Bjarke Ingels Group
BIG
BIG is a Copenhagen, New York and London based group of architects, designers, urbanists, landscape professionals, interior and product designers, researchers and inventors. The office is currently involved in a large number of projects throughout Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East. BIG’s architecture emerges out of a careful analysis of how contemporary life constantly evolves and changes. They believe that, in order to find solutions to today’s challenges, architecture can move into a field that has been largely unexplored.
BIG create a pragmatic utopian architecture that steers clear of the petrifying pragmatism of boring boxes and the naïve utopian ideas of digital formalism. Like a form of programmatic alchemy they create architecture by mixing conventional ingredients such as living, leisure, working, parking and shopping. By hitting the fertile overlap between pragmatic and utopia, BIG once again find the freedom to change the surface of our planet, to better fit contemporary life forms.
We Grow
BIG and WeGrow collaborated in 2018 to create the first WeGrow school in New York City. WeGrow BIG’S belief in creativity shone together to create the interactive learning landscape supports a conscious approach to education, nurturing the growth, spirit and mind of the 21st century child. The 10,000 ft2 learning universe for children aged three to nine is located in WeWork’s HQ in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighbourhood.
The learning landscape encourage collaboration between children by emphasizing transparent and communal spaces, which comprise more than half of the school: four classrooms, flexible workshops, community space, multi-purpose studio, an art studio, music room and other playscapes to support the children’s imagination and creativity.
Most of the partitions inside the school are shelves raised to the level of the child, allowing natural light to reach 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.
Suspended from the ceiling are clouds made of felt that reflect the different patterns in nature and are illuminated by Ketra bulbs that shift in colour and intensity based on the time of day.
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 teamwork. The vertical garden with tiles made in Switzerland by Laufen house different plants depending on shade and sunlight exposure. The mushroom shelves and magic meadow create a calm setting for a more focused study while reading hives form an immersive library for an organic learning environment.
Teachers and parents share the lobby with the children, where a playful felt nook forms from the smooth cut out in the walls to serve as a flexible work, meet and waiting area. From the lobby to the classrooms, WeGrow is lit by Gople Lamp and Alphabet of Light – flexible lighting systems designed by BIG Ideas and manufactured by Artemide to create ambience effects that form comfortable, natural lighting throughout the school day. Playful and transparent, yet homelike and structured, WeGrow helps children’s education through introspection, exploration and discovery.
Klein House
Klein is founded by designer and interior architect Soren Rose with the goal to develop diverse tiny house concepts together with the world’s leading architects, BIG, built by leading manufacturers and delivered anywhere in the world within a 6 months leadtime.
BIG built the first A45 prototype. Constructed in upstate New York it will be customizable inside and out for future home-owners to purchase, tailor and have the tiny house built within 4-6 months in any location, for any purpose. The design evolves from the traditional A-frame cabin, known for its pitched roof and angled walls (which allow for easy rain run-off and simple construction). To maximize the qualities of this classic structure, A45 creates more usable floor area by taking a square base and twisting the roof 45 degrees to raise the tiny home to a soaring 13 ft height. The resulting crystal-like shape gives A45 an ever-changing appearance. Upon entering, the 180 sqft interior space reflects a minimal Nordic abode prioritized for ‘hyggelig’ (welcoming) comfort and design. From the exposed timber frame in solid pine, the Douglas Fir floor and customizable space-grade, insulating natural cork walls, A45 brings nature inside. An elegant Morsøe wood-burning fireplace is nestled in one corner while off-the-grid equipment is tucked away in the back of the space. A petite kitchen designed by Københavns Møbelsnedkeri, hand-crafted furniture from Carl Hansen and a bed fitted with Kvadrat fabric designed by Soren Rose Studio are some of the handcrafted furniture to fit the A45. The bathroom is made of cedar wood with fixtures by VOLA. A45 is assembled in modules on site and consists of 100% recyclable materials including the timber frame, wall modules, a subfloor and the triangular floor-to-ceiling window featuring seven glass pieces (which will allow natural daylight to illuminate the inside). The structure is slightly elevated by four concrete piers to give optimal support and allow homeowners to place their tiny house in even the most remote areas without the use of heavy machinery, and making it easily moveable
The concept behind BIG’s work and collaboration with Soren Rose was to offer and give freedom in living. The majority of working urban people cannot afford a second home, or regular visits to the rural areas of our dreams and so Klein’s mission is to give you the possibility of combining city life with owning a sustainable tiny house.
To find out more, visit: liveklein.com
Image Credit: Matthew Carbone
79th and Park
Located on the edge of Gärdet, a treasured national park in Sweden, Kullen makes conscious decisions to provide a sensitive, respectful form in this location while allowing the same choices to manifest as residential apartments with spectacular views. In direct response to the context, the northwest and southeast corners take the heights of their immediate neighbours; while the northeast corner, farthest from the park, is pulled upwards to grant it the most spectacular views of park and port. The southwest point of the building extends farthest into Gärdet; and to create a humane edge between building and nature, it is pushed down, transforming it into a public platform with a 270 degree view of parkscape and freeing the majority of the residential units to views of the park. The same move also ensures that the central courtyard will always receive sunlight. In further deference to Gärdet, the massing is visually reduced through a language of pixels, scaled to the human form. This manipulation not only allows for a more organic expression, perfectly reflecting the surrounding landscape, but also provides a way to accomplish the building topography in a controlled and inexpensive way through the use of prefabricated units of standardized sizes.
Aarhus Harbour Bath
Aarhus Harbour Bath is an extension of BIG’s current development plan for Aarhus’ new waterfront neighbourhood named O4. Similar to BIG’s first harbour bath in Copenhagen from 2002, which has come to define the Danish capital as one of the most liveable cities in the world, Aarhus Harbour Bath and adjacent Beach Bath provide new ways for the public to enjoy the water in all seasons.
Together with urban life expert Jan Gehl, BIG’s strategy was to create a framework for maximum amount of life with the minimum amount of built substance. The harbour bath zig-zags gently into the island, extends all the way out into the harbour pool and back again. The swimmers can enjoy the circular diving pool, a children’s pool, the 50m long lap pool or one of the two saunas that are tucked underneath the public boardwalk which doubles as a viewing platform who those who prefer to stay dry.
In front of the bath, a series of freestanding restaurants, a children’s theatre, beach huts for various activities and other public oriented programs were designed before the private buildings blocks which will rise in the coming years. As a result, the private residential buildings at O4 become subordinate to the needs of the public realm.
Aarhus Harbour Bath gives the residents and visitors of the island a more engaging and adventurous waterfront experience. They can use the harbour bath not only as a swimmer, but as a walkway that extends the public realm into the water, breathing new life into an area historically reserved for industrial purposes.
