A Conversation about Architecture and Environment. Architect Bjarke Ingels in conversation with Carson Chan, Moderated by Felix Burrichter.
Bjarke Ingels is a Danish architect. He is the founder and creative partner of Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) since 2005. Known for his innovative and ambitious designs and projects, many of his buildings defy traditional architectural conventions and dimensions. His projects are often highly photogenic, ranging from representations of mountains to snowflakes. He often incorporates sustainable development ideas and sociological concepts into his designs, but tries to achieve a balance between the playful and practical approaches to architecture. His trademarks include sloped lines and designs that are shaped to their surroundings.
Since 2009, Ingels has won numerous architectural competitions and has grown in international scope and acclaim. In October 2011, the Wall Street Journal named Ingels the Innovator of the Year for architecture and, in July 2012, cited him as "rapidly becoming one of the design world's rising stars" in light of his extensive international projects. Successes abroad include the Danish pavilion at EXPO 2010 in Shanghai, China, and projects for the New Tamayo Museum, Atizapán de Zaragoza, Mexico (2009), New Tallinn City Hall, Tallinn, Estonia (2009), Shenzhen International Energy Mansion, Shenzhen, China (2009) and the Faroe Islands Education Centre, Torshavn, (2009). His zero-emission 1,000,000 m2 (11,000,000 sq ft) resort and entertainment city project on Zira Island off the coast of Baku, Azerbaijan, which represents the seven mountains of Azerbaijan, has been cited as "one of the world's largest eco-developments." Among Ingels' most well known projects are the 80,000 m2(860,000 sq ft) VIA (West 57) apartment project in Manhattan; the Google North Bayshore headquarters (co-designed with Thomas Heatherwick); Superkilen and the Amager Bakke Waste-to-Energy Plant. Both in Copenhagen, Ingels has moved to New York City in 2010 to overlook VIA and his other North American engagements. In 2014 Ingels also introduced BIG IDEAS as an internal, technology driven special projects unit at Bjarke Ingels Group.
Carson Chan is an architecture writer and curator pursuing a PhD in architecture at Princeton University. From 2006 to 2012, he co-directed PROGRAM, a residency and project space for art and architecture in Berlin. Chan co-curated the 4th Marrakech Biennale in 2012, and was Executive Curator of the Biennial of the Americas in Denver in 2013. Also in 2013, he organized “Exhibiting Architecture: A Paradox?”, a conference at the Yale School of Architecture, with David Andrew Tasman and Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen. He is a contributing editor of Kaleidoscope and editor-at-large of 032c. His current research tracks the rise of environmentalism and aquarium architecture in the postwar United States.
