Bjarke Ingels, Copenhagen

The young Danish agency BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group – has only been up and running for three years, yet it enjoys international exposure. Its founder, Bjarke Ingels (1974) is, however, not a new face on the scene. After studying in Denmark (Royal Danish Academy of Arts) and Barcelona (Tecnica Superor de Arquitectura), five years before setting up BIG, he founded the PLOT agency with Belgian Julien De Smedt, a colleague at the OMA agency in Rotterdam.
Having won many awards, Bjarke Ingels is seen as a leading light in the new generation, combining good analysis, research and social awareness.  Setting up his stall away from architectural trends aiming for a utopia, or on the other end of the scale for a hard-nosed pragmatism, the architect is opting for a third way, engendering a balance between social, economic and environmental aspects, mixing together traditional ingredients and the results of his own experiments. And all of this is done with a great sense of humour. This unique alchemy brings forth a freedom of expression, and surprising architecture that turns convention on its head. It is certainly no accident that the “Housing” category at the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona was won by his “Mountain Dwellings” project – a housing estate in Copenhagen. The jury loved this daring set of 80 dwellings designed across steps, with marvellous private outdoor areas and a large residents’ car park behind the accommodation block. All of Bjarke Ingels’ projects display an incredible handling of shapes: a sharp blade for a tower in Copenhagen and apartment blocks twisted into the shape of the letters V and M. And these shapes are not chosen arbitrarily – they came from a careful study of the sunlight, views and geographical areas.
 The architect and his 60 colleagues show off an abundance of energy. He is the winner of the contest to design the new “Danish Maritime Museum” – which will stretch over 5000m2 in a dry dock near Kronborg Castle in Elseneur (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). Designed to respect its immediate environment, the museum is placed around the dock and not inside it. This preserves the dock as an empty space to be used for outdoor activities, exhibitions and events. A number of footbridges cross over the dock, creating a dynamic tension. In September 2007, Bjarke Ingels said that his work as an architect is often to bring certain visions into reality, but that it is not always easy to reconcile the visionary with reality. The museum should open its doors in 2010. Another winning project is the Danish pavilion for the 2010 World Fair in Shanghai, composed of two circular trajectories forming the interior, and an exterior linked by a platform. His architectural process takes into account a lifestyle that includes sustainable development.  The building stands to be a little bit of Denmark in a Chinese city: the steel façade incorporates a motif reflecting the shape of the Danish capital. There is to be a swimming pool full of water taken from the port of Copenhagen, bicycles and possibly even the famous mermaid.
Staying in Shanghai, the proposal made for a hotel and leisure and conference centre – the Ren People Building – evokes the Chinese symbol for “Man”, while distilling the energy and optimism of China. Will the REN become an iconic Shanghai landmark in 2010? We’ll have to wait and see. We also have some extremely unusual spaces making up a W-shaped tower in Prague. According to its designer, what appear to be four towers are in fact a single block, maximizing the total surface and number of façades.
An admirer of Jørn Utzon, a major Danish architect who designed the Sydney Opera House, which has become the emblem for a whole continent, Bjarke Ingels also enjoys creating unique concepts wherever he goes, without neglecting the public aspect of his projects.  Because contemporary society is in constant development, his work is above all one of detecting changes, identifying new needs and of solving new problems – sometimes even of improvising.

http://www.big.dk