He is 50 years old but seems to have already lived many lives. From enfant prodige in the studio of Rem Koolhas, to enterprising young architect in his first studio (Plot) with colleague Julian de Smedt, to global star-architect who in a short time has “metabolically” expanded his practice from 1 to 700 people, with offices today in Copenhagen, New York, London and Barcelona: Bjarke Ingels, Domus Guest Editor for 2025, is an interpreter of contemporary architecture combining an unquestionable creative talent with the playful verve of a Peter Pan and the astute marketing confidence of a Donald Draper (unpredictable and infallible advertising genius, protagonist of the iconic television series “Mad Men”, Editor's note).
And it is precisely this plurality of nuances that complicates providing an univocal definition of his profile; still, some connotating traits emerge decisively.
First, his playful and amused approach to design, typical of someone who adores his work, doing it joyfully and not too subtly modestly: after all, his studio is called “BIG” (which is also an acronym for Bjarke Ingels Group).
Secondly, his extraordinary communication skills, which range from publishing (his “Yes is More: An Archicomic on Architectural Evolution”, 2009, is a captivating comic-strip narration of his work) to documentaries (in “BIG Time”, 2017, he talks to filmmaker Kaspar Astrup Schröder about five years of his life).
Finally, an approach to compolexity by deconstructing it into simple elements, so that his works have nothing intellectual about them but rather spring from elementary schemes, aiming to immediate interpretation and absolute recognisability.
In the years BIG has accustomed us to the marvel generated by his volumetric euphorias, his disruptive plastic games and his geometric acrobatics among extrusions, rotations and torsions made possible by a parametric modelling push, useful tools to give shape to what he calls the “pragmatic utopia”: a vision of architecture asymptotically striving for the ideal but firmly anchored in reality, to respond concretely to the unavoidable needs of those who live in it (from accessibility to orientation, privacy, views, ventilation).
Domus has selected a few works that, over a period of almost twenty years, are particularly representative of his thinking: from housing projects (The Mountain, Sluishuis) to urban infrastructures (CopenHill, Superkilen), from architecture for culture (The Twist) and work (Google Gradient Canopy), to territorial masterplans (Gelephu Mindfulness City).
In the awareness that, as we write, Ingels' research is already pointing towards new goals, including cities on water (Oceanix City), 3D printed neighbourhoods (CODEX) and settlements on the Moon (Nasa Olympus) and Mars (Mars Science City).
7 projects to understand the architecture of BIG and Bjarke Ingels
From the Mountain in Copenhagen to Mountain View, California, via Norway and Bhutan, a selection of works portrays the thinking of one of the most lively protagonists of contemporary architectural scene, Domus Guest Editor for 2025.
Photo Matteo Sartori
Photo Ulrik Jantzen
Photo Rasmus Hjortshoj
Photo Rasmus Hjortshoj
Photo Iwan Baan
Photo Iwan Baan
Photo Laurian Ghinitoiu
Photo Laurian Ghinitoiu
Photo Ossip
Photo Ossip
Foto Big Tha
Photo Big Tha
Render courtesy of BIG
Render courtesy of BIG
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- Chiara Testoni
- 02 December 2024
A mountain rising out of the flat Copenhagen landscape: a provocation, but also pragmatically the best way to ensure the highest possible density, to combine the required functions (1/3 housing, 2/3 parking) and to guarantee housing quality. Instead of having two separate buildings, one for parking and one for residences, the two functions are combined in a single, ten-storey volume: the car park, conveniently accessible from the street, becomes the podium on which the 80 dwellings are placed, arranged on terraces so as to guarantee each one a private garden and a view of the landscape. The work includes several sustainable technologies, including a rainwater collection and recycling system for the irrigation of terraces.
CopenHill, also known as Amager Bakke, is both a 41,000 m2 waste-to-energy facility and a landmark for sports and outdoor enthusiasts in the city. In addition to the waste treatment and energy production facilities, the building houses an environmental education centre and spaces for various sports: from climbing, trekking and cross-fit, to skiing on the sloping roof. The 10,000 square metre green roof offers a landscape rich in biodiversity and microclimatic benefits, from heat absorption to reduced rainwater runoff. It is amazing to think that beneath the slopes of an unlikely artificial mountain, nestled in the flat landscape of the city, there are furnaces, steam and turbines that convert 440,000 tonnes of waste per year into enough clean energy to provide electricity and district heating to 150,000 homes.
Superkilen is a (successful) experiment in urban and social regeneration, in one of the most ethnically diverse and complex neighbourhoods of the Danisch Capital. The project involved the creation of a 750-metre linear park, divided into three chromatically and materially differentiated parts (red, black-dark grey, green), hosting a sequence of public spaces to encourage intercultural dialogue, neighbourhood relations and outdoor life: a square, a market, playing and sports areas, relaxation spaces. The project is also a large open-air installation, where the multiple souls of the neighbourhood emerge from the parade of works and objects from all the places that ideally converge here.
Located in the area of the Kistefos Museet, the largest sculpture park in northern Europe and home to a prestigious collection of contemporary art, the Twist is to all intents and purposes a “cultural infrastructure”. The building, conceived as a long, twisted beam, is on the one hand a 1,000 square metre exhibition space that expands the museum area, and on the other a bridge connecting the two wooded banks of the Randselva River, allowing visitors to complete their cultural journey through the park dotted with site-specific artworks by international artists (including Anish Kapoor, Olafur Eliasson and Fernando Botero).
Sluishuis is a residential complex for 442 flats based on the traditional European courtyard typology. The building, settled on an artificial island in Lake IJ, is designed to offer the inhabitants the best microclimate, orientation and visual conditions. The full-bodied volume opens towards the water with an enormous arched gate that acts as an entrance for mooring boats and offers views, light and natural ventilation to the flats in the courtyard; towards the city, the building is eroded into a cascade of green terraces culminating in a public garden on the roof. The articulated and faceted geometry makes the building change according to the observer's position and in close dialogue with the water, generating reflections on the aluminum-clad surfaces.
Located on an 18-acre site in the North Bayshore area of Mountain View, Google Gradient Canopy includes a workspace for Google employees and approximately 1,000 square metres of public spaces, including green areas, restaurants, retail shops and community spaces, as well as the Google Visitor Experience. Thanks to its majestic roof clad in bespoke photovoltaic panels in the shape of dragon scales, which generate about 40 per cent of the building's annual energy consumption, and to the advanced energy-saving technologies, the building is the largest LEED v4 BD+C: NC Platinum certified project in the world, and is also one of the largest structures ever to achieve International Living Future Institute (ILFI) Living Building Challenge (LBC) Materials Petal certification.
The masterplan for the city of Gelephu, evocatively named "Mindfulness City" and stretching over more than 1,000 square kilometres, aims to lay the foundation for the country's future economic growth by creating new opportunities for investment in green technology, education and infrastructure. The project, inspired by the country's rich cultural and spiritual heritage, expands into 11 neighbourhoods and includes a new international airport, rail links, a hydroelectric dam, a medical centre, a Vajrayana spiritual centre, a university, public spaces, and residences. The neighbourhoods are designed according to Mandala principles, with repeated typologies symmetrically organised around a central public space in a gradual transition between dense built-up areas to the south and small buildings scattered across the landscape to the north.