporary interpretation of the pre-modern setback merge in a new hybrid and an exciting addition to the NYC skyline.
The base of the building utilizes the maximum area of the site, housing TV studios and 100,000 sq ft of retail space over multiple levels. The lobby is connected to the WTC transit hub, providing direct access to 11 subway lines and PATH trains. A public plaza at the foot of the building and access to shopping and restaurants in the adjacent transportation hub and concourses will ensure life and activity in and around the new World Trade Center.
The new building would provide the physical environment for collaboration and idea sharing through the internal mix of open workplaces, amenities and informal meeting spaces. Large stairwells between the floors form cascading double-height communal spaces throughout the headquarters. These continuous spaces enhance connectivity between different departments and amenities, which may include basketball courts, a running track, a cafeteria and screening rooms. The amenity floors are located so they can feed directly out onto the roof top parks.
“The skyscraper is a New York native that came to populate the Financial District downtown. As an architectural typology, it has seen little innovation since its inception at the beginning of the 20th century. With the transformation of the Financial District into a vibrant neighborhood for creative companies in media, technology and design, the classic corporate tower tailored for finance needed rethinking. By conceiving the tower as a vertical village of individual city blocks of different proportions and floor plates, with terraces and roof gardens, the traditional vertical silhouette of the modern skyscraper is animated to become a lively new character on the Manhattan skyline.”
Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Dominyka Voelkle Douglass Alligood Haochen Yu Jakob Lange Jan Leenknegt Julie Kaufman Kai-Uwe Bergmann Lauren Connell Falla Lawrence-Olivier Mahadoo Linus Saavedra Lisbet Fritze Trentemøller Martin Voelkle Molly Hsiao Rou Huang Otilia Pupezeanu Sebastian Claussnitzer Shane Dalke Thomas Christoffersen Thomas McMurtrie Yu Inamoto Zhonghan Huang Adam Sheraden Adrian Subagyo Alessandra Peracin Ali Chen Alice Cladet Amina Blacksher Armen Menendian Athena Morella Benson Chien Cadence Merrie Bayley Carolien Schippers Catherine Papst Christi Farrell Christopher White Daisy Zhong David Brown David Zhai Deb Campbell Di Wang Dong-Joo Kim Doug Stechschulte Emily Watts Eva Maria Mikkelsen Florencia Kratsman Francesca Portesine Hector Garcia-Castrillo Iben Falconer Iva Ulam Jennifer Kimura Jennifer Wood Jessica Jiang Ji-Young Yoon John Hilmes John Kim Jonathan Rieke Kristoffer Negendahl Lucas Hong Lucio Santos Maki Matsubayashi Manon Otto Margaret Kim Maria Sole Bravo Maureen Rahman Mustafa Khan Nicholas Coffee Pablo Costa Fraiz Paul Manhertz Rune Hansen Sabri Farouki Seo Young Shin Simon Lee Supakrit Wongviboonsin Tammy Teng Tara Hagan Terrence Chew Thomas Yaher Tiago Sá Tore Banke Ute Rinnebach Vivien Cheng Yaziel Juarbe
AIANY Design Awards Honor for Future Project, 2016
Acoustic Distinctions
Adamson Associates
AMAPC
CCI
D-BOX
Gardiner & Theobald
Gensler
Jaros
Baum & Bolles
Radii Inc.
Squint Opera
Turner Construction
Van Deusen & Associates
VIDARIS
WSP
BIG Ideas
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Realdania
TYPOLOGY
Urbanism
SIZE M2/FT2
109,265 / 1,176,118
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
The industrial areas in the Copenhagen suburbs are next in line for urban development. A new light rail is planned to interconnect 20 development zones with a total area of 11 Km2, the size of the entire inner city.
BIG proposes to turn the light rail line into a spine of dense urbanity with a series of peaks at the stations. By combing the rail with strategies for energy exchange, waste management, water treatment and electric car stations, the infrastructure could become the base for a new sustainable ring of development around Copenhagen, and an artery of true urbanity pumping life into the heart of the suburbs. At certain points the rail becomes a building itself almost like a Roman aqueduct passing through the suburbs, at other points it forms small pockets of urbanity around the stations.
The proposal includes upgrades to the planned light rail by extending it to form a regional ring around Oresund connecting similar development areas, and creating a new 50 year development perspective for a cross border region between Sweden and Denmark. Where the Finger Plan from 1947 was about connectivity from suburb to center the Loop City is linking a string of highly differentiated urban nodes, universities and working spaces in a center-less metropolitan region around a blue void.
This ring, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay area, has enough development areas to contain the growth of the region the next 50 years, and could become a model for a both sustainable, dense and super recreational development of the region.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Ryohei Koike Søren Martinussen Armor Gutiérrez Rivas Daniel Kidd Daniel Selensky Kuba Snopek Lucian Mihail Racovitan Ole Schrøder Riccardo Mariano Xing Xiong
ReD Associates
ARUP
Tom Nielsen
Dong Energy
Advisory Board
Ringby - Letbanesamarbejdet
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
Lars von Trier – the Danish film director who famously co-founded the Dogme movement and helped reignite Danish cinema’s most recent renaissance, is nothing if not controversial. Titles such as “Antichrist,” “Melancholia,” and “Nymphomaniac” suggest
why. Lars’s latest film about a mass murderer needed an architect to help make the namesake scene of the film, The House that Jack Built, seem credible.
SPOILER ALERT!
To trigger a Dantean turn of events toward the end of the film, the main character constructed a house out of frozen corps. It needed to resemble a child’s idea of a house. Archaic and iconic. It had to be credible as something made in a hurry, but also terrifyingly compelling as an architectural vision of horror. Louis Kahn famously reminded us: “It’s important, you see, that you honor the material that you use… ‘What do you want, Brick?’ And Brick says to you, ‘I like an Arch.’
Now it was our turn to ask, ‘What do you want, corpse?’ ”
The most fitting analogy we could think of was traditional timbered houses from the Danish countryside; a wooden framework forms a skeleton of forces to be filled with hay and clay. In this case, the force diagram is drawn by human silhouettes. We took 60 scale people (the number of victims) in scale 1:50 and started to build a house. The white
monochrome models resembled tombs and temples with marble statues and carvings.
Almost too beautiful to scare. But once we used real 3D scans of various BIG team
members, the antics gave way to the gothic. Lars was happy. The only question left was
how to procure the building blocks.
Adrianna Karnaszewska Bjarke Ingels Filip Radu Matteo Pavanello Monika Dauksaite Amro Abdelsalam Anton Olof Malte Ling Antonio Pessoa Maurício Dave van Toor Felicia Olufsson Joanna Anna Jakubowska Joanna Wirkus Miaomiao Chu Rihards Dzelme Tomas Rosello Barros Xinying Zhang
MONTPELLIER, FRANCE
CLIENT
Ville de Montpelier
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
7,800 / 83,959
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
The Museum of the Human Body in Montpellier is rooted in the humanist and medical tradition of Montpellier and its world-renowned medical school, which dates back to the tenth century. It explores the human body from in an artistic, scientific and societal approach through cultural activities, interactive exhibitions, performances and workshops.
The museum is conceived as a confluence of the park and the city – nature and architecture – bookending the Charpak Park along with the city hall. Like the mixture of two incompatible substances – oil and vinegar – the urban pavement and the parks turf flow together in a mutual embrace forming pockets of terraces overlooking the park and elevating islands of nature above the city.
Like a seismic fault line, the architectural crusts of planet earth are lifted and mingled to form an underlying continuous space of caves and niches, lookouts and overhangs. Rather than a single perimeter delineating an interior and an exterior, the façade is conceived as a sinuous membrane meandering across the site, delineating interior spaces and exterior gardens in a seamless continuum oscillating between the city and the park.
A series of seemingly singular pavilions that weave together to form a unified institution – like individual fingers united together in a mutual grip.
The roofscape of the Museum of the Human Body is conceived as an ergonomic garden – a dynamic landscape of vegetal and mineral surfaces that allow the parks visitors to explore and express their bodies in various ways – from contemplation to the performance – from relaxing to exercising – from the soothing to the challenging.
The façades of the Museum of the Human Body are transparent, maximizing the visual and physical connection to the surroundings.
On the sinuous façade that oscillates between facing North and South, East and West, the optimum louver orientation varies constantly, protecting sunlight, while also resembling the patterns of a human fingerprint – both unique and universal in nature.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Chris Falla Jakob Lange Jakob Sand Lorenzo Boddi Marie Lancon Sasha Lukianova Aleksander Wadas Alexander Eising Birk Daugaard Chloe Blain Chris Beaudin Danai Charatsi Dimitrie Grigorescu Gabrielle Nadeau Katerina Joannides Oscar Abrahamsson Tore Banke
A+ Architecture
EGIS Bâtiments Méditerranée
Base
L'Echo
Celsius Environment
Cabinet Conseil Vincent Hedont
BIG Ideas
NUUK, GREENLAND
CLIENT
Nunatta Eqqumiitsulianik Saqqummersitsivia
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
3,000 / 32,292
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Greenland National Gallery for Art will play a significant role for the citizens of Greenland and the inhabitants of Nuuk as a cultural, social, political, urban and architectural focal point. The building will combine the art history of Greenland and contemporary art in one dynamic institution that communicates the continuous project of documenting and developing the Greenlandic national identity through art and culture.
Located on a steep slope overlooking the most beautiful of Greenland’s fjords, the 3,000 m2 National Gallery will serve as a cultural and architectural icon for the people of Greenland.
As a projection of a geometrically perfect circle on to the steep slope, the new gallery is conceived as a courtyard building that combines a pure geometrical layout with a sensitive adaption to the landscape. The three‐dimensional imprint of the landscape creates a protective ring around the museum’s focal point, the sculpture garden where visitors, personnel, exhibition merge with culture and nature, inside and outside.
“The Board has a clear vision: to work for the establishment of an internationally oriented highly professional institution that communicates the continuous project of documenting and developing the Greenlandic national identity through art and culture. Our dream is a national gallery where historic and contemporary art meets circumpolar pieces, Nordic and world art in general. Our dream is an institution that stimulates our curiosity, awake our excitement with its thought‐provoking design and where we all feel at home. Selecting a prominent architect as BIG, I am sure that our chances of realizing that dream are good.”
“The Danish functionalistic architecture in Nuuk is typically square boxes which ignore the unique nature of Greenland. We therefore propose a national gallery which is both physically and visually in harmony with the dramatic nature, just like life in Greenland is a symbiosis of the nature. We have created a simple, functional and symbolic shape, where the perfect circle is supplied by the local topography which creates a unique hybrid between the abstract shape and the specific location.”
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Jakob Henke Lars Thonke Tyrone Cobcroft Aleksander Tokarz Alessio Zenaro Daniel Selensky Gül Ertekin Jacques Zhang Ji-Young Yoon Johan Cool Nicklas Antoni Rasch Oanh Nguyen Tore Banke Tristan Battistoni
TNT Nuuk
Arkitekti
Rambøll UK
Rambøll Nuuk
MIR
Glessner Group
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
CLIENT
Werthein Group
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
150,000 / 1,614,600
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
BIG was invited to design two new city blocks at one of the main entrances to Buenos Aires. The zoning called for a dense development within two compact volumes capped at 100 m of height framing a small public space. The result was like a tall urban wall with a small gap in it.
Buenos Aires is a lively city with a vibrant social life, but to our surprise it only has 2 m2 of public green space per person compared to the nine square meters recommended by WHO. This was something BIG’s design could address. As a result, the two blocks are transformed into five towers. Each tower is given a different height to eliminate the sensation of a wall. The podium is reduced into semi-sunken pavilions, turning their roofs into green slopes. The bases of each tower are eroded diminishing the footprint and allowing a public park to expand.
The site is located along Avenida Del Libertador, which is one of the major streets of Buenos Aires. The location is prominent and highly visible. It varies in width and is composed of 6 directional traffic lanes framed by an extensive bicycle network along wide pedestrian sidewalks.
Toward the top, the towers erode in a similar way by creating a landscape of terraces for the people living and working there. The resulting complex provides a new park with a more than threefold increase in public green space, and an alpine architectural silhouette on the city’s skyline. In a synergy of public and private interest, by offering the space to the public where it is the most in need, we earn the freedom to redistribute the lost density above.
Agustin Perez-Torres Alejandra Cortes Bjarke Ingels Chris Tron Danna Lei Kristian Hindsberg Mike Munoz Sebastian Claussnitzer Simon Scheller Siqi Zhang Yi Lun Yang Ana Luisa Pedreira Andres Romero Autumn Visconti Douglas Breuer James Hartman Josiah Poland Julian Ocampo Salazar Mo Li
RED
TALLINN, ESTONIA
CLIENT
Tallinn City Planning
TYPOLOGY
Civic
SIZE M2/FT2
28,000 / 301,392
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Tallinn municipality decided to consolidate its public governance and service entities into a new town hall. Located to the north of the medieval city center set within the green ring that wraps around the ancient city walls, the new town hall occupies a key position in the successful urbanization of the waterfront and offers a unique possibility of linking land and sea, old and new, public space and public institutions.
BIG’s design proposal, selected from 81 international competition entries, creates a new urban typology that combines the human scale and intimate experience of the medieval townscape, with the public space and municipal symbolism of the modern extension.
An open and permeable administrative village, extending both town center and public park all the way to the water’s edge.
BIG’s proposal turns the entire site of the new Tallinn Town Hall into a big open public square connecting all the adjoining urban situations; the Soviet-era sports center Linnen Hall, the Cultural Cauldron, the Green Ring, the medieval town and the modern developments, into one new public space.
A village of 11 buildings for the City offices, the City Council and different administrative functions are elevated to create a continuous public space on the ground floor. Organizing the administrative functions this way, allows the departments to operate as a cluster of independent entities as well as one unified workspace.
The public square – half outside, half inside – contains a restaurant, conference hall, exhibitions and all the citizen services as well as informal meeting spaces in the lounge or under open sky.
The indoor part of the public square accommodates all the citizen services in a form of public service marketplace where citizens can come and meet the public servants face to face.
The restaurant is open to both the public as well as the public servants. It is connected with a public stair and elevator to a generous roof garden at the top of the town hall, where an outdoor café offers people an unparalleled 360 degree panorama of Tallinn.
Generous courtyards and light wells allow abundant daylight to filter through the offices above, bathing the public interior in natural daylight.
Good governance and participatory democracy is dependent on transparency in both directions. It requires adequate political overview of the problems, demands and desires of the public, as well as public insight into the political processes.
The new town hall of Tallinn will provide this two way transparency in a very literal way. The various public departments form a porous canopy above the public service market place allowing both daylight and view to permeate the structure.
The public servants won’t be some remote administrators taking decisions behind thick walls, but will be visible in their daily work from all over the market place via the light wells and courtyards. From outside the panoramic windows allow the citizens to see their city at work. In reverse the public servants will be able to look out and into the market place’s making sure that the city and its citizens are never out of sight nor mind.
"The Town hall is not only surrounded by public space - but literally used by the citizens in the form of the public service market place beneath the canopy of the public offices, where the citizens of Tallinn can meet their public servants."
The City Council, the heart of the democratic process, is located in the town hall tower visible from the park, the plaza and the podium of the Linnen Hall.
The roof of the tower is tilted forming a slender spire. The sloping ceiling of the tower is finished in a reflective material. The mirror ceiling transforms the tower into a huge democratic periscope allowing literal transparency between politicians and public.
In the new town hall of Tallinn the ceiling will be a real (reflected) overview of the city both old and new. Whenever a politician raises his/her glance, he/she will be met with the view of Tallinn’s townscape.
The citizens, rallying protesters or simply people passing by, will look towards the tower, and within it get an insight into the political work. The circular formation of council members will be reflected in the tilted ceiling, and give the surrounding citizens a sense of assurance that the democracy is busy working for them.
Bjarke Ingels Buster Christensen Daniel Sundlin Finn Nørkjær Frederik Lyng Hanna Ida Johansson Jakob Lange Jens Majdal Kaarsholm João Albuquerque Martin Voelkle Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard Aet Ader Alexandru Cozma Anders Hjortnæs Andreas Geisler Johansen Ariel Joy Norback Wallner Ask Andersen Barbora Srpkova Benjamin Engelhart Brandon Cappellari Brandon Cook Camille Crepin Claus Hermansen Erich Gerlach Harry Wei Igor Brozyna Jan Besikov Jin Kyung Park Johanna Kanerud Karol Bogdan Borkowski Ken Aoki Krista Meskanen Matti Hein Nørgaard Max Gabriel Pinto Maxime Enrico Ondrej Janku Paolo Venturella Robinson Neuville Steve Huang Tiago Sá Vincent He Xiao Xuan Lu
MIPIM AR Future Projects Awards Highly Commended, 2010
AKT
Grontmij-Carl Bro
Rambøll
Allianss Arhitektid OÜ
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
CLIENT
1Malaysia Development Berhad
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
200,000 / 2,152,782
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
BIG was hired to design a new tower to anchor the Kuala Lumpur Financial District and become a beacon announcing the district’s position in the city.
Embraced by a dense ring of towers, BIG’s Kuala Lumpur Finance Tower emerges from the dense urban cluster to expand and unfold as it reaches the uninterrupted panorama. Designed to accommodate all scales of businesses it transforms from the ground to the sky to cater a variety of corporate models – from the small financial venture capital fund to the large financial institution.
The top of the tower is the hotel. A sky lobby
with 360° views, greets hotel guests beneath
the hovering half cube. The center of the
volume is excavated to create a courtyard
in the sky – like a crown balancing at the top.
Sheltered from the winds at 381 m, and
surrounded by rooms with spectacular views
of the city, the courtyard is an oasis in the sky,
an Islamic garden with water and nature
orchestrated in perfect geometries.
Proportioned according to both floor plate efficiency, daylight penetration, natural ventilation and the mathematics of perfect proportions the tower’s striking silhouette combines the rational and the sculptural – the pragmatic and the idea.
The façades are designed as a double skin, creating a chimney effect for natural ventilation, allowing spectacular views without resulting in overheating.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Blake Smith Hanna Ida Johansson Ricardo Palma Prieto Ryohei Koike Andre Schmidt Daram Park David Tao Edouard Champelle Katarzyna Krystyna Siedlecka Lucian Mihail Racovitan Min Ter Lim Romain Pequin
Kumpulan Senireka Sdn. Bhd. Malaysia
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Centerplan
TYPOLOGY
Culture, Work
SIZE M2/FT2
45,000 / 484,380
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Visible from Copenhagen’s Central Train Station, the City Hall Square and the Tivoli Gardens, the Scala tower is situated in the cultural, commercial and infrastructural heart of Copenhagen.
BIG’s proposal for the Scala Tower is a reinterpretation of the historical Copenhagen tower, consisting of two elements: a base relating to the scale of the surrounding buildings, and a slim tower contributing to the skyline. The proposal manages to combine both private and public in a sliding scale from the street to the rooftop in one continuous movement.
The prominent site in front of Tivoli’s main entrance with the historic skyline on one side and the modern towers on the other.
A quick study of the historical spires of Copenhagen reveals a change from the traditional to the modern towers. The modern towers are generic extrusions of rectangular floor plans, while the historical towers are spires emerging from urban blocks well integrated in the city fabric.
The generic lamellas of the façade skid out becoming steppes and terraces providing informal seating, spectator stands or other forms of urban accommodation.
Each sheet of glass is proportioned like a mega brick. As the regularity of the brick pattern interacts with the transforming outline of the warped tower, it generates a moiré effect of interference.
The melted tower is like the post-modern skyscraper in reverse. Rather than concentrating all energy on a funky silhouette or a catchy head piece, the top is moving towards the pure diagram of a slim modern tower, proportioned for optimal performance and maximum daylight. But from the waist down, the building twists and turns to create as many public qualities in its interface with the city.
At street level, a terraced landscape invites people to relax and take in the city making the Axel Square once again an attractive, urban public space – like a Danish version of the Spanish steps in Rome.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Camilla Hoel Eduardsen Christian Bratz Daichi Tanako Julia Szierer Karsten Hammer Hansen Sara Sosio Simon Lyager Poulsen Ville Haimala
Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award
Adams Kara Taylor
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Halmtorvet 29 A/S
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
50,000 / 538,200
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Copenhagen’s historic skyline is populated with adventurous 18th century spires and towers. Since modernism, the city has seen an addition of mostly rational and functionalistic but repetitive towers to the skyline, creating a public critique against high rise buildings.
BIG set out to explore utilizing the modularity and rationality of the Danish modernistic building tradition to create a new kind of expressive architecture.
The site is laid out as a grid of 3,6 x 3,6 meter squares, creating one continuous pixelated surface. As a topographic map the surface is morphed to form a terraced landscape of towers, accommodating 40.000 m2 housing, hotel, offices and shops. The project becomes an accumulation of individual niches and outdoor spaces forming a collective organic architecture – a Scandinavian high rise typology incorporating the human scale, the rationality and flexibility of Danish building tradition.
To prove that the concept was affordable with standard techniques, BIG decided that nothing would be more convincing than building it in LEGO. It happened that on the 1:500 scale model of the building, the size of a single pixel was identical to the size of the smallest one-dot LEGO brick. The model showcased the silhouette that combines the stepped figure of the traditional spire with the rationality and rigour of a functional structure.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Camilla Hoel Eduardsen David Vega y Rojo Doug Stechschulte Eva Hviid-Nielsen Jan Borgstrøm Maria Sole Bravo Tina Lund Højgaard Jensen Ville Haimala
NACKA, SWEDEN
CLIENT
The Swedish Transport Administration
TYPOLOGY
Infrastructure
SIZE M2/FT2
406 / 4,370
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Investments in infrastructure too often happen at the expense of the environment. When BIG was invited to design a highway bridge spanning two forested banks in the Stockholm archipelago we decided to explore a new form of symbiosis between infrastructure and nature – creating connections for people on foot and in cars, as well as flora and fauna.
The span needed to be long and tall enough to allow sailing boats to navigate the archipelago underneath the highway. The obvious solution was an arch extending between the two banks of the shore. A forest of slender steel pillars connect the structural arch with the highway lanes above.
Skuru Parkbridge represents a new form of social infrastructure, which is not only aesthetic and environmentally well-integrated with the natural landscape, but is also socially activating by creating a place and a park for the people who live and work on both sides of the strait.
The interaction between the two elements – the straight line of the roadway and the curving arch – form the basis for logical bridge construction as well as for infrastructural and social functions. As an attractive interaction between two simple sculptural forms, as a true embodiment of Vitruvius’s principles of firmitas, utilitas, et venustas: strength, utility and beauty.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Hanna Ida Johansson Jakob Lange Hans Willehader Igor Brozyna Jeffrey Mark Mikolajewski Jesper Henriksen Sofia Fors Adolfsson
Flint & Neill
Kragh & Berglund
Speirs + Major
GONESSE, FRANCE
CLIENT
Europa City | Alliages & Territoires
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
34,000 / 365,976
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Located at the key pedestrian access point to EuropaCity, La Porte exhibition hall acts as a
portal allowing the public to flow freely between the neighborhood and the new train station. A treelined pedestrian bridge passes through the building on its way across the urban boulevard.
Rather than a square tunnel through the building, the gateway is conceived as a smooth transition from one façade to the other, turning the surface of the museum inside out. In the direction of the bridge, the building will consist of a procession of 43 parallel concrete frames that change in scale, from generous to intimate as you pass through. Similarly, the species of trees will range from big to bonsai and back again. The façade will seem to cave in like a loophole from front to back. Viewed from the front, the building is opaque and enigmatic. As people pass through, it turns out to be an entirely transparent space with works of art in all directions. The passageway becomes a promenade through an art archive. The building’s insides will be exposed on the outside, and its main façade will
be the space within it.
On the one hand, the “Grand Atelier des Conservateurs”, and on the other side, the public reception hall, with art installations outside the walls. Visitors to EuropaCity find themselves surrounded by works of art in all directions, from left to right, from top to bottom, transforming the passage from the station into EuropaCity to a walk in the heart of a real art archive.
In the direction of the bridge, the building consists of a procession of parallel concrete frames that change scale, from generous to intimate, then generous again to open on EuropaCity. Viewed from the front, the building is opaque, enigmatic, but the graceful curves come to envelop the visitors in this poetic procession. When visitors cross the first frames, they discover a building of great transparency, an inviting and open space whose vibrant activity draws them inward.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Sand Raphael Ciriani Robert Grimm Sarkis Sarkisyan Dominika Trybe Gabrielle Nadeau Lucas Stein Mattia Di Carlo Semiha Toptas Tore Banke Yehezkiel Wiliardy Manik
dUCKS scéno
BMF
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CLIENT
EXPO 2020
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
20,000 / 215,280
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Al Wasl Plaza will be the heart of the 2020 Dubai World Exhibition as well as the center of the future community of the legacy neighborhood. During the day it will serve to shade thousands of visitors as they congregate at the center of the Expo between visits to the plethora of pavilions. At night it will become the arena for the rich program of performances and spectacles that will take place every night during the expo.
The Al Wasl site is of a comparable scale to landmark squares across the world familiar to every culture and religion ranging from the Arc de Triomphe to the Colosseum. From the Piazza San Pietro in Rome to the Al-Masjid al-Haram Mosque in Mecca. During the celebrations surrounding the 2020 Dubai Worlds Fair it will be the gathering place for
people of all Nations, all Religions, all Languages, all Cultures. Can we imagine a space that can set the stage for 20,000 people spectacles and also provide the framework for individual families? Al Wasl will be collective yet intimate, public yet personal. Al Wasl Plaza is the ultimate symbol of the spirit of the Worlds Fair, representing unity from plurality – out of many we come together.
The plaza will consist of two overlapping spaces. One space is conceived like a contemporary interpretation of the Souk, the vast shaded public space where people gather during the day. Tall slender columns mushroom at the top forming a continuous canopy of interconnected disks. Like light filtering through the leaves of the trees, daylight will seep through the gaps through the canopy above. Each disc is tilted towards the center, rising towards the perimeter – the result is a shaded square – opening up to receive visitors from all directions.
Above, the many disks come together to form a single bowl: an arena for nocturnal performances. The extroverted invitation on the ground forms an introverted focus at the top.
A 360 degree arena created by a sea of individual disks collectively forming a single united venue. Like a field of lily pads each individual disk serves to seat a couple of
hundred individuals. Like an archipelago of individual islands uniting to form a single destination. People will access the spectator stands through the gaps from the square below. The central stage will be built on hydraulic pistons allowing it to emerge from below fully set for the next performance. The ascension of the stage becomes the ultimate
reveal, and ambient light glowing from between the disks making the audience feel as if they are floating in a sea of light.
The Special Pavilion is conceived as a cluster of 7 individual pavilions uniting to form a single space. The disks lean against each other and rise from the ground like sand dunes framing a central oasis, the secret garden at the heart of the pavilion. The disks form a single shell structure covering a column free space below.
Bjarke Ingels Brian Yang Anders Kofod Lucian Mihail Racovitan Philip Rufus Knauf Rahul Girish Xin Chen
AKT II
Systematica
Atelier Brueckner
Luechiger + Meyer
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
First Hotels
TYPOLOGY
Hospitality
SIZE M2/FT2
20,000 / 215,278
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
The first stages of project development at BIG always involve a careful study of the site and the programmatic requirements. In the case of the Escher Tower, the site was an orthogonal intersection of an east-west highway and a north-south subway line, populated by a department store and a medical business. The program was 1000 identical hotel rooms with the only interesting activities to be placed in a single floor at the ground.
With limited site and programmatic restrictions BIG decided to take this opportunity to create an identity for the Scandinavian skyscraper.
BIG devised a tower that consists of 3 square towers merged into one. The resulting shape acquires a series of distinct silhouettes depending on the position of the viewer: a bottle, an hourglass, a cup and a drawing by M.C. Escher. However, while Escher depicts buildings that are impossible constructions, BIG’s tower is based on logical structural requirements and common sense.
Bjarke Ingels Bo Benzon Imke Bahlmann Krestian Ingemann Hansen Marc Jay Matias Labarca Clausen Mikelis Putrams Niels Lund Petersen Wataru Tanaka
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
CLIENT
Stockholm Municipality
TYPOLOGY
Public Realm
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Slussen is the cradle of Stockholm – where the capital has historically evolved from. Every 100 years or so, Slussen has taken a new form, most recently in 1935 in response to the growing number of cars. In 2009, the structure was about to collapse and Slussen had to be reinvented once again.
BIG’s proposal was a new generation evolved from the existing Slussen. Rather than being an infrastructural node for car traffic, BIG proposed turning Slussen into an urban infrastructure for public life.
The public space was surrounded by traffic, making the waterfront inaccessible for the people of Stockholm.
BIG suggested an inversion – wrapping the vehicular infrastructure in multiple layers of public programs and urban spaces and regaining the waterfront.
Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Jan Magasanik Christian Alvarez David Marek Harry Wei Johan Cool Kamil Szoltysek Marc Jay Maria Mavriku Niels Lund Petersen Ole Schrøder Ondrej Janku Roberto Rosales Salazar Teis Draiby
NOD
ATIZAPAN, MEXICO
CLIENT
Patronato Tamayo
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
2,300 / 24,757
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Set upon a steep hillside in Atizapan on the outskirts of Mexico’s largest metropolis, the New Tamayo Museum serves as a nucleus of education and culture, locally, regionally, and internationally.
Named after the Oaxacan born artist Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991) and with the symbolic shape of the cross, the museum’s shape derives from the client’s preliminary studies that defined the optimal functionality. BIG’s proposal further enhances it by taking advantage of the best views from above, making the best of the steep terrain and shading the more social program below and creating exterior and interior spaces that overlap for optimal climatic performance.
The main concept of Museo Tamayo Ex-Tension Atizapan is an “Opened Box” that unfolds, opens and invites the visitors inside.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Pauline Lavie-Luong Maxime Enrico Pal Arnulf Trodahl
Romo y Asociados
Entorno Taller de Prisaje
Ernesto Moncada
Glessner Group - Germán Glessner
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
TYPOLOGY
Public Realm
SIZE M2/FT2
110,000 / 1,184,030
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
The key to building sustainably in the desert is to protect the building and the urban spaces around it from the desert sun. A traditional block of program would get heavy exposure on the vertical facades and leave all of the surroundings bathed in the sun.
For a 200,000 m2 mixed-use development in Dubai, BIG mobilized all of the knowledge and processing power available at the time and ended up with an architecture relying on its design rather than its machinery to create optimal living conditions in the Emirate climate. Engineering without Engines: a new vernacular architecture for Dubai.
BIG proposed leaning the facades of the building outwards until the inclination reaches the average angle of the sun, the facades dodge the sun rays and rest in the shade of the building itself. Due to the relatively high average position of the sun on the sky the total sun exposure can be reduced dramatically at relatively small inclinations. The resulting building volume is a sort of inverted pyramid with the apex buried deep in the desert sand.
By conceiving the building as cluster of small and tall pyramids, a shaded space is created beneath the canopy of the large floating building mass. Like an urban oasis, an open air market occupies the space between the trunks of the 5 hotels.
From some angles, the development would look like archways and arcades, while from others, people would see a cave of stalactites. Rather than being an obstacle occupying a site, the project becomes a connection point and a public space reintroducing the shaded outdoor souk as an alternative to the air conditioned interior atrium.
Agustin Perez-Torres Bjarke Ingels Catherine Huang Enrico Lau Karsten Hammer Hansen Lacin Karaöz Marcello Cova Ole Schrøder Ole Storjohann Sonja Reisinger
ATHENS, GREECE
CLIENT
Private Client
TYPOLOGY
Work, Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
4,500 / 48,437
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
The 4,500 m2 mixed-use development in central Athens combines two separate logics: a street pattern of irregular urban circulation which morphs into a dense orthogonal grid of patio housing, creating optimal conditions for both housing, shops and galleries.
The public spaces are conveniently shaded from the sun, while the residential units are protected from the noise of surrounding entertainment area. Streets become facetted gorges diffusing the intense Mediterranean sunlight. The typology reintroduces a medieval urban character in a city district dominated by single use developments from the sixties.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Marie Lancon Andy Rah Doug Stechschulte Flavian Menu Kinga Rajczykowska Ondrej Janku Simon Lyager Poulsen
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CLIENT
Abu Dhabi Capital Group
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
28,752 / 309,487
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
The Artery is a parking garage designed to double as a cultural hub. The Artery is a double helix: One helix is dedicated
to maker spaces and marketplaces, and the other helix is dedicated to cars. The car ramp is enclosed and compressed; the market ramp is open and generous. The two ramps wrap
around a central void, forming an informal performance space visible from all levels. As the market ramp reaches the top, it is transformed into a public roof garden. Part infrastructure, part social space, The Artery is like the fairground or the marketplace folded up into the third dimension.
BIG literally turned the building inside out and created a beating heart where people can gather for events, concerts and performances. The building becomes the attractor, the space and the identity in the area – The Seed.
Alberto Menegazzo Bjarke Ingels Dalma Ujvari David Vieira Agostinho Jakob Lange Paula Madrid Roberto Fabbri Tomas Karl Ramstrand Ulla Hornsyld Allen Shakir Anders Kofod Andrea Terceros Barron Anna Odulinska Carmelo Gagliano Damiano Mazzocchini David Vega y Rojo Davide Maggio Dimitrie Grigorescu Joseph James Haberl Ksymena Borczynska Lucian Mihail Racovitan Matthew McCluskey Miguel Sousa Rebelo Nick Adriaan Huizenga Richard John Burns Shaojun Zheng Steen Kortbæk Svendsen Stefan Plugaru Takahiro Hirayama Tiago Sá Tore Banke Ulrik Montnemery Yasmin Asan
AKT Architects
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Bach Group
TYPOLOGY
Work, Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
124.000 / 1,334,724
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
The Battery, a 124,000 m2 architectural interpretation of an Alpine landscape in the center of Copenhagen, seeks to weave together the three currently disparate neighborhoods into one overlapping urban activity center, offering apartments, offices, shopping, child care provision, sports facilities, cultural institutions, a hotel and a mosque.
The Battery consists of four interconnected spaces, interpreting known landscape motives: the view, the park, the promenade, and the garden. At the same time the site is connecting to the adjacent neighborhoods through the green bike route throughout the area – a diverse and open program that makes it possible to meet future needs.
The Battery’s fusion of architecture and landscape makes up a unique complex that welcomes activity and involvement across age, ethnicity and social status. The development is characterized by a terraced plinth that can be divided into two activities: the plinth either opens towards the streets through large public foyers inviting the pedestrians to wander into and through a bazaar like retail experience or the plinth’s landscaped terraces offer pedestrians to walk over and across the site to connect the diverse neighborhoods surround The Battery. A large promenade along the southern edge of the site offers public functions, retail shops, benches, and landscaping.
“This project is all about integration - the functional integration of all aspects of city life into a unified environment, the urban integration of the three neighborhoods, the cultural integration of Islamic and Danish culture, by incorporating the first mosque ever built in Denmark and finally the integration of landscape and architecture.”
Bjarke Ingels Brian Yang Catherine Huang Jakob Lange João Albuquerque Nanna Gyldholm Møller Amy B. Campbell Armen Menendian Bo Benzon Carina Kurzhals Christer Nesvik Christian Alvarez David Benitez Eliza Rudkin Gaetan Brunet Henrik Lund Jerome Glay João Vieira Costa Karsten Hammer Hansen Kathrin Gimmel Krestian Ingemann Hansen Lacin Karaöz Louise Fiil Hansen Matias Labarca Clausen Michael Ferdinand Henriksen Ole Schrøder Ondrej Janku Peter Larsson Simon Herup Simon Irgens-Møller Simon Potier Stanley Lung Thomas Garvin Wataru Tanaka Yuteki Dozono
Grontmij Carl Bro
PK3
Hasløv & Kjærsgaard
LEVI, FINLAND
CLIENT
Kassiopeia Finland Oy
TYPOLOGY
Hospitality, Sports
SIZE M2/FT2
56,000 / 602,780
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
The Koutalaki Ski Village is conceived as a gentle extension of the summit – extending the existing cluster of buildings to create a new village square at the heart of the resort.
Four buildings wrap around the central square to form a public pocket sheltered from the wind yet open and inviting to the surrounding landscape. The majestic views from the summit are contrasted by the intimate atmosphere of the spaces between the buildings.
Instead of creating design solutions that aims at dealing with snow by shoveling or moving it, BIG created a village that utilizes the full potential of snow. When it is caught on the façade the window frames become a living part of the landscape, adapting to changes in the weather. The light granite façade enhances the intimate relation with the nature.
The gentle curves of the undulating roofs create a careful continuity of the natural landscape while lending the whole village the unique character of an architecture of ski slopes – an inhabited mountain top.
The Koutalaki Ski Village is a gentle as well as dramatic extension of both the summit and the resort. Grown from the natural topography rather than dropped from the sky – the architecture extends the organic forms of natural landscape creating an inhabitable as well as skiable manmade mountain.
Bjarke Ingels Finn Nørkjær Frederik Lyng Hanna Ida Johansson Jakob Lange João Albuquerque David Tao Erik de Haan Hans Willehader Jeffrey Mark Mikolajewski Jeppe Ecklon Jesper Henriksen Lucian Mihail Racovitan Maren Allen Rui Huang Taylor McNally-Anderson
NEWCASTLE, ENGLAND
CLIENT
Rob Cameron
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
10,000 / 110,000
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Stereo No. 1 Newcastle is located on a unique site bordered on all sides by major roadways. It lies just off the Quayside in a prominent position between the Tyne and Millennium Bridges and just across from Foster’s Sage Gateshead Arts Centre.
The building’s massing is born from the site which follows the existing curve of the road and wraps to create a slender 13 m ribbon-like office space that reflects the dynamic quality of its surroundings. The rooftop acts as a fifth façade and winds down to create a string of linear garden terraces that are connected by a stair at the western edge serving as a secondary means of fire egress and a linear park.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Andy Young Bjarke Ingels Lauren Connell Falla Mike Yin Vic Shengya Huang
xsite architecture
Knight Frank
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
TYPOLOGY
Infrastructure
SIZE M2/FT2
100,000 / 1,076,391
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Designed as a connector between Copenhagen’s Nordhavnen neighborhood and Holmen, the inhabitable bridge, Boligbroen, rises as a stratified and condensed piece of urban space.
By constructing a traffic bridge using apartments and office space as the main construction instead of concrete or steel, the bridge becomes an object for private investment, offering a large amount of new square meters in attractive, but already dense locations. The top of the bridge would accommodate vehicular traffic, cars, bikes and pedestrians, allowing crossing passengers spectacular views of the Copenhagen skyline, across the port and all the way to Sweden. Right below the street, a layer of parking. The rest of the bridge would become a kilometer long slab of housing and offices.
From the restaurants and bars just below the street and sidewalks, people can enjoy a panoramic view of the historic fortress at Trekroner and the skyline of Copenhagen. At the next level a commercial and residential program unfold providing access to the green terraces at the foot of the bridge where waterbuses, small ferries and boats are passing by.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Jakob Christensen Julie Schmidt-Nielsen Maxime Enrico Oana Simionescu
Julien de Smedt / PLOT
REYKJAVIK, ICELAND
CLIENT
Landsbankinn
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
20,000 / 215,278
STATUS
IDEA
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The National Bank of Iceland, Landsbankinn held an international design competition for a new building in the center of Reykjavik, to consolidate the bank’s operations under one roof instead of operating from different locations around the country. BIG’s proposal was chosen for it’s vision to combine both the bank’s and the public’s interests: a corporate HQ that could function as an urban center.
BIG conceived the bank as a simple urban perimeter block of 1100 workstations and the executive floor surrounding a large public space on the ground with all the banking facilities, including café and art galleries for the bank’s art collection. Bordered by two radically different contexts, the park and the sea on one side and the historic downtown on the other, BIG envisioned a building so flexible that it would become the architectural imprint of the forces of the city around it.
The architecture of Landsbankinn is like an urban form of the Icelandic landscape, its characteristic shapes, peaks, caves and canyons are the results of exterior forces acting upon it.
The inner void is the spatial imprint of the urban volume. Its sloping walls expand and contract the void in different directions, providing several surfaces for the light to bounce on its way from the sky to the space below. The different angles provide visitors and bankers with varying perspectives of each other as well as the city below and the sky above.
The program of the bank is flexible and generic, subject to ever changing ways of working in a business that is becoming more and more and immaterial. The flexible interior makes it open to respond to the exterior forces of the city.
The imploded Landsbankinn bank ‘block’ is at the same time integrated and outstanding, traditional and contemporary. As an added bonus, the building’s façade caves in to create a stage-like space where the annual gathering for the National Day of Iceland usually takes place.
Agustin Perez-Torres Bjarke Ingels Catherine Huang Thomas Christoffersen Grisha Zotov Janghee Yoo Jung Ik Kong Junhee Jung Line Gericke Marcello Cova Maria Glez Cabanellas Morten Wulff Simon Potier Sonja Reisinger
Competition 1st Prize
Einrum
Arkiteo
VSÓ
AKT
Transsolar
SO Hansen
Luxigon
2009
CLIENT
Danish Architecture Center | Realdania
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
350 / 3,767
STATUS
COMPLETED
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With a play on Mies van der Rohe’s famous quote, “Less is More,” BIG laid out a positive approach urging optimism in the studio’s first major solo exhibition and monograph titled YES IS MORE at the Danish Architecture Center (DAC).
The exhibition was conceived as a three dimensional comic book about architecture. Told in a linear way, frame by frame, bubble by bubble, chapter by chapter the exhibition unfolded through a 118 m cartoon strip showcasing 34 projects.
The accompanying catalogue is likewise a manga-inspired archicomic that reveals through candor and humor the evolutionary storyline of BIG’s projects.
The YES IS MORE exhibit displayed 34 projects, including 30 models. The exhibition materials were kept simple: MDF, black paint, 400 light tubes, 19 screens, 45 acrylic plates.
The public was invited to embark on a journey of discovery of BIG’s creative process, following the studio’s ideas from the drawing board to the finished building. Models of Danish and international projects form a complimentary part to the exhibition, lit up like a city at night.
Architecture evolves from the collision of political, financial, functional, logistic, cultural, structural, environmental, social and many yet unnamed and unforeseeable interests. Bruce Mau once visited BIG’s office and saw a series of projects including a study on Danish harbor activities. He was fascinated by the study and asked us to mail him the slides as he was leaving the next day. When he received it, he replied: “No, no. I want the one you explained when we were there.” We assured him it was the same one. He said “It’s interesting. In most cases when you see architects work, its’s dead drawings and superficial images. But when you get a tour of the office or visit a building with the architect, you feel the energy and get all these little punch lines and invisible stories that make the whole work come to life! Too bad it’s so hard to capture in an exhibition, or even worse in a book!”
Architecture is never triggered by a single event, never conceived by a single mind, and never shaped by a single hand. Neither is it the direct materialization of a personal or pure ideals, but rather the result of an ongoing adaptation to the multiple conflicting forces flowing through society. We architects don’t control the city – we can only aspire to intervene.
YES IS MORE is the first monograph devoted exclusively to the architectural work of BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group. Unlike a classic architectural monograph, this archicomic is more of a manifesto of popular culture. BIG’s inspiration for this approach was the graphic novels by Frank Miller like Sin City and the Manga comics of the Japanese animators.
"I am a cartoonist at heart that discovered that you can also create powerful visuals and tell interesting (funny) stories outside the image frame or the speech bubble. I like individual freedom combined with collective effort. And I love to express myself as well as creating the conditions for others to express themselves. The ambition of the catalogue is to capture the experience of the personal visit to the studio, the construction site or the building – and to transmit the energy of a face to face encounter. A comic book is all about communicating action, movement — development or even evolution — replacing composition and scale instead of time. A large detailed image inspires the reader to contemplate — study — explore — and a sequence of small diagrams makes your eyes roll over them faster. Thus was born YES IS MORE – the catalogue."
YES IS MORE has since been exhibited in 10+ locations and sold more than 150,000 copies worldwide. The book is currently available on Amazon.
Bjarke Ingels Frederik Lyng Jakob Lange Pauline Lavie-Luong Ryohei Koike Thomas Christoffersen Bo Benzon Gabrielle Nadeau Jin Kyung Park Joanna Gasparski Johan Cool Jonas Barre Ken Aoki Sebastian Latz Todd Bennett
DAM Architectural Book Award, 2010
E-Types
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Kløvermarken Development Company
TYPOLOGY
Public Realm, Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
200,000 / 2,152,782
STATUS
IDEA
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In 2005, Copenhagen was experiencing what happens to many cities today: the real-estate prices had skyrocketed, propelling an exodus of lower and middle-income residents who could no longer afford to live in the capital. An ambitious political campaign to create 5000 new, affordable homes within 5 years was launched. BIG responded by proposing Clover Block – a 3 km long perimeter block surrounding the centrally located sports and soccer field Klovermarken.
The building would bend and curve around existing buildings and club houses with large arches creating connections to the surrounding areas. The height of the building varies in respect to neighbors and views to the historic skyline of Copenhagen, creating a Great Wall of roof gardens and terraces. The Clover Block would inject public life into the area and bring 2,000 new apartments without sacrificing a single football field.
"The project is located primarily on areas that are currently wilderness, railway sleepers, dog toilets, slopes or barracks. With our proposal, we can guarantee that the number of pitches will not be reduced, and instead, we'll be able to increase the playing capacity significantly with better pitches, better locker room facilities and more synthetic pitches."
The Clover Block would form a residential version of the Great Wall of China, creating 2000 homes, 3 kindergartens and a public school while keeping the soccer fields intact.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Bo Benzon Jakob Christensen Julie Schmidt-Nielsen Ole Schrøder Stefan Mylleager
Kløvermarken Development Company
AARHUS, DENMARK
Watch Flower is created as a three-dimensional promenade that floats above the harbor edge and the water at Bassin 7 in Aarhus Harbor. A 155 m long sloping promenade meanders like a mountain path along a cliff side peaking at the height of 7.5 m.
Designed with ADA accessibility, head clearance and statics in mind, the promenade takes shape as a flower gradually growing from the concrete harbor edge towards the sky. Each turn offers a new viewpoint with unique views to Aarhus Cathedral, the historical city canter, the leisure harbor and the bay area.
The structure consists of a welded monolithic construction in corten steel that gains its static strength from the weaving intersections between the promenade, the spiral staircase and a central column that transfers the loading down to the ground.
The watch tower possesses a harmonious interplay between its method of construction and the final form; the surface of the flower is the structure allowing it to stand. The floral form organically creates sheltered zones, and the inclination of the handicap accessible promenade precludes the need for a costly and maintenance heavy elevator.
The curved rusty steel shape references the raw materiality of industrial harbors, ship construction and modern sculptural art installations such as the work of Richard Serra. At the same time the experience of going from the harbor edge to the viewpoints becomes a three-dimensional journey of discovery about the meeting between city and bay, land and water.
To test the concept, a steel plant built the tower’s architectural model. Weighing over 60 kg, this is one of the heaviest and sturdiest models built for BIG. The result is a complex organic sculpture that appears to be an expressive piece of abstract art, but is in fact shaped by the parameters of accessibility and the forces of gravity.
Bjarke Ingels Finn Nørkjær Søren Martinussen Jesafa Templo Spencer Hayden
HB Trapper
Søren Jensen Engineering Consultants A / S
ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN
CLIENT
Astana Municipal Administration
TYPOLOGY
Culture
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
The new national library of Kazakhstan, named after the first President of the Republic, Nursultan Nazarbayev, encompasses an estimated 33,000 m2.
BIG’s design combines four universal archetypes across space and time into a new national symbol: the circle, the rotunda, the arch and the yurt are merged into the form of a Moebius strip. The clarity of the circle, the courtyard of the rotunda, the gateway of the arch and the soft silhouette of the yurt are combined to create a new national monument appearing local and universal, contemporary and timeless, unique and archetypal at the same time.
The new National Library in Astana, Kazakhstan’s new capital since 1997, had to not only accumulate history but also provide a foundation for new futures for the nation and its new capital.
The library would serve as an intellectual, multifunctional and cultural center, with a primary goal of reflecting the establishment and development of a sovereign Kazakhstan, its political history, and the Head of the State’s activities and role in the development of the country.
Like Astana, which is located in the heart of the Kazakh mainland, the library would be integrated into the heart of a recreated Kazakh landscape. The park around the library is designed like a living library of trees, plants, minerals and rocks allowing visitors to experience a cross section of Kazakhstan’s natural landscape, and personally experience the capital’s transition across the country from Almaty to Astana.
A series of public programs simultaneously wrap the library on the outside and inside, above and below. Twisting the public program into a continuous spiraling path tracing the library on all sides, creates an architectural organization that combines the virtues of all 4 complimenting models. Like a Möbius strip, the public programs move seamlessly from the inside to the outside and from ground to the sky providing spectacular views of the surrounding landscape and growing city skyline.
The 2 interlocking structures: the perfect circle and the public spiral, create a building that transforms from a horizontal
organization where library museum and support functions are placed next to each other, to a vertical organization where they
are stacked on top of each other through a diagonal organization combining vertical hierarchy, horizontal connectivity and
diagonal view lines.
A circular loop of knowledge, surrounded by light and air on both sides. The simplicity and perfection of the infinite circle allows for a crystal clear and intuitive orientation in the vast and growing collection that will populate the shelves of the National Library.
"The envelope of The National Library transcends the traditional architectural categories such as wall and roof. Like a yurt the wall becomes the roof, which becomes floor, which becomes the wall again."
Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels Brian Yang Buster Christensen Daniel Sundlin Finn Nørkjær Jakob Henke Jan Magasanik João Albuquerque Kai-Uwe Bergmann Martin Voelkle Pauline Lavie-Luong Sheela Maini Søgaard Thomas Christoffersen Aidar Marat Aleksander Tokarz Alessandro Ronfini Alessio Zenaro Alvaro Garcia Mendive Amy B. Campbell Ana Merino Anders Hjortnæs Anders Ulsted André Modler Andre Schmidt Armen Menendian Brandon Cappellari Brandon Cook Caroline Krogh Andersen Claudia Hertrich Claus Hermansen Daniya Nurumova David Brown Erich Gerlach Fred Zhou Gabrielle Nadeau Hans Andersen Jan Kudlicka Johan Cool Jon Offt Ejlersen Jonas Barre Julian Liang Ken Aoki Meruyert Utegenova Minjae Kim Mitesh Dixit Pavel Lysikhin Peter Berner Peter Kofod Bentsen Peter Vibing Rebecca Dallarosa Richard Howis Roza Matveeva Sofia Gaspar Stanley Lung Tina Tröster Xenia Vins Zamira Djalilova
Cityscape Dubai Award, 2009
Akimat of Astana City, 2009
Arup AGU
ARLANDA, SWEDEN
CLIENT
First Hotels
TYPOLOGY
Hospitality
SIZE M2/FT2
25,000 / 269,100
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
The VMCP building is a hotel and conference center at the Arlanda Airport directly on the highway to Stockholm, Sweden. A small variation in the horizontal window band of each of the 600 rooms creates an abstract pattern, that seen from a distance turns into crystal clear portraits of Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Madeleine and Prince Carl-Phililp of Sweden.
The equilateral triangular footprint creates a building with no ends, only three faces perceived as free standing two-dimensional surfaces. The conference center and lobby is sunken into the landscape, leaving the hotel building in a small oasis of Swedish forest in an airport city of parking lots and infrastructure. In the center of the building a series of executive meeting rooms hang inside a hexagonal atrium, creating a kaleidoscopic view from the lobby to the sky.
A small variation in the horizontal window band of each of the rooms creates an abstract pattern, that seen from a distance turns into crystal clear portraits of members of the Swedish royal family: Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Madeleine and Prince Carl-Phillip of Sweden.
In the center of the building a series of executive meeting rooms hang inside the atrium, offering a view from the lobby to the sky.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Buster Christensen Marie Lancon Christer Nesvik Doug Stechschulte Simon Lyager Poulsen Simon Potier
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
CLIENT
Private Client
TYPOLOGY
Work, Residential, Hospitality
SIZE M2/FT2
38,000 / 409,028
STATUS
IDEA
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BIG was asked to design a mixed-use tower on the site of a former factory that had turned into an urban neighborhood. The brief consisted of retail on the street level, offices above and condos at the top. The task was to create a project with a rational and profitable footprint for all three uses and comply with the proportions of Prague’s famous skyline.
BIG’s design for the Walter Towers is a new kind of contemporary tower which unites history, functionality and the need for a new landmark. What appears as 4 different towers is one continuous building, sliced up and pulled apart to maximize the amount of surface and façade area to create attractive offices and residences.
Bjarke Ingels Jan Magasanik Kamil Szoltysek Niels Lund Petersen
Adams Kara Taylor
PHOENIX, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
Novawest
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
3,902 / 42,000
STATUS
IDEA
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The Arizona landscape is quiet, hot, dry, and still. Monsoon rains and intense dust storms violently break the silence at exceptional yet ephemeral moments. The landscape is vast, open and flat, interrupted by rough edged mountains which become the points of reference in the horizon.
Like the monsoons, the dust storms and the mountains, the BIG Pin is also an exceptional moment, a point of reference and a mechanism to set the still landscape in motion – only this time through the movement of the spectator. Instead of referencing other observation towers, the Pin takes as a point of reference Frank Lloyd Wright’s celebrated Guggenheim Museum of New York. The visitor experiences the museum as a spiral motion looking inward. At the BIG Pin, the focus is reversed. Instead of a void, there is the dramatic landscape of Phoenix, Arizona.
The BIG Pin is designed for the warm, arid climate of the Arizonian desert. The concrete mass of the structure acts as energy storage; heat is absorbed during the day and slowly released during the night to offset the active cooling needs. The perimeter balconies provide the visitors with cooling shade and wide views, minimizing direct sunlight exposure, while also allowing for the clearest possible glass façades.
The sphere offers the most volume with the least amount of exterior surface, which reduces thermal exposure and heat gain.
Phoenix is an ideal place in the world for
harvesting solar energy. Planned to be built
right next to the Phoenix Convention Center,
BIG proposed to install a gigantic photovoltaic
facility on the convention center roof.
Placed like a black and white rasterized image, the PV Park, produces power, shades the convention center, and creates a gigantic sky-facing artwork for incoming airplanes, Google Earth, and the 800,000 annual visitors to the
BIG PIN.
Beat Schenk Bjarke Ingels Thomas Christoffersen Aaron Hales Christoffer Gotfredsen Dennis Harvey Iannis Kandyliaris Ola El Hariri Thomas Fagan
MKA
Gensler
Atelier Ten
Ten Eyck Landscape Architects
Profun Group
Fessel
ODENSE/AALBORG, DENMARK
CLIENT
Odense Municipality, Realdania Foundation
TYPOLOGY
Sports
SIZE M2/FT2
5,000 / 53,820
STATUS
IDEA
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In 2001, BIG participated in an open design competition for a new Water Culture House in Odense, Denmark’s third largest city. The traditional method of designing swimming pools often starts with the creation of a container box from which a hole is excavated to form the water basin. For the creation of a ‘aqua center’ it seemed more appropriate to look holistically at the pool program.
As the result, BIG’s proposal attempts to reverse the relationship between land and water of the traditional swimming pool. Rather than locating the wet element within dry architecture, the design started out with organizing the water.
The pool program is composed of a circuit pool, a diving pool, a play pool and a relaxation pool. The basins are differentiated as pockets along the promenade of the lap pool. Together they form a lake in the landscape, a continuous waterscape that embraces an island in its core. The pool basins are conceived as a concrete relief imbedded in the landscape. The views to the landscape are framed precisely by the façade of the above programs: the monolithic drum compresses the opening down to eye level, controlling views rather than dispersing them.
The façade is a sandwich composed of an opaque and insulated inner layer and of an outer layer made of translucent metal cloth.
The drum itself is carried by the programmatic beams that rest on columns within the island perimeter. When the programmatic beams intersect the drum they cut out the opaque layer of the façade, enabling views onto the landscape through the metal cloth.
The complex is a consolidated ensemble of individual monoliths. Each monolith has been shaped according to its unique purpose.
Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels Finn Nørkjær Jakob Lange Thomas Christoffersen Casper Larsen Christian Guttler Cristina Garcia Gomez Eva Hviid-Nielsen Gianfranco Biagini Gudjon Kjartansson Hanne Halvorsen Hao Li Helena Kristina Nyhom Jamie Meunier Jennifer Dahm Petersen Jørn Jensen Karsten Hammer Hansen Kurt Jensen Lene Nørgaard Oliver Grundahl Peter Voigt Albertsen Rie Shiomi Snorre Nash Thomas Tulinius
Julien De Smedt / PLOT
STAVANGER, NORWAY
CLIENT
Stavanger City Council | Stavanger Orchestra
TYPOLOGY
Culture
SIZE M2/FT2
25,000 / 269,098
STATUS
IDEA
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After the Bilbao effect, cities all over the world launched cultural landmark projects to put their cities on the map. Stavanger in south-western Norway issued an architectural competition for a new Concert Hall at the site of an abandoned ferry terminal on the city’s waterfront.
Knowing that the new concert house would play a fundamental role in the long-term
strategy for positioning Stavanger as an
economical and cultural node in Europe, BIG chose to mobilize the architecture to intensify the relationship between the concert house and the city around it rather than considering the new concert house as an isolated architectural object.
The competition brief consisted of two auditoria, a performance hall and a classical
concert hall both of which were defined by the
client as rational box-shaped volumes.
Rather than creating a composition of interconnected boxes, BIG imagined separating the boxes at each end of the site with a generous gap between them and melting them together with natural topography.
The design envisions the concert
house as an extension and enhancement
of the movements and activities that
already flow through the site. The concert
house as the music park’s extension
to the water, the destination of the blue
promenade and the Bjergsted’s smooth
transformation from the top of the rock to
the edge of the water.
Knowing that few experience the inside of a concert hall and most will only sense and experience the exterior, BIG’s design seeks to be as accessible and exciting on the outside as on the inside.
The spanning between the two peaks of the
valley constitutes a public arena under the open sky with the sea as a setting. Realized one to one, BIG proposed a stepped landscape of a thousand plateaus. Rather than being an iconic object for the postcard, or an elitist institution for the few, the Stavanger concert house would be a public landscape: part topography, part architecture – as active, accommodating and accessible on the outside as on the inside.
Annette Jensen Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Jakob Lange Thomas Christoffersen Alistair Williams Anders Drescher Karsten Hammer Hansen Marc Jay Sandra Knöbl Sune Nordby
Venice Biennale Golden Lion Honourable Mention, 2004
Julien de Smedt / PLOT
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
CLIENT
Dreamhub
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
96,543 / 1,039,189
STATUS
IDEA
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Situated at the south-east edge of the Yongsan masterplan designed by Studio Liebeskind, BIG’s # Towers contribute to the developing skyline of Seoul as a recognizable marker of the new cultural and commercial center in the city.
The 21 000 m2 site is positioned next to the existing urban fabric in the future development zones of the Yongsan masterplan. BIG’s design includes two elegant towers with a height of 214 and 204 m. To meet the height requirements of the site, the exceeding building mass is transformed into an upper and lower horizontal bar, which bridge the two towers at 140 m and 70 m height. The two towers are additionally connected through the arrival bar at the ground level – and a courtyard below ground.
“The typical tower inherently removes life from the city it occupies. Circulation is linear and social interactions occur only in lobbies or elevator rides. We propose a building that triples the amount of ground floor – triples the amount of social interaction and reintroduces the idea of neighborhood within the tower complex."
Both the upper and lower bridge introduce rooftop sky gardens accessible to residents, allowing for outdoor activities, while a courtyard at the heart of the development is an integral part of the overall architectural design. Dramatic views towards the neighboring towers and visual connections across the courtyard from the retail zone create an exciting space for the residents and visitors.
The outdoor landscape is envisioned to draw from the charm of traditional courtyards combined with the modernity of the project. Pedestrians Can enjoy impressive views to the bridges above and to the submerged courtyard below.
The development would offer over 600 high-end residences and amenities, including a library, gallery space and a kindergarten.
BIG’s design ensures that the tower apartments have optimal conditions towards sun and views. The bar units are given value through their spectacular views and direct access to the roofscapes, activating the outdoor realm. The exterior facades are developed to correspond to the different orientations and solar conditions, creating a diverse façade which varies from the viewer’s vantage point and the position of the sun.
“The # Towers constitute a three-dimensional urban community of interlocking horizontal and vertical towers. Three public bridges connect two slender towers at different levels – underground, at the street and in the sky. Catering to the demands and desires of different residents, age groups and cultures the bridges are landscaped and equipped for a variety of activities traditionally restricted to the ground. The resultant volume forms a distinct figure on the new skyline of Seoul – a “#” that serves as a gateway to the new Yongsan Business District signaling a radical departure from the crude repetition of disconnected towers towards a new urban community that populates the three-dimensional space of the city.”
Bjarke Ingels Buster Christensen Catherine Huang Finn Nørkjær Jakob Sand Jan Magasanik Kamilla Heskje Lorenzo Boddi Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard Thomas Christoffersen Anders Hjortnæs Andre Schmidt Brandon Cappellari Brandon Cook Camila Luise de Andrade Stadler Daram Park Edouard Champelle Enea Michelesio Erik de Haan Igor Brozyna Jeppe Ecklon Julian Ocampo Salazar Karol Bogdan Borkowski Laura Youf Lucian Mihail Racovitan Maria Teresa Fernandez Rojo Paolo Venturella Seung Hyun Yuh Shun-Ping Liu Tiago Sá Tobias Hjortdal Yang Du
SIAPLAN
Martha Schwarz Partners
Arup Dublin
Amsterdam
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN
CLIENT
Avrositi Holding
TYPOLOGY
Urbanism
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
The Seven Peaks of Azerbaijan is a masterplan for a Zero Energy resort and entertainment city on Zira Island, situated in the Caspian Sea. Located within the crescent shaped bay of Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, Zira Island is designed to be a sustainable model for urban development, and an iconographic skyline recognizable from the city’s coastline.
The Seven Peaks of Azerbaijan proposes a resort development derived from the natural landscape – an architectural landscape reflecting the seven famous peaks of Azerbaijan.
Individually, each mountain is a principle for mixing private and public functions. A dense vibrant urban community connects a series of private resort villages by a central public valley with golf courses and beaches.
The mountains are conceived not only as metaphors, but engineered as entire eco-systems, a model for future sustainable urban development. By combining the best of the Azerbaijani building tradition with the newest technology, Zira Island has high-end living spaces, with a minimum usage of resources.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Kai-Uwe Bergmann Pauline Lavie-Luong Alexandru Cozma Doug Stechschulte Kinga Rajczykowska Maxime Enrico Molly Price Niels Damsgaard Oana Simionescu Ondrej Janku Pal Arnulf Trodahl Sylvia Feng
Rambøll
PIHL
VEJLE, DENMARK
CLIENT
Vejle City Council | Vejle Harbor
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
15,000 / 161,459
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
Shortly after completing the Copenhagen Harbor Bath, BIG was invited to plan the gradual introduction of urban programs in and around Vejle harbor. Set at the end of the beautiful Vejle Fjord, the harbor prevented the urban life of Vejle city from ever reaching the sea.
The masterplan had to address the contradiction of preserving the industrial harbor functions while bringing the urban life to the water. BIG proposed to consolidate the industry on the central pier, enveloped on all sides by parks and new developments so the two could exist in symbiotic harmony.
5 small towers on the water front allowed views from the hinterland to the water, announcing the name of the city to transit traffic on the Vejle Bay Bridge above.
Bjarke Ingels Casper Larsen Dan Stubbergaard Eva Hviid-Nielsen Henning Stüben Jakob Christensen Karsten Hammer Hansen Nanako Ishizuka Narisara Ladawal Schröder Nina Ter-Borch Simon Irgens-Møller Sophus Søbye
Julien de Smedt / PLOT
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Danish and German Private and Public Partnering Project
TYPOLOGY
Public Realm
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
As part of a research project, BIG proposed to consolidate all Danish harbor traffic into a strategically located Superharbour, creating a new gate to the Baltic Sea markets and a new industrial growth zone joining CoMa (Copenhagen-Malmø), HamBrem (Hamburg-Bremen) and BeNeLux (Belgium-Netherlands-Luxemburg) into one continuous belt of economic growth.
The new Superharbour would be located on the Femern bridge which is set to be completed in 2029, between Denmark and Germany at the optimum intersection of north-south traffic between Scandinavia and Europe and east-west traffic between the New Europe and the rest of the world.
The Superharbour would liberate 20 billion euros worth of prime real estate in Denmark’s 12 biggest cities for new forms of urban life, allowing the cities to consolidate their growth where people want to live, rather than scattering ever more suburban developments on the urban peripheries.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Anne Louise Breiner Dan Stubbergaard Mads Birgens Teis Draiby
Julien de Smedt / PLOT
Bruce Mau Design
SHANGHAI, CHINA
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
50,000 / 538,196
STATUS
IDEA
SHARE
RÉN People’s Building was BIG’s proposal for a hotel, sports and conference center for the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai and subsequently redesigned and scaled up for a private consortium to be built on the Bund in Shanghai.
The building is conceived as two buildings merging into one. The first building, emerging from the water, is devoted to the activities of the body, and houses the sports and water culture center. The second building emerging from land, is devoted to the spirit and enlightenment, and houses the conference center and meeting facilities.
The two buildings meet in a 1000 room hotel, forming the Chinese sign for the word “People”, becoming a recognizable landmark. Together the two buildings become a tower and an arch at once. The arch creates a sheltered square for gatherings and activities in the middle.
Large curved plazas cover the pool and conference buildings, creating a continuous recreational public space along the river. Round openings and roof lights bring light to the auditoriums and pools, and become gradually denser as they rise from the river, eventually becoming glittering windows and terraces for the hotel rooms.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels David Zahle Jakob Lange Nanna Gyldholm Møller Thomas Christoffersen Andrew Griffen Bo Benzon Christian Dam Damita Yu Jakob Christensen Jan Tanaka Julie Schmidt-Nielsen Karsten Hammer Hansen Katrin Betschinger Kristoffer Harling Mia Frederiksen Mia Scheel Kristensen Narisara Ladawal Schröder Sophus Søbye
Julien de Smedt / PLOT
Arup
+HALLE
Scoop is a contemporary chair for all spaces. The innovative gyroscope-like suspension system enables the user to tilt the chair forward and backwards, conveying a free, suspended feeling. The Y-shaped aluminum beam creates a visual and functional overlap between seat and base.
Scoop merges craft with technology: the innovative technical edge increases comfort and maintains a clear and simple Scandinavian appearance. Scoop is available in a conference and lounge chair edition
Bjarke Ingels Jens-Martin Skibsted Lars Larsen
KiBiSi
ARCHITECTMADE
The wooden Panda figure for ARCHITECTMADE is designed for BIG’s Panda House at Copenhagen Zoo. The new habitat for two giant pandas was created in the yin-yang symbol, based on the Chinese philosophy for balance and opposition within a simple shape. The Panda mimics this simplicity, with the rotation of the upper body and movability of the arms and legs. The Panda figure is available in large or small size.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Hugo Yun Tong Soo
ARTEMIDE
Starting from the iconic silhouette of the glass diffuser, Gople proposes new sizes and materials to create different ways of lighting spaces. BIG has designed a family of outdoor lights with the freedom and flexibility to suit any space, with an almost nomadic character.
The diffuser, made in lightweight, durable plastic, is the central element of the project which combines with other elements to bring light into spaces, giving rise to different versions of Gople Outdoor.
The different versions interpret a common approach to light that develops close interactions with activities and people. Enabling new ways of using light in outdoor spaces with the utmost freedom, Gople Outdoor can be reused and reinterpreted in multiple spaces and situations.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Erik Kreider Joshua Woo
ARTEMIDE
Ripple is inspired by repeating elements found in nature that grow and expand in organic ways, like molecular growth. The lamp can grow or morph into different configurations, and the soft elements can be added to provide acoustic properties to suit the needs of certain interior environments.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Erik Kreider Joshua Woo
ARTEMIDE
Vine Light is a pure and balanced line that reaches maximum freedom of movement with only two joints, to perfectly illuminate the work surface but also create multiple light scenarios, leaving everyone free to shape their own light with a simple movement.
An unbroken section measuring only 16 mm in diameter shapes the structure and houses all the opto-electronic and mechanical elements. Its minimalist presence creates a perfect balance between different materials, weights, light quality, precision of movement and functionality, revealing a deep know-how merged with technological innovation. What appears to be continuity is actually a succession of components with different functions and characteristics, which translate technological complexity into simplicity and freedom.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Erik Kreider Joshua Woo
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Tuborg Brewery | Chart Art Fair | ARoS Kunstmuseum
TYPOLOGY
Culture, None
SIZE M2/FT2
180 / 1,938
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
BIG was approached by Danish brewery TUBORG to design a mobile structure for Roskilde Festival 2016. Drawing inspiration from inflatable castles of childhood, SKUM (in English: FOAM) is a bubble-like cloud pavilion that is filled with air powered by two wind turbines.
The pavilion features a 120 m2 canopy for visitors to relax under its generous shade. Inflatable in just 7 minutes, its low-impact construction offers maximum visibility while incurring a minimal environmental foot print. Color-changing LED lights are programmed to illuminate the pavilion during the evenings, providing the warm glow of an enormous nightlight on the festival and museum grounds.
Since Roskilde Festival, SKUM appeared as a concert venue at the annual Chart Art Fair in the heart of Copenhagen, ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum and most recently at Burning Man 2022.
WhoMadeWho live
June 2021
Næstved, Denmark
Music by WhoMadeWho
Directed by Sabronx
Drone by Dane Grace
Lights by Mads Vegas Lightning
SKUM premier at Roskilde Festival as Tuborg bar 2016
Nevada
Aalborg
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Hugo Yun Tong Soo Kim Christensen Kristoffer Negendahl Rahul Girish Tore Banke
Àrea Cúbica
Mads Vegas lighting
Photos by
Jesper Palermo
Dennis Donohue
Jane Hu
FRITZ HANSEN
Bulb Fiction™ is inspired by the iconic incandescent bulb. The classic shape has been upscaled and designed as a whole unit, uniting socket and bulb into one form. The fixture hides the low energy light source, ensuring a comfortable soft light. The pendant consists of an acid treated opal glass shade, an aluminum suspension and an extra thick silicone cord.
Bulb Fiction™ works beautifully as a single lamp, but it also looks fantastic when hung in a cluster, in a straight line or in staggered formations.
Bjarke Ingels Jens-Martin Skibsted Lars Larsen
KiBiSi
FRITZ HANSEN
VIA 57™ lounge chair was designed in reference to BIG’s VIA 57 WEST building designed in New York. As a flexible module, VIA 57 can be configured to fit into various interiors such as lobbies, receptions, lounges and private homes. The chair is composed of a steel frame embedded in molded soft polyurethane foam.
These two densities create the soft yet firm comfort. The wooden base creates an elegant finish towards the floor letting the chair almost float in space.
Bjarke Ingels Jens-Martin Skibsted Lars Larsen
KiBiSi
KALLISTA
The Taper Collection is a series of bathroom fittings that merge countertop, faucet and running water into one visually seamless design. Taper marries advanced engineering with a minimalist style that is deeply rooted in the principles of classic Mid-Century Danish design.
The design takes cues from the practical function of the products, to facilitate the passage of water, by stripping the forms down to their most elemental essence.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Lars Larsen
Kilo Design
SKAGERAK
Inspired by the shape of a lily pad, the Lilium collection is a contemporary take on outdoor furniture that is also welcome inside. Lilium is made of long-lasting teak.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Erik Kreider Joshua Woo
ROYAL COPENHAGEN
CLIENT
Royal Copenhagen
TYPOLOGY
Products
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
HAV is a multifunctional porcelain collection made to be used by everyone and for all uses. One focal design element of HAV is the interplay between ornamentation and function, where the aesthetics of simplistic architecture add a modern twist to the long-standing design tradition.
HAV is inspired by one of Royal Copenhagen’s classic dinner services Seagull by Fanny Garde with a distinct fish scale ornamentation depicted in a mix between a blue and greenish black color that resembles the coastline shrouded in morning mist. By using an airbrush hand-spray painting technique, the scale decoration on HAV appears elegant in its tactility and modern in its expression.
Bjarke Ingels Jens-Martin Skibsted Lars Larsen
KiBiSi
D LINE
The Pebble collection is playful and luxurious with each piece interacting with the room in a fluid way. The diverse array of items balance elliptical shapes while staying grounded with the tactile nature of the material. The Pebble series includes a towel rail, toilet roll holder, coat hook, soap dispenser, shower shelf, toilet brush, lever handle, key escutcheon, and thumb turn. The pieces are available in matt black, matt white and our signature finish satin stainless steel.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Erik Kreider Joshua Woo
DRIADE
Totem Shelf is a freestanding bookcase consisting of a series of stacked volumes. Each volume is split diagonally into quarters, creating small frames or dioramas for personal belongings.
The shelves come in wood, aluminum, chromatized, blackened, galvanized and stainless-steel variations.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Erik Kreider Joshua Woo
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
CLIENT
Gebr | Heinemann Retail ApS
TYPOLOGY
Retail
SIZE M2/FT2
110 / 1,184
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
To travel is to live. Hans Christian Andersen who wrote these words traveled his entire life. BIG took the saying to heart when taking The Little Mermaid to China for the duration of the Shanghai Expo in 2010. Over 6 million visitors experienced her in China before her return home to Copenhagen.
In 2013, BIG once again brought the Little Mermaid to new audiences by designing the BIG Mermaid shelf for German retailer Heinemann at Copenhagen airport which sees 20 million airport passengers moving through the hub every year.
Heinemann’s art program invites local architects and artisans to create specific retail environments inspired by the history, materiality and culture of the region.
Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid and Denmark’s many islands, BIG created an archipelago of shelves for Heinemann’s store.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Bjarke Ingels Finn Nørkjær Jakob Lange Jan Magasanik Lorenzo Boddi Ambra Chiesa
HOLMRIS B8
The X-Table desk is a piece of office furniture accommodating multiple working positions and daily reshuffling. All technical features are constructively integrated in the tabletop.
It uses a century-old principle known from carjacks, ironing boards and other iconic tools. The principle is a radical redesign of the traditional office desk. X-Table is designed with an optional storage solution for office supplies and other belongings.
Bjarke Ingels Jens-Martin Skibsted Lars Larsen
KiBiSi
ARTEMIDE
The Gople Lamp enhances the beauty of glass, hand-processed according to an ancient Venetian technique that gradually turns white glass into crystal glass by combining both upon blowing, thus making each piece unique.
Through an innovative and sustainable metal vacuum deposition process, finishes are available in silver, bronze, copper and blue.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Erik Kreider Joshua Woo
Archiproducts Design Awards Lighting Winner (Portable), 2020
Wallpaper Design Awards, Life-Enhancer of the Year, 2019
ARTEMIDE
Alphabet of Light starts from an abacus of essential geometries and forms a new font that translates into light, like an alphabet used to write and express thoughts, or a tool to give shape to spaces.
Either straight or curved base modules made with precise geometric proportions allow for the combination of elements to build countless light structures, both essential and complex. It is an elementary principle generating an open system.
Alphabet of Light letters mini are just 35.5 cm high with a cross-section of 2.5 cm in diameter. Now it is possible to create messages with fewer space limitations and more freedom of expression in giving voice to values, thoughts and ideas through light.
Alphabet of Light letters mini cast continuous and comfortable light thanks to the patented optical solution developed for the previous version. Artemide’s expertise developed a new patent for the circuits of Alphabet of Light letters mini optimizing production with universal and flexible elements.
Expanding on the Alphabet of Light family by contributing a strong presence for the outdoor realm, the AoL outdoor circle light offers subtle yet surprising illumination along paths and roads of parks and forests. The Alphabet of Light outdoor circle light honors the beauty of the tree by endowing it with a generous halo.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange
AIAIAI
Capital is a flexible, foldable pair of headphones, designed to provide on-the-go urbanites with the opportunity to listen to their preferred sounds. Users can soundtrack their day in any kind of weather and at all times, while wearing a design that’s effortlessly iconic, thoroughly realized and comfortable. Made out of fiber-reinforced nylon with a lightweight rubber brace, this is a headphone built to withstand heavy everyday use in urban environments. It’s tested to withstand rain, snow and dirt, while delivering clear and crisp sound from the protected 40mm driver.
Bjarke Ingels Jens-Martin Skibsted Lars Larsen
KiBiSi
BIOMEGA
The OKO bike is part of a series of bicycles for the modern urban dweller, designed for the Danish high-end bicycle manufacturer Biomega.
The bikes form the foundation of the Biomega collection, sharing a common design language based on simplicity, practicality and iconic features. All bikes are designed with high attention to detail with the goal of making the bicycle a visually coherent product that feels holistically designed. Models range from the small and foldable BOS for smaller dwellings, to the lightweight electrically assisted OKO and the urban hauler PEK.
The NYC bike is part of a series of bicycles for the modern urban dweller, designed for the Danish high-end bicycle manufacturer Biomega.
The bikes form the foundation of the Biomega collection, sharing a common design language based on simplicity, practicality and iconic features. All bikes are designed with high attention to detail with the goal of making the bicycle a visually coherent product that feels holistically designed. Models range from the small and foldable BOS for smaller dwellings, to the lightweight electrically assisted OKO and the urban hauler PEK.
The Pek bike is part of a series of bicycles for the modern urban dweller, designed for the Danish high-end bicycle manufacturer Biomega.
The bikes form the foundation of the Biomega collection, sharing a common design language based on simplicity, practicality and iconic features. All bikes are designed with high attention to detail with the goal of making the bicycle a visually coherent product that feels holistically designed. Models range from the small and foldable BOS for smaller dwellings, to the lightweight electrically assisted OKO and the urban hauler PEK.
The Puma bike is part of a series of bicycles for the modern urban dweller, designed for the Danish high-end bicycle manufacturer Biomega.
The bikes form the foundation of the Biomega collection, sharing a common design language based on simplicity, practicality and iconic features. All bikes are designed with high attention to detail with the goal of making the bicycle a visually coherent product that feels holistically designed. Models range from the small and foldable BOS for smaller dwellings, to the lightweight electrically assisted OKO and the urban hauler PEK.
Bjarke Ingels Jens-Martin Skibsted Lars Larsen
KiBiSi
JOT.JOT
Roulade is a meeting between generations and genres, a meeting between mattress and Chesterfield, chair and couch. Roulade is a Swiss Roll turned sofa – a contemporary, iconic and humorous character with a cozy and comfortable expression.
Roulade is made from High Density foam cut into a fixed shape reminiscent of a rolled-up mattress. It is upholstered with top class materials such as Kvadrat fabrics.
Bjarke Ingels Jens-Martin Skibsted Lars Larsen
KiBisi
HAY
The Shanghay chair is composed of 4 small boards folded around each other to form the simplest chair imaginable, merging legs and seat, back and structure into the 4 constituent parts. Since the chair can be acquired in multiple colors and is so easy to disassemble and reassemble, users are able to create their own hybrid designs by recombining their colors of choice.
The Shanghay Chair gained recognition by being picked for Wallpaper’s Handmade issue and exhibition at Salone Internazionale del Mobile 2010.
Bjarke Ingels Jens-Martin Skibsted Lars Larsen
KiBiSi
REFORM
The BIG-reformed kitchen cabinet is designed to work with the IKEA flat-pack kitchen, and has an affordable price yet novel characteristics. The elegant, unconventional handles are made from seat belt fabric.
Available in a white or an oak finish, the simple yet refined design evokes a holistic feeling for a modern-day kitchen setting.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange
COMMON SEATING
A modular sofa expressed through the concept of a building block, a three-dimensional pixel – a voxel. The grid-like system creates a family of units that can be configured into multiple scenarios, from a single unit to large configurations. The Voxel System is a way of addressing our ever-changing need to change things up during our lifetime.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Erik Kreider Joshua Woo
&TRADITION
What would a shelving system look like if playful customization was its main component? This question urged the Danish design studio KiBiSi to design SLICE, an architectural redefinition of the continuous bookshelf.
The main feature of the system is a slice of plywood. In assembly the slices fit together for individual display, which allows for optimum flexibility of the system and makes it adaptable from small to extra-large. SLICE is a result of crossbreeding elements and attributes from different disciplines into a new design product made for everyday use.
LOUIS POULSEN
The Keglen Collection is a systematic design language for a wide range of lighting typologies. This family of lamps have similar characteristics, yet maximized for their intended use with varied sizes and unique personalities. The main feature of the lamp is the organic shaped glass that sits perfectly underneath, as if shaped by physics and cohesive forces found in nature.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange
Interior Design Best of Year Awards finalist, Pendant Category, Honoree, 2020
ARTEMIDE
The Gople family keeps growing, with new versions dedicated to different lighting design languages. It also becomes a portable lamp that offers an impressive 32-hours of running time without mains electricity. Thus, everyone can be the architect of light in their own space, wherever it may be.
Every element is designed to guarantee excellent light quality with high efficiency and low energy consumption. Long running times unplugged go hand- in-hand with rapid recharging times. The soft, diffused light emission can be adjusted to 3 different brightness settings to create different ambiances. It is perfect for everyday lighting scenarios in personal spaces, but also for more social moments.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Erik Kreider Joshua Woo
LOUIS POULSEN
Silverback is designed to create an interface between the architectural space and light. Neither integrated, nor flashy. Silverback has a soft water drop like shape that combines a metallic part with an opal white diffuser. The metallic part mirrors the ceiling or wall the fixture is mounted on, giving a unique morphed experience regardless of the background qualities.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Lars Larsen
KiBiSi
ARTEMIDE
Slicing breaks down the iconic Gople silhouette and scale into different dimensions and proportions to bring light indoor and outdoor, by interpreting the relationship between spaces and nature. Starting from the principles of production, energy sustainability and respect for the natural environment in which they are inserted, a series of overlapping slats interact with the light and define the body of three suspension lights two floor and one wall/ceiling elements. Slicing can accompany us as we walk about, it helps us to read the surrounding landscape in the movement, it stages the space and creates moments of rest, sharing and meeting, resulting in an experience on a human scale.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Erik Kreider Joshua Woo
None.
XAL
Trumpet is a fixture which accomodates many building services such as lighting, audio and ventilation. The subtle hyperbolic shape of Trumpet blends almost imperceptibly into the ceiling. The deeply recessed LED module provides lighting with minimal glare. With a specially developed surface with small laser-cut points, Trumpet creates an extremely homogeneous distribution of light. This versatility makes it ideal for use in offices.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange
None.
FRIDAY HOME
Friday Lock is a smart home product which combines a minimal form and enhanced security features.
Controlled via smartphone, the smart lock can automatically unlock a door when it senses the resident approaching, lock it as they leave, or allow them to remotely control who has access to the property. It is designed to fit on the inside of almost any door in place of the traditional thumb turn.
Friday Lock is the smallest and smartest retrofit lock to safeguard your home. Recently the product was updated with a smaller volume and a new and tactile texture. Together with D-Line we added the design of a door handle that carry the same design as the Friday smart lock.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Erik Kreider Joshua Woo
ROSENTHAL
For the urban farmer, a hydroponic garden system that brings sustainable growing indoors. The ceramic pots can be mounted in many different ways to suit the needs of the individual and the space. Either hanging as a grid, on a line or floor standing.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange
None.
TURN
In the mission to end single use plastics at events and festivals, TURN asked BIG to design a system of reusable cups, return bins and on-site washing facility.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Erik Kreider Joshua Woo Lars Larsen Philip Andersson
Kilo Design
COPENHAGEN, DK
Resulting out of a collaboration of Swiss and Danish architects HHF and BIG, the Puzzle House triggers social interaction as most elements need to be carried by more than one person to combine them to different settings.
The Puzzle House is a multi-functional object consisting of a series of individual elements, that when together form a house. Separately, each piece can act as a seating element. A big variety of seating scenarios for group discussions, or auditorium style seating for events or public speaking can be be configurated. When flipped on their sides, they can also act as wind barriers or partitions to delineate spaces for various group activities.
ARTEMIDE
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Erik Kreider Joshua Woo
LONDON, ENGLAND
CLIENT
BIG
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
1,450 / 15,607
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
In 2016, BIG opened its doors in London as a site office for its first project, the Google Kings Cross campus. Since then, BIG LON has grown and now houses over 150 BIGsters in its office in London’s Broadgate neighbourhood.
As the largest pedestrianised neighbourhood of Central London, Broadgate bridges the financial hub of the City of London and the creative, tech-focused communities of Shoreditch.
The ground floor office space spans over 1400 m2 across two units. The open-plan design accommodates a generous architectural model workshop, exhibition space, meeting rooms and a VR room.
The canteen and recreational areas double as internal spaces for team gatherings and a reception area for talks and events.
The office follows BIG’s signature palette of materials – galvanized steel and plywood millwork – reflecting the design language of other BIG offices. The plywood tables on wheels – which were designed in-house – are stationed in each desk row, acting as additional informal meeting spaces that encourage collaboration among teams and offer storage for materials and books.
The galvanized steel cladding provides a versatile surface for teams to pin up drawings and exhibition boards, facilitating interactive presentations within the space. Meeting rooms are furnished with BIG’s Scoop chairs in red and blue as a nod to the colours of the Union Jack.
The exhibition space, visible from both the office and the shared building atrium, showcases architectural models and “pizza” shelves displaying process models and materials.
Andreas Klok Pedersen Andy Young Bjarke Ingels Claire Thomas Spiller Gualtiero Rulli Ming Cheong Vid Znidarsic Anna Pazurek Isabelle Doumet Maria de Salvador Arnaiz Vincent Katienin Konate
Chapmanbdsp
AKT II
Alinea
Ruddy Joinery
BARCELONA, SPAIN
Keen to shape buildings and cities in Southern Europe, BIG has opened its latest office in Barcelona, Spain. Located in Barcelona’s Las Ramblas neighborhood, the studio houses nearly 100 BIGsters working on projects spanning from the west to the east of the Mediterranean region, most notably the HQ for Farfetch, and Fuse Valley campus in Portugal, the Joint Research Center in Sevilla for the European Commission, and the Gastronomy Open Ecosystem for Basque Culinary Center.
BIG Barcelona’s simple palette of materials, generously lit model workshops, canteen and plywood millwork are features known from other BIG offices.
Bjarke Ingels João Albuquerque
BROOKLYN, UNITED STATES
CLIENT
BIG
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
5100 / 55000
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
BIG NYC has called Dumbo home since 2018. The 55,000 sq ft full floor office wraps around an interior courtyard and houses nearly 200 BIGsters. BIG’s interior design team led a complete renovation of the space over six months: interior walls were removed to accommodate the open-plan design, which includes ample room for an architectural model workshop, an exhibition hallway, meeting rooms, a canteen, a library and recreational space.
“With the majority of my colleagues, myself included, living in Brooklyn and the continuous enhancement of the neighborhood through the expansion of Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Two Trees community, DUMBO was an obvious choice for BIG in NYC. The visual excitement and physical proximity to downtown Manhattan combined with DUMBO’s artistic spirit and access to public space feels like our native Copenhagen, making it as Scandimerican as any place I can think of.”
Elements often repeat and continue from one side of the space to another to reinforce the idea of space continuity: a grid of 150 Bulb fiction pendants designed by BIG Product across the north side, a grid of Artemide Alphabet of Light lights around columns throughout the space and larger pill shaped lights across all meeting rooms. Each conference room is furnished with Scoop chairs designed by BIG for Halle. The color of the chairs designates the room.
The simple palette of materials and bands of plywood millwork is known from BIG’s other offices.
A generous model workshop includes two large fabrication and assembly spaces flanked by wood working & digital fabrication labs.
A gallery on the south side of the space connects east to west and is flanked by a library for Architectural building materials/samples on one side and backlit “pizza” shelves for archiving and displaying hundreds of process models.
Amir Mikhaeil Beat Schenk Benjamin Caldwell Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Douglass Alligood Gil Kilmo Kang Jan Leenknegt Linqi Dong Luca McLaughlin Margaret Tyrpa Martin Voelkle Thomas Christoffersen Yu Inamoto Agnieszka Majkowska Alexandra Farmazon Autumn Visconti Callum Nolan Cathleen Clarke Christopher Pin Deb Campbell Erik Kreider Francesca Portesine Greg Pray Guillaume Evain Isabel Narea Jamie Maslyn Larson Jeffrey Shumaker Jordan Felber Joshua Woo Karolina Bouros Maki Matsubayashi Marcus Wilford Margaret Kim Mateo Fernandez Max Moriyama Oliver Thomas Robert Condon Taylor Hewett Terrence Chew Tiffany Wong Tracy Sodder Xuechen Kang Ziad Shehab
2018
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SIZE M2/FT2
1,500 / 16,146
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
This single-family home in South America, is centered around an Olympic-sized pool spanning 50 meters diagonally across the site.
The architectural expression of the villa – a simple volume in concrete, glass and wood – is informed by the refined elegance of Danish architecture. On one hand modest and understated, on the other driven by a strong passion for fitness and swimming – the villa genuinely captures the spirit of the homeowner.
The only way to fit the pool on the site was to stretch it diagonally, dividing the plot into two triangular parcels: one for the house and one for the garden. With the pool reaching from corner-to-corner, the building is stretched around it to maximize exposure and views.
The shape is further defined by the need to preserve two mature palm trees already inhabiting the lot. The irregular form creates an inverted pyramid outlined by the pool, with the triangular base of the home rising to a rectangular roof.
To maximize privacy, the villa is designed with closed walls towards the street and surrounding neighbors, with glazing towards the back for enhanced daylight and views of the garden and nearby gorge.
A single straight staircase runs through the center of the house and divides the interiors in half, connecting all spaces from the garden to the attic. This allows the two top stories to be split into staggered plains with varied ceiling heights. One side of the staircase has three generous floors while the other side has four floors for guest bedrooms and services.
The building volume, made of concrete cast in situ, features rectangular window walls set back on each floor to create a series of cascading exterior gardens, extending the house out into the sun on all levels.
The kitchen, two guest rooms and staff quarters are all concentrated within an oak-clad volume inside the house, allowing the three floors to function as one continuous room, with the master suite up top.
In addition to the black granite pool, the home also includes a private CrossFit gym, yoga studio, spa, wine cellar, tasting room and basement garage that cars can access via a lift. A thin steel drawbridge can rotate across the pool to bridge between the house and the garden.
Beat Schenk Bjarke Ingels Jan Leenknegt Martin Voelkle Thomas Christoffersen Cristian Lera Silva Doug Stechschulte Hector Garcia-Castrillo Kenneth Amoah Marcella Martinez Maya Shopova Nicholas Coffee Terrence Lallak Tiago Sá Victor Velarde Wesley Chiang Yaziel Juarbe
2010
CLIENT
biomega
TYPOLOGY
Products
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
The Puma bike is part of a series of bicycles for the modern urban dweller, designed for the Danish high-end bicycle manufacturer Biomega.
The bikes form the foundation of the Biomega collection, sharing a common design language based on simplicity, practicality and iconic features. All bikes are designed with high attention to detail with the goal of making the bicycle a visually coherent product that feels holistically designed. Models range from the small and foldable BOS for smaller dwellings, to the lightweight electrically assisted OKO and the urban hauler PEK.
Bjarke Ingels Jens-Martin Skibsted Lars Larsen
KiBiSi
2016
CLIENT
Friday
TYPOLOGY
Products
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Friday Lock is a smart home product which combines a minimal form and enhanced security features.
Controlled via smartphone, the smart lock can automatically unlock a door when it senses the resident approaching, lock it as they leave, or allow them to remotely control who has access to the property. It is designed to fit on the inside of almost any door in place of the traditional thumb turn.
Friday Lock is the smallest and smartest retrofit lock to safeguard your home. Recently the product was updated with a smaller volume and a new and tactile texture. Together with D-Line we added the design of a door handle that carry the same design as the Friday smart lock.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Erik Kreider Joshua Woo
None.
2024
CLIENT
BlueScope Steel
TYPOLOGY
Urbanism
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
The Port Kembla Masterplan will regenerate 200 ha of surplus land adjoining Bluescope’s Port Kembla Steelworks southwest of Sydney, Australia, and transform the land from a closed off industrial site into a thriving precinct for community, advanced manufacturing, and green technologies. Having played a pivotal role in the Illawarra region for nearly a century, the masterplan envisions Port Kembla Steelworks for the next 100 years to come. The design aims to create facilities for innovation, training, and recreation, seizing 65% of the transformed site as green and blue space and open parklands, while acknowledging Country by addressing Ancestral knowledge and the Dharawal tradition.
The vision preserves 75% of the site’s existing building mass, historic structures and industrial artefacts, while the remaining 25% will either be transformed or dismantled and reused in new developments – including a restaurant on top of the furnace, an industrial lift turned into an elevated garden, and steel repurposed in new building structures.
The masterplan complements the Wollongong district with facilities for research, education, and manufacturing. New buildings and infrastructure carefully adapt to the site’s conditions, preserving most of the existing structures, roads and trees while proposing new volumes in different sizes and orientations with open ground-floors and plazas.
From being a vacant buffer zone separating heavy industrial operation from residential areas, Port Kembla will connect industry with new businesses, research centers, schools and community spaces, enabled through partnerships with local libraries, museums, galleries, creative hubs, and makerspaces.
“For its future, Port Kembla will bring industrial growth and ecological restoration. Influenced by dramatic topographies and architectural heritage, the masterplan harmoniously blends with the surroundings, respecting the context, and preserving the essence of the place. Shaped to shelter from industrial noise and heavy winds, the architectural volumes dissolve into the landscape, blurring the boundaries between built structures and open space, solar panels and green roofs, technology and ecology. Inspired by Country, Bluescope’s Port Kembla masterplan will bring new opportunities to Illawarra and New South Wales. It will position Australia as a global leader in sustainable, industrial regeneration, setting an example for the country and for the rest of the world.”
The urban realm is conceived as a flexible network of streets dedicated to various speeds of mobility for safer, pedestrian-friendly connections. The main entrance to the area will be on Five Island Road from where visitors will be able to freely meander and explore a variety of scales, programs and outdoor areas.
Enhancing the ecological, soil, and hydrological systems to perform more naturally, the masterplan embraces continuity in the habitat and natural land for flora and fauna to dovetail with the built site. Further, the landscaping integrates a natural water system to mitigate flooding on site.
“The Port Kembla Masterplan is an example of industrial regeneration where history, community and ecology are not only respected, but integrated and enhanced. Built environment and open spaces are mutually beneficial to one another, transforming the former steelworks into a vibrant hub connecting communities with nature and industries. By designing in response to wind, sun, sightlines, noise and flood condition, this landscape-driven approach extends its positive impact beyond the site boundaries, to showcase sustainable development as a medium for healing environments.”
Photovoltaic panels will be installed on the roof of the buildings to supply 95% of the site’s energy needs, while green roofs will provide resilient water management and enhance biodiversity.
Ahmad Tahhan Andrea Hektor Anna Beatrice Maria Ambrosi Bjarke Ingels Calina Bogasiu Giulia Frittoli Hansen Zhu Lucrezia Picinali Mónica Galiana Rodriquez Sasha Spasic Seyederfan Masoumzadeh Sorcha Burke Will Chuanrui Yu Xinyu Zhao Aleksandar Donov Alina Matveenko Amanda Lima Soares Da Cunha Emma Isabelle Olsson Floris Dreesmann Harish Karthick Vijay Ingrid Albina Oliva Lampa Jan Zawadzki Jonathan Russell Karim Daw Lara Al-Kalmash Martin Sitorus Moritz Friedrich Reh Nouran Wael Mohamed Rashad Mohamed Sherif Peter Andres Ehvert Victor Corazza Zuzanna Eugenia Montwill
2023
CLIENT
Artemide
TYPOLOGY
Products
STATUS
COMPLETED
SHARE
Knop is a collection of lanterns designed for outdoor spaces. Featuring a curved head, the Knop lamp echoes the geometry of the Gople series to create a dialogue between BIG’s previous collections for Italian light manufacturer Artemide.
The Knop series consists of three elements of different heights, along with a wall-mounted option, designed to meet the various needs of outdoor spaces, marking paths or creating large illuminated areas where people can gather.
Bjarke Ingels Jakob Lange Jan-Hendrik Schrader Johannes Becker Csongor Hőnich Sungbin Kim