“Great buildings express their true essence to the world.” | Architect Bjarke Ingels
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Published 2017-12-19
Having nurtured a love of drawing since childhood, 18-year-old Ingels enrolled into The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts School of Architecture in 1993, feeling that architecture would be “the perfect missing piece to be able to really draw worlds and populate those worlds.” The school, however, proved to be a very conservative institution where there was hardly any curriculum due to the idea that everything had to be original. In response to this, Ingels and a friend ended up spending their first years in the library, seeking inspiration from other architects such as Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas: “You find something that speaks to you, and then you try to understand it, by following its sources, and those sources have other sources, and at some point, things connect.” In continuation of this, Ingels feels that the ideas that you put forward and the new ideas they produce are essential for architecture: “Not only does the building you make matter, but the example it puts out in the world matters maybe even more.”
When Ingels returned to Denmark after a couple of years working for Rem Koolhaas in Holland, it was with a slightly more bold approach than other Danish architects, who seemed to have lost their confidence and sense of experimentation following the failure of modernism in the 1970s. Instead of engaging with the issues of society, it was suddenly more about “making a really nice box and finding the perfect cherry wood for that box.” Ingels, however, dared “to play” and emphasizes the importance of playing, which he sees as a sort of “non-scripted form of human expression that opens for discovery.” The ideas that you put forward and the new ideas they produce are essential for architecture: “Not only does the building you make matter, but the example it puts out in the world matters maybe even more.”
How does a building remain relevant? Ingels feels that if a building has qualities that go beyond executing its original intentions, it’s possible to repurpose it, and if it is used continuously, it can potentially last forever. As an example, the pyramids turned to ruin, because they weren’t in use anymore, whereas buildings on e.g. the Faeroe Islands have wooden buildings that have lasted half a millennium, as they have been in constant use and therefore been cared for. Architecture is “a framework for the life we live.” However, it shouldn't simply be a checklist, it has to be able to transform to accommodate different situations and enable people rather than restrict them. In continuation of this, Ingels argues that the “superpower” of contemporary architecture is empathy: “To accommodate people – different kinds of people – you have to be able to understand and empathize with them.”
“The pen and the paper is a tool to make the world see what you see, or for you to see what you think before you’ve even seen it. And there are other tools for doing that.” Ingels feels that the different mediums that architects use when visualizing a building – such as foam models, 3D models, projection drawings or LEGO bricks – are all “different ways of approaching the same problem from different angles.”
Bjarke Ingels (b. 1974) is a Danish architect and founding partner of BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group – located in Copenhagen, New York and London. In 2013 BIG was chosen to redesign the Smithsonian, the world’s largest museum and research complex in Washington, a project which will be implemented over a period of 20 years. His projects include The Mountain, a residential complex in Copenhagen, and the innovative Danish Maritime Museum in Elsinore. In 2004 he received the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale and the Danish Crown Prince’s Culture Prize in 2011. Moreover, BIG received the Architizer’s Firm of the Year Award in 2014.
Bjarke Ingels was interviewed by Marc-Christoph Wagner in New York in October 2016.
Footage of Bjarke Ingels drawing: From ‘Architecture should be more like Minecraft’, courtesy of Future of StoryTelling.
Camera: Rasmus Quistgaard
Edited by: Klaus Elmer
Produced by: Marc-Christoph Wagner
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2017
Supported by Dreyers Fond
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All Comments (21)
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Get inspired by Bjarke Ingels' advice to young architects right here: https://youtu.be/8yMzZwAtZRw
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Love this guy..reminds me why i studied architecture..he speaks fully by my heart
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"Empathy is one of the greatest superpower......." Well said
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"If we have the power to radically change our planet by accident, imagine what we can do if we are doing it willingly"
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While watching him talking and pausing, and looking for proper words, I couldn't help thinking what if he were a philosopher? The way he speaks requires a very deep focus and ignoring the surrounding while diving into the deep ocean of your own thoughts and opinions. I have studied Political Science, and the reason I watched this interview was for the exceptional ability to speak I saw in this amazing guy.
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Empathy is the greatest power that you can possess as a human being. There is strength in understanding an opposition. There is great power in patiently understanding the cries of a small child. There is strength in understanding the feelings of a woman. The most important form of empathy is the uninhibited understanding of yourself and how you can apply that power to benefit the world. This documentary was thoughtful and well produced. Thank you very much for creating it.
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Super inspiring. Incredible choice of words, especially for a person with a non English background.
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I'm glad to have discovered this architect and look forward to discovering his work and following his career. Thank you for posting this interview.
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Really, really good. I particularly enjoyed the clarity and depth of thoughts and the logical arguments - great!
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Wow! Completely self thought and now single handedly changing the discourse of architecture and teaching everybody that you can be so innovative and daring as to design the potential to walk or ski on roofs. All this genius in one man, and yet he is so humble and modest. What a brilliant person. Thanks so much for all you've done for architecture Bjarke.
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I am so happy, that he achieved his mission to make every roof usable. Who of us do Not have this swears to ourself, what we are going to make when we grow up.
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A brilliant mind and a compassionate heart... a great combination. I'm grateful to see that his approach is succeeding in the architecture world. I appreciate his emphasis on empathy and his definition of architecture: "The art and science of accommodation."
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His presentation of the 8 House - manipulating space to show design - has remained one of my most watched videos. How you share your ideas can be as important as the ideas themselves.
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He is pure.
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You are bringing some great interviews, with some amazing minds, Louisiana. Thanks
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Bjark, very profound comment at @ 29:00 that "buildings (substantial) should outlast their original purpose", thus be able to be re-purposed" for a future function, that is so true. It's what I deal with every day. Good bones with a good core. IBC, ADA done, established?
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I am really happy about this content,- very interesting thoughts and facts here. 💡⭐️✌🏻
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Scandinavian grasp of my language always impresses me. They speak it somewhat differently than I, however never sound foreign. It feels like english is something we share rather than something they borrowed.
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Great Stuff. A ton of things to learn from the legend Bjarke Ingels. I wish if i could ever meet you. @BjarkeIngels
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Incredible. Really really bright
