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Architecture, News, Sustainability

BIG: the Danish office that conquered the world

Discover the history of the architecture firm that has conquered the world with its bold, sustainable and gigantic projects

By Victor Lessa

Submitted at Apr 6, 2017, 1:41 PM

03 min de leitura
Danes Pavilion, Shanghai

Danes Pavilion, Shanghai (Divulgação)

Big, why so big? Bjarke Bundgaard Ingels is a 42-year-old Danish architect who is revolutionizing the world of architecture. In 2005, he founded the firm BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) alongside his partner Sheela Maini Søgaard , and since then, they have continued to grow. In every sense. They began to take on larger projects each year and expanded their operations to Asia, the Middle East and North America, where in 2010 they opened the company's first foreign branch, located in New York.

Floornature, um dos projetos do escritório em andamento (Reprodução)

What stands out about the office is not only its meteoric growth, but the scale and creativity of the projects that come out of it, such as Via, on West 57th Street in New York. It is a building with pyramid-shaped apartments surrounded by a garden of rectangular towers, which defy logic at first glance.
With approximately 300 employees from 30 countries, BIG's philosophy is based on a culture of meritocracy and collaborative growth, in which employees are open to sharing their ideas and are rewarded for them. The result of this is reflected in the success and value that the brand currently has. In numbers, there are approximately 117 projects, 26 of which have already been built, 18 are under construction, 28 are just getting off the ground and 45 are in the process of being conceptualized. All of them are full of playful, creative ideas, sustainable solutions and cutting-edge technology. That's why it's so big.
google1
01/05 -

Part of the new Google building in California

(Divulgação)
Via West 57th Street in New York City
02/05 -

Via West 57th Street in New York City

(Divulgação)
google6
03/05 -

Google's new headquarters seen from above

(Divulgação)
Danes Pavilion, Shanghai
04/05 -

Danes Pavilion, Shanghai

(Divulgação)
Two World Trade Center in New York
05/05 -

Two World Trade Center in New York

(Divulgação)
To learn more about Bjarke Ingels, also watch the Netflix documentary series Abstract: The Art of Design , about the creative minds of design, in which the architect is the character in one of the episodes.