The BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group has published a new book which has no less goal than to take a visionary look onto the architecture throughout the course of time.
The word “formgivning” means “design” in Danish – the home of star architect Bjarke Ingels. But if you translate it literally, it means “to give form to that which does not yet have form” – in other words, to think into the future. Architecture plays an outstanding and important role in this matter, because it can be used for designing how we want to live and work in the world of tomorrow.
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Formgiving – Past, Present, Future
In “Formgiving – an Architectural Future History”, the third part of a trilogy of books by the BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group (“Yes is More – An Archicomic on Architectural Evolution” and “Hot to Cold – an Odyseey of Architectural Adaption”), one can view projects personally selected by the star architect over 700 pages, using a textbook-like structure divided into the sections Past, Present and Future: Each is further structured around six major themes – Making, Feeling, Sustaining, Thinking, Healing, Moving – which are explained in the first part of the book, “Past”, and represent, so to speak, the “Big Bang” of architecture. However, they are also representing concepts which, according to BIG, should apply to the architecture of the future.
The book is also a catalogue for the exhibition of the same name, which had its first stop at the Danish Architecture Center in Copenhagen between summer 2019 and winter 2020 and is to be presented at other locations. The concept of the book corresponds to the three major chapters of the exhibition: Past, Present and Future.
Sustainable and seemingly effortless Projects
The projects are presented in the main part of the book (Present): From the innovative project Copenhill to the colourful LEGO House to residential buildings like the Klein House in the USA or the conversion of a World War II bunker into the contemplative Tirpiz Museum (Denmark) to future projects such as the Vertical Oases in the Observation Tower in Dubai, which is still under construction, or visions such as the City of New Hope, a possible city on the moon, one gains an insight into Bjarke Ingels’ ideas and thoughts to become inspired for sustainable and at the same seemingly effortless projects.
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The architect is a master in overcoming boundaries: he creates innovative yet sustainable architecture that enables people to live and work in a new and modern way. In Formgiving, developments and projects are presented that reach up to fifty years into the future, often of fantastic and imaginary proportions, but pragmatically implemented by BIG to create the world of tomorrow.
Insight into the universe and the way BIG thinks
In addition to previously unpublished essays by Bjarke Ingels, Formgiving includes photographs by renowned (architectural) photographers such as Laurian Ghinitoiu, Iwan Baan and Rasmus Hjortshøj. There are also images of Lego models from BIG’s projects that were on display in the exhibition and the Masterplanet project – the collective master plan for global crowdsourcing. Formgiving is thus a comprehensive and exciting insight into the universe and the way BIG thinks.
You can find the book to order here.
Master Plan by BIG in collaboration with landscape architects of Surfacedesign
The Smithsonian Institution announces plans to give its buildings and gardens a face-lift, adding new entrances and refurbishing the Smithsonian Castle along the south side of the Washington Mall. The comprehensive plan for the South Mall Campus includes the museums and gardens along Independence Avenue S.W., from 7th to 12th streets, also encompassing a necessary seismic upgrade and a major revitalization of the Castle. This includes expanded visitor services; new Mall-facing entrances to the National Museum of African Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery as well as improved visibility and access from the Freer Gallery of Art to the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. The proposed Master Plan will be implemented over a 10-to-20–year period beginning in 2016.
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The proposal has three primary goals: to improve and expand visitor services and education; to create clear entrances and connections between the museums and gardens; and to replace aging building mechanical systems that have reached the end of their lifespan. The centerpiece of the proposed South Mall Master Plan is the revitalization of the iconic Smithsonian Castle. Opened in 1855, the Castle now serves as a visitor information center and the headquarters of the Institution.
The proposed Master Plan combines several major projects, some of which address known infrastructure needs, including leaking roofs, failing mechanical systems and inefficient energy use. The initial cost estimate is about $2 billion, a mix of federal and private funds, over the course of the project. Integrated planning for the projects allows the Smithsonian to optimize the connections between the museums and gardens, while taking advantage of cost- and space-saving synergies, such as shared use of utility plants and a central loading dock. The proposed Master Plan requires review from the National Capital Planning Commission. The Smithsonian and NCPC will work together to fulfill the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. A public meeting to share the alternatives under consideration for the South Mall Master Plan will be scheduled for December.
