BIG’s Founder and Creative Director Bjarke Ingels and Associate Jeremy Alain Siegel speak to Razia Iqbal on BBC World Service’s The Cultural Frontline radio show about Manhattan’s flood defense project. Razia begins the episode at VIA 57 West before meeting Bjarke and Jeremy on Manhattan’s East Side to experience the coastal work firsthand. The episode ends at the BIG NYC offices with a discussion about Bjarke’s life and career. The BIG-designed East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project emerged from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Rebuild by Design competition, which sought to develop innovative design solutions to increase the resiliency of Hurricane Sandy-impacted communities. The 2.5-mile project area is located within the FEMA 100-year floodplain on Manhattan’s East River coastline and is designed to protect and improve the resiliency of more than 110,000 New Yorkers, including approximately 28,000 NYCHA residents.
