BIG: The Latest Architecture and News

BIG has teamed up with Friday Labs to create the Friday Lock, “the world’s smallest smartlock.” Through the Friday app, users can unlock their doors wirelessly, as well as automatically as they leave or approach.

As an access-granted user’s phone approaches the system, the door unlocks automatically. Access can be easily granted, as well as revoked through the app, allowing for temporary users, as well as to remove access if a phone is stolen.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has named the fourteen projects selected as recipients of the 2017 Housing Awards. Now in its 17th year, the AIA’s Housing Awards program was established to recognize "the best in housing design and promote the importance of good housing as a necessity of life." Projects are awarded in four categories: One/Two Family Custom Housing, One/Two Family Production Housing, Multifamily Housing and Special Housing.

The 2017 AIA Housing Award recipients include:

Denmark's largest architecture festival Copenhagen Architecture Festival opens its fourth edition Wednesday, April 26th with a wide program spread over three cities and with the opening film and world premiere of "BIG TIME" on Bjarke Ingels. This year, the festival will feature more than 150 architectural events in Copenhagen, Aarhus and Aalborg.

The city of Copenhagen have announced the shortlist of 5 firms that will compete for the design of a new aquatics center to be located on a prominent site in the Copenhagen Harbor. Planned for completion in 2021, the project will feature a 5,000-square-meter facility offering both indoor and outdoor swimming areas with views across the water to the Henning Larsen-designed Copenhagen Opera House.

BIG’s Serpentine Pavilion is headed to North America, with plans for stops in New York and Toronto on its way to a new permanent home in downtown Vancouver. Purchased by Canadian developer Westbank, who also sponsored the project in 2016, the pavilion will come to a rest on a site adjacent to the company’s headquarters in Shaw Tower, spitting distance from the waterfront plaza where the 2010 Olympic cauldron is located.

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Update: As anyone who clicked the "buy now" button discovered, this was of course a good-humored prank for April Fools' Day. ArchDaily has no plans to expand into print media, and we haven't been stalking Bjarke Ingels via his social media—honest! Our thanks to those who took it in good humor, including "the BIG man" himself for helping spread this "news" to his followers!

One year ago today the Editors of ArchDaily conceived of a project which has consumed a small and dedicated team ever since. After drawing the best talent following an international (and highly secretive) recruitment drive in 2016, a special task force was engaged with the challenge of developing our company’s first printed publication.

“The decision to break into print was not one we took lightly,” explains ArchDaily’s Managing Editor of Books, Lea Brary. “However, we are confident that this endeavor will please architecture fans and bibliophiles worldwide.”

Following twelve months of intense work and production we are proud to reveal BjarkeDaily: What It's Like to Write About the BIG Man – the first comprehensive biographical study of Bjarke Ingels and BIG; an homage to the architect and practice who have become a quotidian feature of our platform for over half a decade.

The Ross Development Trust, in collaboration with the City of Edinburgh Council and Malcolm Reading Consultants, has announced the seven finalists teams that will compete for the design of the new Ross Pavilion in the heart of Edinburgh, Scotland. Located in West Princes Street Gardens below Edinburgh Castle and at the intersection of the UNESCO World Heritage recognized Old and New Towns, the £25 million project will feature a landmark pavilion to replace an existing bandstand, a visitors center with cafe, and a subtle reimagination of the surrounding landscape. The new pavilion will host a range of cultural arts programming.

From an entry pool of 125 teams, the following seven were unanimously selected to continue on to the second stage of the competition:

BIG, in collaboration with Schønherr Landscape Architects and MOE, has revealed designs for a new yin-yang-shaped panda enclosure at the Copenhagen Zoo that will serve as the new home of two Chinese giant pandas upon their arrival in 2018.

Located between several existing buildings, including the award-winning Elephant House by Foster + Partners, the circular shaped habitat will be split to create separate enclosures for the male and female pandas; to increase the probability of mating, partnered pandas should not be able to see, hear or even smell each other for the majority of the year.

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BIG and Silvio D'ascia Architecture have released new images of their competition-winning design for the new Pont de Bondy metro station in Paris. One of a total of 68 new stations commissioned as part of Société du Grand París’ Grand Paris Express project, the Pont de Bondy station will “[continue] the Parisian tradition of utilizing bridges as social spaces and cultural landmarks.”

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The BIG-designed LEGO House has topped out and is headed toward completion ahead of its just-announced grand opening date on September 28. Located near LEGO’s corporate campus, in the heart of Billund, Denmark, the LEGO experience center will provide an estimated 250,000 yearly guests with a variety of LEGO-themed activities within its 12,000 square meters, inviting visitors of all ages to play and unleash their creativity.

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New images of BIG and Heatherwick Studio’s proposed Google campus in Mountain View California have been revealed in planning documents presented to the city last month. Initially announced in 2015, the project has seen several revisions after first running into difficulty with the city planning board, and then after swapping sites with fellow tech giant LinkedIn. The latest iteration, the 18.6-acre Charleston East campus, features a 2-story, 595,000-square-foot building topped with a flowing, tent-like canopy.

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Videos

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) have been revealed as the winners of a competition to conceptualize and design a new headquarters and bottling plant for San Pellegrino, located in the terme of the same name in the Alps of northern Italy. Finalists included MVRDV, Snøhetta, and aMDL, each of whom presented their proposals in October last year.

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On February 10 2017, Netflix will launch a new documentary series—Abstract: The Art of Design—which will present "the most creative designers" from various fields in the design word, with the aim of demonstrating how design influences all aspects of our lives. One of the eight protagonists in the spotlight will be Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, of BIG, who will present his vision of architecture alongside professionals in interior design, graphic design, automotive design, illustration, and set design.

Check out the series feature designers after the break: