Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN’s “The Next List” features the bold and innovative ideas of Bjarke Ingels, focusing on the West 57th project that is transforming Manhattan skyline. Ingels states, “In the big picture, architecture is the art and science of making sure that our cities and buildings fit the way we want to live our lives.” The video also features comments from Robert A. M. Stern, Dean at Yale School of Architecture, and Douglas Durst, the developer of West 57th. Check it out!

Reference: CNN

Pier Park + Boardwalk - Courtesy of AECOM

A team led by AECOM and New York-based Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) is one of five shortlisted teams invited to participate in an international design competition to renovate and reactivate Chicago’s landmark Navy Pier. This is a once-in-a-century opportunity that will redefine the character and focus of Chicago’s waterfront. It is part of an ambitious effort to create a new Navy Pier for the 21st century, and in doing so, to redefine what the pier and the waterfront means to the city.

Unveiled to the public on January 31, 2012 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, the AECOM-BIG design vision aims to “re-colonize the people’s pier,” by maximizing opportunity through a holistic approach. The result is Pier+, a vibrant urban destination that creates a new amenity shared by all while making a positive and progressive statement about Chicago to the world.

Continue reading for more!

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BIG Proposal - Courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group

In 1976, art enthusiast Bill Kimball transformed the 1929 Kimball Bros automotive garage into a non-profit community center for the visual arts, now known as the Kimball Art Center. Located in the heart of downtown Park City, Utah, the non-profit center serves as a gathering place for individuals to experience art through education, exhibitions and events. The aging historic building is in need of restoration and an addition that will allow the organization to increase their educational outreach and enhance the quality and scale of the exhibitions, while maintaining free admission to the public.

BIG, Brooks + Scarpa, Sparano + Mooney Architecture, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Architects, and Will Bruder + Partners LTD are the five architects selected to submit final proposals for the transformation of the Kimball Art Center.

Continue after the break to watch each firm’s introductory presentation. read more »

© Jens Lindhe

The 8 House in Copenhagen, Denmark, which allows its residents to bike all the way from the street up to its 10th level penthouses, receives the 2012 AIA Institute Honor Award for Architecture that recognizes achievements that elevate the general quality of the architectural practice. The 8 House which entails 650,000 ft² is honored by the jury panel for the buildings distinctive design and ability to contribute to the city and its surroundings.

“The 8 House masterfully recreates the horizontal social connectivity and interaction of the streets of a village neighborhood through a series of delightful accessible ramps in a mixed use, multifamily housing project. The skillful shaping of the mass of the facility provides an invigorating sculptural form while creating the ramped “pedestrian” street system and providing full depth dwelling units which are filled with light and views. People really ‘live” in this newly created neighborhood with shopping, restaurants, an art gallery, office facilities, childcare, educational facilities and the sound of children playing. This is a complex and exemplary project of a new typology”. 2012 Institute Honor Awards for Architecture Jury. More after the break. read more »

Courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)

In approaching the design for the new Kimball Art Center, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) found great inspiration in the urban development of Park City, the Kimball site, and the city’s mining heritage. They feel the form of the new Kimball Art Center emerges where these rich stories overlap. More images and architects’ description after the break. read more »

© BIG

The three finalists of the St. Petersburg Pier competition presented their proposals to a panel of jurors and nearly 200 people, as the presentation was open to the public. BIG started the day off with the Wave and was followed by Michael Maltzan Architecture’s presentation of the Lens. The day concluded with West 8’s proposal, the People’s Pier. Concerns of cost and shade dominated the conversation, as well as materiality, permitting, storm ratings and boating. According to the Tampa Bay online report, the Lens and the Wave generated the most positive attention, stating the People’s Pier received “a more restrained response.” The panel will announce their decision on January 20th.

Click here to check out the final three design proposals featured on ArchDaily.

Watch the presentations online and provide your feedback here on the official city website of St. Petersburg.

Courtesy of BIG

BIG wins an invited competition for a 47,000 sqm ski resort and recreational area in Levi, Finland. The future Ski Village will transform the existing Levi ski resort into a world class destination, offering top quality accommodation and leisure services for skiers of all levels and demands. More images and complete press release after the break. read more »

The Lens © Michael Maltzan Architecture

The final entries are in for the international redesign competition of the St. Petersburg Pier in Florida. The competition seeks to generate a new identity and iconic landmark that will honor the history and relevance of the Pier for the next generation. Michael Maltzan Architecture, BIG and West 8 Urbaban Design and Landscape Architecture are the three architectural firms selected from the list of nine semi finalists. Continue reading after the break to view the radically different design proposals.

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Above is a video for the Research Centre of the University of Jussieu, the competition winning design by BIG and OFF architects. The new multidisciplinary research centre, Paris PARC, located between Jean Nouvel’s Institut du Monde Arabe and the open green park of the Jussieu Campus will become a significant addition to the campus, strengthening the international appeal and openness of the leading French University for Science and Medicine.

Courtesy of BIG + OFF

BIG + Paris-based architects OFF, engineers Buro Happold, consultants Michel Forgue and environmental engineer Franck Boutte is the winning team to design the new 15.000 m2 research centre for Sorbonne’s Scientific university University Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris. More images and complete press release after the break.

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© BIG

BIG wins an invited competition to renovate and extend an existing 1960′s concrete warehouse situated in a Basel industrial district which is being transformed into an alternative Arts District. More images and complete press release after the break. read more »

CLOG:BIG

So, you know about Bjarke Ingles’ Yes is More…but how about CLOG? The inaugural issue of the publication will focus on BIG projects offering different critiques and contributions from over 40 writers, as well as responses from Bjarke Ingles.  The work is a reaction to this fact-paced ago of online press, blogs, tweets, etc. where the public is introduced to alarming amounts of work is such a short period of time.  “CLOG slows things down. Each issue explores, from multiple viewpoints and through a variety of means, a single subject particularly relevant to architecture now. Succinctly, on paper, away from the distractions and imperatives of the screen. “   Bringing together contributors from backgrounds including art, architecture, criticism, journalism, parkour, engineering, comics, photography, philosophy, CLOG:BIG presents the first holistic, critical examination of Bjarke  Ingels and his firm.   And, on October 7, the diagloue will continue at the Storefront for Art and Architecture with Bjarke Ingles and CLOG.  Check out the 100+ page book here.

© Dragor Luft

Architect: BIG and Topotek 1
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Partner in Charge: Bjarke Ingels
Project Leader: Nanna Gyldholm Møller, Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard
Team: Ondrej Tichy, Jonas Lehmann, Rune Hansen, Jan Borgstrøm, Lacin Karaoz, Jonas Barre, Nicklas Antoni Rasch, Gabrielle Nadeau, Jennifer Dahm Petersen, Richard Howis, Fan Zhang
Collaborators: Topotek 1, Superflex, Help Pr & Communication, Lemming & Eriksson
Client: Copenhagen Municipality, Realdania
Status: 1st Prize, Completion Summer 2011
Size: 4.3 ha
Photographs: BIG, Dragor Luft, Topotek 1 read more »

Photo by Matthew Paulson - http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewpaulson/

The St. Petersburg Pier, a long-adored and long-outdated West Florida cultural attraction, has unveiled the semi-finalists in its international redesign competition. Of the twenty-three qualified inquiries received, nine were chosen to move forward in the contest. The competition attracted big names in the architecture world; BIG, West 8 Urban Design, James Corner Field Operations, and HOK Architects were among the participants.

More on the St. Petersburg Pier after the break.

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This week, with the help of our readers, our Architecture City Guide is headed to Copenhagen. This is our first stop in Europe, and admittedly the selection was not completely unbiased. While studying at the Danish Building Research Institute a few years ago I couldn’t help but fall in love with Copenhagen’s architecture. The Danish attention to detail is absolutely stunning. Besides the wonderful historic architecture, Copenhagen is filled with contemporary architecture of the highest quality. Remarkably, you rarely find the new clashing with the old. More often than not, the contemporary architecture in Copenhagen actually heightens the experience of the historic buildings and streets. Last week our readers suggested so many great buildings I decided to double the usual number of buildings to 24. This still did not come close to including all the suggestions or even some of my favorites, so we will be looking to expand on this list in the near future. Once again thanks to all our readers for your help. As the list is incomplete please add your favorites in the comment section below.

The Architecture City Guide: Copenhagen list and corresponding map after the break.

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This short clip focuses on BIG’s commitment to sustainability that does not sacrifice the quality of life. The clip shows some great shots of their buildings, including the 8 House. It also provides snippets of commentary that detail the buildings’ sustainable features and how they increase the quality of life, not just sustain it. The world is taking notice of BIG’s work, and the video shows the Crown Prince Frederik and Bjarke Ingels meeting with the South Korean President who is interested in bringing BIG’s ideas back to South Korea.

West 57th, BIG’s design of a New York apartment building for client Durst Fetner Residential, takes shape in model form in this video. On display at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, the model is part of Living: Frontiers of Architecture III-IV exhibition. The exhibition which opened the first of this month and will run through October 2nd ‘is full of impressions and insights into the multiple ways we live in the world today’.

Courtesy of BIG

BIG, Martha Schwartz Landscape, Buro Happold, Speirs & Major, Lutzenberger & Lutzenberger, and Global Cultural Asset Management are today announced as the winning team of the international design competition for a new 27.000 m2 cultural complex in Albania, consisting of a Mosque, an Islamic Centre, and a Museum of Religious Harmony.

More images and complete press release after the break. read more »

Modern Atlanta (MA) is pleased to announce the first annual Modern Atlanta Prize 2011 competition. The prize intends to highlight talented designers and their projects each year under a new and interesting theme.

This year the prize calls for students and young architects to submit projects that exemplify the rapid development and innovation that is being witnessed in the architecture of Korea. The competition aims to highlight projects of all scales, either built or conceptual, that showcase exceptional Korean design talent as well as projects that thoughtfully deal with the unique conditions whether geographical, social, political or cultural, pertaining to Korea.

All proposals will be reviewed by an international jury panel and winners will be announced in May.  The jury includes Jeeyong An and Sang Hwa Lee of MANIFESTO, Kai-Uwe Bergmann of BIG, Sebastien Boissard of Studio Boissard, Matteo Caimi of C&A Architecture, and Minsuk Cho of Mass Studies.

Prize winning entries and honorable mentions will be exhibited at the Korean Pavilion during the Design is Human Week 2011 event to be held from June 6th-12th in Atlanta, Georgia. Learn more about MA and the annual Design is Human Week event here.

Courtesy of BIG

BIG + Grontmij + Spacescape are the winning team for the Stockholmsporten master plan competition to design an inviting new entrance portal into Stockholm at the intersection of a newly planned super-junction. More images full press release after the break. read more »