Bjarke Ingels is the leading face of 21st century Danish architecture and the founding partner of BIG, a global architectural firm with offices in New York, London, Barcelona, and Copenhagen.
Bjarke describes the firm’s approach as driven by information, noting that “we start looking for what could be the greatest potential or the biggest problem, and then we use that information to inform our design decision so that they’re not arbitrary stylistic choices”. Engaging primarily in large scale commercial and public works, BIG’s portfolio is defined by what they describe as ‘pragmatic utopian architecture’, a style that levitates between the austere practicality of modern design and the fluid, multi-faceted vision of science-fiction.
Central to every BIG project is the programme, or footprint of a site, which serves as both the physical starting point and informational source of the designs, outlining the constraints, amenities and typologies of the space. Though revolutionary in their design, BIG’s philosophy is informed by a straightforward approach centred on two fundamentals: the abstraction and adaptation of simple geometry, and the dissolution of discrete into continuous spaces. From these principles, BIG imagines and realises spaces that offer startling visions of the future, both familiar and foreign, simple yet sophisticated in their response to the challenges of modern life.\
It is this holistic approach to architecture that makes BIG’s projects so memorable; they are not buildings in isolation but fixtures of the communities they reside in
The AARhus housing development is perhaps the most exemplary of this approach, and finds its starting point in simple geometry and one of the most utilitarian shapes: the cube. Oriented along the diagonal line of a rectangular site, the building emerges from the intersection of two triangular halves to form a flying ‘V’ reminiscent of a Viking longship, its prow and stern standing triumphantly at the head of the harbour, the negative space of the sky between them completing the cube. Crucially though, and in keeping with the other tenet of BIG’s philosophy, AARhus is not designed as a single impenetrable mass, but as an atrium through which light, air, and residents can all flow. A large courtyard is excised from the centre of the whole to form the interior of the ‘ship’ and a hub for the residents that surround it, what BIG describes as “the green heart of AARhus” filled with trees, recreational facilities, and shared vegetable gardens. Despite its sharp silhouette, AARhus is defined by a lightness of form that speaks to BIG’s ability to envisage buildings that are memorable while remaining unimposing, novel and at the same time immensely practical, a condition that translates to their infrastructure projects as well.
CopenHill is possibly BIG’s most ambitious and imaginative public work, a mixed use ski slope, walking trail and climbing wall situated atop a wholly unnatural feature: a power plant. In a country known for its uninterrupted flatness, CopenHill stands as the tallest structure in Copenhagen, and is described by Ingels as a “man-made ecosystem” that reconfigures the human relationship with such infrastructure, transforming it from a noxious eyesore to a destination and a symbol of progress. It is this holistic approach to architecture that makes BIG’s projects so memorable; they are not buildings in isolation but fixtures of the communities they reside in, multi-use spaces that reshape our built environment from one of discrete objects and applications to an interconnected web of exchange. The talent of BIG as a firm comes not from their ability to design buildings lifted from science-fiction, but to take the ideals of science-fiction and apply them to the needs of society in the 21st century to create a world that lives, works and plays as one.
Words — Nick Ainge-Roy
