Bjarke Ingels: Kazakhstan, Rio de Janeiro, NY and more

Sep 2010

By David Basulto — Filed under: Fastco Design , Bjarke Ingels

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Our friend Cliff Kuang, editor of Co.Design, sat down with Bjarke Ingels after his (second) arrival to NY. During the interview, Bjarke talks about his new teaching position at Harvard GSD, focused on the potential of the 2016 Olympics and the 2014 World Cup for Rio de Janeiro. They also talk about BIG’s National Library in Kazakhstan, and hint us on a new project currently in the boards for Manhattan, a “cross breed [between] the perimeter block and the high rise, to allow a communal garden in the heart of a building”, a building that we really want to see more about.

CK: It seems like things might be a lot different here, than in your home country. What can New York teach a young architect like yourself?

BI: As an architect, you’re always trying to accommodate different interests in a single building, from the residents to the developers to the city planning officials. In Manhattan, the density makes that even more extreme, and there’s something in the American culture about bringing together competing interest groups. I mean, this is the country that invented surf & turf! I mean, steak and lobster! What other country would thing to combine those two extremes? I sense some interesting possibilities here.

CK: A lot of your buildings — such as the 8 House apartments and the Mountain Dwellings project, or the Astana National Library and the Danish pavilion look like evolutions of a theme. Is that part of BIG trying to develop an aesthetic, or a signature?

BI: No, we don’t have a commitment to certain forms or styles. But as we develop stuff we learn how things relate and connect, and we learn how those forms can be reinterpreted to create new possibilities. So for example, the basic form of the 8 House, which allowed both a courtyard and views and a sloping green roof, has become in TED [pictured below] which attempts to bring street life up to the level of the penthouse.

It’s a bit like in nature how some fish developed bigger flippers that could be used as legs. It’s not like the fins had a purpose for walking, but through an act of relocation and misinterpretations, they became legs. A major part of design evolution is that things developed for one purpose can be used in other ways. And that’s why you see diversity and continuity in design.

Read the whole interview at Co.Design »

About David Basulto: Graduate Architect. Co Founder and Executive Editor of ArchDaily.com. Architecture geek.

Cite:
Basulto , David . "Bjarke Ingels: Kazakhstan, Rio de Janeiro, NY and more" 03 Sep 2010. ArchDaily. Accessed 09 Feb 2012. <http://www.archdaily.com/76542>

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Frankencense says:

I think, at age 36, Bjarke Ingels has jumped the shark.

# September 4, 2010 at 20:58

Harsha says:

Very Interesting interview. I wonder how the favelas and slums will be transformed in countries with rapidly expanding economies like Brazil and India. Interesting perspective on working in Kazakhstan for a dictator. When dose an architect, or any one draw the line? Google still works in china and complies by its censorship laws. American presidents are always friendly toward the saudi royal family, even though Saudi Arabia has worst human rights record. Is it always best to engage and not isolate?

# September 14, 2010 at 15:36

nammitt says: