6 years ago, Bjarke Ingels had intended to write a novel called “The Big Plot’, before he set up the office in New York City.
The Big Plot was to be a conspiracy thriller constructed upon eminent architects who had disturbing deaths. Like Le Corbusier (Drowning), Antoni Gaudi (Car accident), Louis Kahn (Heart attack in a Penn Station men’s room). With himself as the protagonist and a climax involving him in an intense brawl on the sloping exterior of VIA W57, (the Manhattan Masterpiece that led him to fame) we sure are looking forward to this book being written sometime.
Meanwhile it’s only been two months into 2016, how is the Danish Architect making huge headlines this year?
Courtesy of Thomas Loof
Bjarke Ingels reveals his design for The Spiral in New York.
And it’s classy in design.
Envision a sap green ribbon twirled around a crystal white trophy.
65 storeys of glass are to be positioned at a height of 306 meters in the Hudson Boulevard, Manhattan, backed by real estate firm Tishman Speyer.
A combination of the classic ziggurat silhouette, slender proportions and efficient layouts of high-rise skyscrapers, The Spiral is host to a multitude of ascending green spaces that form a continuous green pathway around the structure, catering to each tenant.
‘From the base to the pinnacle of the tower, every floor is designed to open up to the outdoors through “hanging gardens and cascading atria” that connect the open floor plates’ says Bjarke Ingels. These 265,000 square metres of brilliance contains retail space, luxurious amenities and lobby ceiling heights of 9 meters.
We’re definitely looking forward to this prize! More on this project can be found HERE
Courtesy of BIG
BIG is ‘honestly impressed’ by Etienne Duval’s swagger resume.
It takes guts, mettle and ingenuity to send an animated rap video as your resume for an architect.
But Etienne Duval surely made Ingels day with his masterpiece ‘Yo Is More’, in which the French graduate reasons out on BIG hiring him!!
A YouTube sensation now, Bjarke Ingels Hip-Hop Ego has spread like wildfire. This skill and talent may not be the new trend, but it sure didn’t go unnoticed. Duval himself calls it an ego-trip pushed to the maximum.
It took three weeks for the enthusiastic graduate to produce the film, including animation, lyrics, music and of course – originality.
Duval has received a response from BIG.
Do you think he got the job?
Watch the video and decide!
The penthouse on BIG’s Grove, Miami is on sale for $28 Million.
And it was Ingels desire to become a graphic novelist.
Lavish seems like a tiny word for the full-floor penthouse at the 20-storeyed Grand Bay Grove, that boasts of a rooftop pool, four-car garage and ten bathrooms.
The extravagant domain comprises a five-bedroom condominium, a gym, staff quarters, a spa, a private terrace, and a rooftop pool-garden with enchanting views.
Open kitchens with a marble-topped island, exclusive dining adjoined by floor to ceiling windows overseeing the wrap-around balconies, is every designers’ fancy and residents’ whim.
Bjarke Ingels says, “Miami has developed a contemporary condominium vernacular that combines brise-soleil (sun baffles over the building) balcony shading with floor-to-ceiling windows, letting in on the panoramic water views.”
It’s also the only house that hasn’t yet been booked in the Towers.
Courtesy of BIG
Bjarke Ingels succeeded today where Brutalist architects failed then.
Moreover, he reportedly claims his drawing skills froze when he was 18.
Streets in the sky.
What Alison and Peter Smithson set out to achieve with their concept in the 1960s, Bjarke Ingels’ Copenhagen housing development has apparently accomplished in his place of favourite architecture.
The 8 House has a figure-of-eight plan, dipping and rising at the corners to create a dynamically sloping roof form.
These series of grassy knolls and elevated walkways or “streets in the sky” follow the Smithsons’ public pathways, which they believed would encourage social interaction between residents, but they didn’t quite get it right.
“The seamless continuation of the public realm has made it incredibly lively, with a whole community happening inside a building.” says Ingels.
What do you feel? Has he done justice?
Courtesy of BIG
The Danish genius unveils the new Police Station and Fire Station design in New York.
Besides, he happens to be an absolute optimist by nature.
Bjarke Ingels bedazzles the Bronx by designing an intersection of blocks clad in concrete, metal and glass for New York City’s new Police staion. The 45,000 square feet station aims to be an icon taking inspiration from the rusticated bases of early police stations in the city.
The blocks are ordered around a central atrium, with each rectilinear volume containing a distinct element.
The vertical permutations of a stacked set of quadrilaterals account for a simple yet balanced design strategy to secure privacy, yet deliver visual continuity. Clerestories invite natural light within the building.
Sustainable measures require perimeters of sand and setbacks of concrete to act as the boundary to the outer world. Perforated metal in the design is intended to “encourage dialogue with the community while providing spaces for officers to reduce stress and promote physical activity”. It showcases a community room and smart materials to increase the buildings’ energy performance positively.
We are certainly optimistic about this too.
Courtesy of BIG
BIG designs a fan-like plan for a school in Virginia, and Ingels never listens to the radio or reads the Newspaper.
When the sprawling style wins over sky-high structures, a new design sets free.
Wilson Secondary School shall ideally comprise five storeys. But BIG wants it to feel like a single-storey block, so the floors have been arranged in a fan, emanating from a single point, adorned by an outdoor public space over it. The arrayed plan is proposed to break the massing of the 15,800 square metre building, located in a low-rise residential neighbourhood. Bjarke Ingels expresses that the cascading greens act as calm recreational spaces, and are a naturesque necessity to the school.
Each of the five classroom floors lead straight to a different terrace, accumulating opportunities for outdoor learning.
For the record, he does listen to the Radio in the taxi, and reads the paper while flying.
Courtesy of BIG
Bjarke Ingels may design the next American Football stadium.
He also treasures a copy of Red Mars on his bedside table.
BIG is on a roll in the US.
The next big project for Bjarke Ingels’ firm could be an American football stadium for the Washington Redskins.
They have never designed a sports arena.
6 years ago, Bjarke Ingels had the brainwave to open an office in New York City, and look how far that has gotten him.
Hence we can’t wait to see the magic that follows this year!!
Courtesy of Bjarne Jonasson
Written by: Ekshikaa
