COBE and Lundén Architecture, the Danish-Finnish collaboration that has previously worked together on Tampere's Transport Hub, has revealed a plan to revitalize the Töölönlahti bay area in central Helsinki. Completed for the Finnish creative marketing agency N2, the proposal is a vision of what the area could become after a century of broken promises to clean up the polluted and underutilized area of the city. On their website, N2 estimates that the project would require an investment of €120 million, and if taken up by the government could be completed in time for the 100th anniversary of Finland's independence in 2017.
In recent years, the ever-increasing profile of Bjarke Ingels and his firm BIG have been hard to miss. For an office that is barely 10 years old, the number and scope of their projects is astonishing; to cope with demand, the firm has grown to employ almost 300 people. This growth, though, did not happen by accident. In this article, originally published on DesignIntelligence as "The Secret to BIG Success," Bob Fisher speaks to the firm's CEO and Partner Sheela Maini Søgaard in order to uncover the business plan behind the BIG phenomenon.
BIG may be the most appropriately named firm on the planet.
The Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) seems to have an outsized impact in all it does. The Copenhagen-based design firm turns conventions and assumptions upside down and combines contrasting possibilities in outrageously bold, imaginative and playful ways. Projects like Via at West 57th Street in New York City and the Amager Bakke Waste-to-Energy Plant in Copenhagen are prime examples: the first a pyramid-shaped apartment building that defies the forest of rectangular towers around it, and the second a power plant that doubles as a smoke ring-blowing ski slope.
The world has taken note. Whether in praise or criticism, the architectural, cultural and business media tend to strike a heroic tone when describing the firm’s work: radical, ambitious, bold, confident. In short…BIG.
REX founder Joshua Prince-Ramus has won the $100,000 Marcus Prize. Awarded by the Milwaukee-based Marcus Corporation Foundation, the biennial award is dedicated to honoring emerging designers who've had a decade of exceptional leadership in their field.
"He is headed to the pantheon of greatness...and yet his ideas are still evolving," said Bob Greenstreet, dean of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which administers the award.
REX has shared with us their competition proposal for Calgary’s New Central Library (NCL). Though Snøhetta and DIALOG ultimately won the competition, REX was shortlisted as a finalist with an unconventional scheme that was based on adaptability, serendipity and treating the librarians as curators. By literally stacking the library’s program according to the client’s desired sequence, REX formulated six typological clusters hoisted on top an illuminated plinth.
Sector 66 of Gurgaon, India will be the site of Maison Edouard François’ newest project: a massive luxury complex crowned by three stainless steel-clad skyscrapers. Given over entirely to opulence, Guragon 66 will house a hotel, a multiplex cinema, and an apartment complex. Yet its most defining feature may be its shopping mall, which covers most of the ground floor. This glass-canopied commercial center will host internationally known brands, such as Fendi and Chanel, in independent marble buildings within the main structure.
These shopping "embassies" will be grouped along the mall axis in a manner resembling a traditional European neighborhood. At the same time, the roofs of the shops will be utilized as restaurant space, and will be connected to each other by elevated footbridges. This is intended to create a unique, multi-level promenade which the architects describe as "an exterior landscape that is air-conditioned and unified beneath the glass canopy of the mall."
Construction has begun on the new Nanjing Jianye District office tower in China. Designed by UDG China, the multi-level complex will house hundreds of government workers throughout almost 100,000 square meters of office space.
https://www.archdaily.com/498109/construction-begins-on-udg-china-s-nanjing-office-towerStephen Stanley
Two sister Middle Eastern media companies have commissioned REX to design a conjoined headquarters that references traditional Arab iconography. The result, two ultra-thin, stone-clad towers that are shielded from the Middle East’s “unrelenting sun” by an array of retractable sunshades whose shape was inspired by the Arab Mashrabiya pattern.
Measuring nearly 15 meters in diameter, these sunshades can be quickly deployed, transforming the building’s glass facade into a “blossoming” shaded tower within minutes.
“The headquarters’ instantaneous transformation forges a new kind of powerful iconography, one that rejects the tired—and ephemeral—pursuit of being the tallest,” described REX.
REX has been selected as one of five finalists for a 173,000 square meter proposal located near the equator in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Dubbed as the "Equator Tower," the concept wraps a retractable, PTFE-coated, glass fiber-reinforced sun shade around a slender 80-story tower, blocking direct sun exposure from all four sides.
https://www.archdaily.com/466553/rex-proposes-retractable-facade-for-equator-tower-in-malaysiaJose Luis Gabriel Cruz
It’s been two year’s since the construction of the 42-story Museum Tower in Dallas. As many of you may recall, the luxury condo has been in dispute with the neighboring Nasher Sculpture Center over an intense “hot spot” caused by the tower’s highly reflective skin. Although Nasher has demanded that the Museum Tower cover its southwestern facade with an external louver system, thus blocking the glare from penetrating Nasher’s Renzo Piano-designed cast aluminum sunscreen, the developers have refused to oblige due to a fear of jeopardizing the project's profitability.
Negotiations have turned to squabbles and proposals have fallen on deaf ears. However, a team lead by REX and Front has been commissioned by the Dallas Police and Fire Pension Fund (DPFPF) - the Museum Tower’s developer - to explore a "third option," one that would not require changing the construction of either Museum Tower or the Nasher.
REX has just released their winning competition design for a unique residential competition: a private residence for three generations. The estate includes the parents’ home, four children’s homes, event space, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, gym, spa, library, study, home cinema, and performance space.
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)’s 700,000 square foot Beach + Howe development has been approved by the Vancouver City Council. Though concerns still remain regarding the height of the 52-story tower - which is intended to become the city’s fourth tallest building - an overwhelming majority of the council and public seems to be enthusiastic about the project.
“It meets the test at every respect — gorgeous architecture, turning a dead space into a vibrant public space with animation and job space. The housing is diverse and much needed... People have used the word iconic - I think it’s remarkable design to combine so many elements on a tough site,” stated Mayor Gregor Robertson before the vote. “It’s an extraordinary project that deserves strong council support.”
Just as layers of history accumulate through time to offer varying perspectives on culture and environment, Saucier + Perrotte’s design for the Fifth Pavilion of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is composed of a series of mineral strata that form a home for the Hornstein collection of art. Floating gently above street level, each marble stratum is superimposed to produce a sculpted volume containing the collection and defining a space dedicated to the next generation of Montreal art lovers. Their proposal was recently announced as a finalist in the competition
The Gurgaon 71 residential project proposal by Maison Edouard François represents French-style luxury living while simultaneously respecting Indian traditions. Located in Gurgaon, India, these luxurious apartments make use of noble materials such as marble and wood and have large interiors, including double height spaces, and offer 360° views onto the surrounding landscape. More images and architects’ description after the break.
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