CopenHill, also known as Amager Bakke, is a 41,000m² waste-to-energy plant with an urban recreation center and environmental education hub, turning social infrastructure into an architectural landmark. BIG’s year-round ski plant won the international competition in 2011 and broke ground in 2013. As Denmark’s single largest waste initiative to date, Copenhagen Lord Mayor Frank Jensen officiated the first run of the slopes, commencing opening festivities from sports competitions to charity walks supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals. CopenHill is inaugurated ahead of the C40 Mayors Summit hosted in Copenhagen this year, a landmark gathering of 96 member cities committed to bold action on climate change.

“We are very proud to have built the most energy efficient waste-to-energy plant in the world. At the same time the plant delivers the best environmental performance with hardly any environmental emissions, enabling us to have neighbors only 200 meters away and to be located less than 2km from the Queen’s Residence. Last but not least, we have succeeded in building the safest waste-to-energy plant so local citizens and guests from all over the world can ski on the roof.” Jacob Simonsen, Managing Director, ARC.

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CopenHill is conceived as a public infrastructure with intended social side-effects from day one. Replacing the adjacent 50-year old waste-to-energy plant with Amager Ressourcecenter (ARC), CopenHill’s new waste-to-energy facilities integrate the latest technologies in waste treatment and energy production. Due to its location on the industrial waterfront of Amager, where raw industrial facilities have become the site for extreme sports from wakeboarding to go-kart racing, the new power plant adds skiing, hiking and rock climbing to thrill seekers’ wish lists.

“CopenHill is a blatant architectural expression of something that would otherwise have remained invisible: that it is the cleanest waste-to-energy power plant in the world. As a power plant, CopenHill is so clean that we have been able to turn its building mass into the bedrock of the social life of the city – its façade is climbable, its roof is hikeable and its slopes are skiable. A crystal clear example of Hedonistic Sustainability – that a sustainable city is not only better for the environment – it is also more enjoyable for the lives of its citizens.” Bjarke Ingels, Founder & Creative Director, BIG.

The internal volumes of the power plant are determined by the precise positioning and organization of its machinery in height order, creating an efficient, sloping rooftop fit for a 9,000m² ski terrain. At the top, experts can glide down the artificial ski slope with the same length as an Olympic half-pipe, test the freestyle park or try the timed slalom course, while beginners and kids practice on the lower slopes. Skiers ascend the park from the platter lift, carpet lifts or glass elevator for a glimpse inside the 24-hour operations of a waste-to-plant.

“We wanted to do more than just create a beautiful skin around the factory. We wanted to add functionality! Instead of considering the Amager Ressourcecenter (ARC) as an isolated object, we mobilize the architecture and intensify the relationship between the building and the city – expanding the existing activities in the area by turning the roof of the new ARC into a ski slope for the citizens of Copenhagen. By proposing a new breed of waste-to-energy plant, one that is economically, environmentally and socially sustainable, the facility becomes part of the city and redefines the relationship between production and recreation, between energy infrastructure and social infrastructure, between factory and city.” David Zahle, Partner, BIG.

Recreation buffs and visitors reaching the summit of CopenHill will feel the novelty of a mountain in an otherwise-flat country. Non-skiers can enjoy the rooftop bar, cross-fit area, climbing wall or highest viewing plateau in the city before descending the 490m tree-lined hiking and running trail within a lush, mountainous terrain designed by Danish Landscape Architects SLA. Meanwhile, the 10,000m² green roof addresses the challenging micro-climate of an 85m high park, rewilding a biodiverse landscape while absorbing heat, removing air particulates and minimizing stormwater runoff.

“CopenHill’s nature roof park and hiking trail invites locals and visitors to traverse a mountainous landscape of plants, rockscapes, 7,000 bushes and 300 pine and willow trees atop the world’s cleanest waste-to-energy plant. It also acts as a generous ‘green gift’ that will radically green-up the adjacent industrial area. CopenHill becomes the home for birds, bees, butterflies and flowers, creating a vibrant green pocket and forming a completely new urban ecosystem for the city of Copenhagen.” Rasmus Astrup, Partner & Design Principal, SLA.

Beneath the slopes, whirring furnaces, steam, and turbines convert 440,000 tons of waste annually into enough clean energy to deliver electricity and district heating for 150,000 homes. The necessities of the power plant to complete this task, from ventilation shafts to air-intakes, help create the varied topography of a mountain; a man-made landscape created in the encounter between the needs from below and the desires from above. Ten floors of administrative space are occupied by the ARC team, including a 600m² education center for academic tours, workshops and sustainability conferences.

Rather than consider ARC as an isolated architectural object, the building envelope is conceived as an opportunity for the local context while forming a destination and a reflection on the progressive vision of the company. CopenHill’s continuous façade comprises 1.2m tall and 3.3m wide aluminum bricks stacked like gigantic bricks overlapping with each other. In-between, glazed windows allow daylight to reach deep inside the facility, while larger openings on the southwest façade illuminate workstations on the administrative floors. On the longest vertical façade, an 85m climbing wall is installed to be the tallest artificial climbing wall in the world for new world records to be broken with views inside the factory.

“To me CopenHill is a perfect example of the world changing power of architecture. That we have the power to give form to the future that we want to live in. My son turns one next month – he won’t ever remember that there was a time when you couldn’t ski on the roof of the power plant – or climb its facades. He will take that for granted – and so will his entire generation. Clean energy and skiable power plants is going be the baseline of their imagination –the platform from which they will leap and propose new and wild ideas for their future. Standing at the peak of this humanmade mountain that we have spent the last decade creating – makes me curious and excited to see what ideas this summit may spark in the minds of future generations.” Bjarke Ingels.

At the bottom of the ski slope, a 600m² après-ski bar welcomes locals and visitors to wind down once the boots are off. Formerly a piece of infrastructure in an industrial zone, CopenHill becomes the new destination for families, friends and celebration, one that is economically, environmentally and socially profitable.

COPENHILL / AMAGER BAKKE FACT

Name: CopenHill / Amager Bakke
Type: International Competition
Size: 41,000 m² / 441,300 ft²
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Client: Amager Ressourcecenter
Collaborators: Detailed Design: SLA, Lüchinger+Meyer, MOE, Rambøll, Jesper Kongshaug and BIG Ideas; Competition: AKT, Topotek 1, Man Made Land, Realities:United
Thanks to: A.P. Møller Fonden, Lokale og Anlægsfonden, Nordea Fonden, Fonden R98, Københavns Kommune, Frederiksberg Kommune, Tårnby Kommune, Dragør Kommune og Hvidovre Kommune

BIG – BJARKE INGELS GROUP

Partners-in-Charge: Bjarke Ingels, David Zahle, Jakob Lange, Brian Yang
Project Leader: Jesper Boye Andersen, Nanna Gyldholm Møller, Claus Hermansen
Team: Alberto Cumerlato, Aleksander Wadas, Alexander Codda, Alexander Ejsing, Alexandra Gustafsson, Alina Tamosiunaite, Armor Gutierrez, Anders Hjortnæs, Andreas Klok Pedersen, Annette Jensen, Ariel Wallner, Ask Andersen, Balaj IIulian, Blake Smith, Borko Nikolic, Brygida Zawadzka, Buster Christensen, Chris Falla, Chris Zhongtian Yuan, Daniel Selensky, Dennis Rasmussen, Espen Vik, Finn Nørkjær, Franck Fdida, Gonzalo Castro, Gül Ertekin, George Abraham, Helen Chen, Henrick Poulsen, Henrik Rømer Kania, Horia Spirescu, Jakob Ohm Laursen, Jelena Vucic, Jeppe Ecklon, Ji-young Yoon, Jing Xu, Joanna Jakubowska, Johanna Nenander, Kamilla Heskje, Katarzyna Siedlecka, Krzysztof Marciszewski, Laura Wätte, Liang Wang, Lise Jessen, Long Zuo, Maciej Zawadzki, Mads Enggaard Stidsen, Marcelina Kolasinska, Marcos Bano, Maren Allen, Mathias Bank, Matti Nørgaard, Michael Andersen, Narisara Ladawal Schröder, Niklas A. Rasch, Nynne Madsen, Øssur Nolsø, Pero Vukovic, Richard Howis, Ryohei Koike, Se Hyeon Kim, Simon Masson, Sunming Lee, Toni Mateu, Xing Xiong, Zoltan David Kalaszi, Tore Banke, Yehezkiel Wiliardy

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Centrally located between the River Garonne and Saint-Jean train station, the new 18,000 m2 Maison de l’Économie Créative et de la Culture en Aquitaine, MÉCA, brings together three regional arts agencies – FRAC for contemporary art, ALCA for cinema, literature and audiovisuals, and OARA for performing arts – into a loop, cementing the UNESCO-listed city as the epicenter for culture. BIG and FREAKS were selected to design the new home for the region’s contemporary art and culture by the Regional Council of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in 2012. MÉCA was inaugurated with BIG Founding Partner Bjarke Ingels, Associate Architects FREAKS, Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region President Alain Rousset and the Minister of Culture Franck Riester, with the Presidents and Directors of FRAC, ALCA and OARA in attendance.

“The multiplicity of the flows and functions of MÉCA, which welcomes both the actors of the regional creative ecosystem on the one hand and activities that enjoy the public on the other hand, makes the building a dynamic tool to stimulate creation. BIG perfectly understood the complexity of grouping three cultural institutions, the circulation between professionals and the general public, and the insertion of the building within Bordeaux.” Alain Rousset, President, Regional Council of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

The building is conceived as a single loop of cultural institutions and public space by extruding the pavement of the promenade to become the ramp that leads into the urban living room, the façade with glimpses into the stage towers of OARA and the offices of ALCA, and the rooftop enclosing the sky-lit galleries of FRAC.

“When a region or a city invests millions in a major new cultural institution, it often ends up benefiting only the informed few that already have an interest in the arts. Not only does MÉCA spill its activities into the public realm and the urban room, but the public is also invited to walk around, through, above and below the new cultural gateway. By inviting the arts into the city and the city into the arts, MÉCA will provide opportunities for new hybrids of cultural and social life beyond the specific definitions of its constituent parts.” Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner & Creative Director, BIG.

A series of steps and ramps lead the public directly into the 1,100 m2 outdoor urban room at the core of MÉCA, creating a porous institution for visitors to roam freely between the Quai de Paludate street to the river promenade. A 7m high MÉCA sign illuminates the space with white LED lights, like a modern chandelier at the scale of the urban room.

“The urban room is at once a frame for the artwork, a stage for the performances, a screening room for the media collections and most perhaps most importantly, an open room for the urban life of Bordeaux to invade and engage with the arts. Giant windows overlooking the urban room offers views to the dance studio of OARA and on the opposite end, an inclined mirror reflects the lobby below. The visitors are almost participating in an installation, just by being there. In addition, large bleachers on either side of the building invites people to hang out and enjoy amazing views of the River Garonne and the city.” Jakob Sand, Partner, BIG.

During special occasions, MÉCA’s outdoor spaces can be transformed into a stage for concerts and theatrical spectacles or an extended gallery for sculptures and other art installations. A permanent bronze sculpture depicting a half-head of Hermes by French artist Benoît Maire intersects with the entrance on the riverside, inviting visitors to reflect on the contemporary culture of the region.

“Benoît’s Hermes head is placed right where the big public space cuts through the building, almost as if a giant block has been pushed through and half the head has been removed along with half of the building. The piece of the head that is missing is also the piece of the building that is missing. The missing pieces are maybe the most interesting parts for the building because this is where all the public events and activities can happen, and for the sculpture because that’s the part that is left open for people’s interpretation.” Bjarke Ingels.

Upon entering MÉCA from the ground floor, visitors arrive at the lobby where they can relax in the spiral pit or dine at the restaurant Le CREM, furnished with red furniture and cork chairs designed by BIG in reference to the city known for wine.

“The three regional entities composing the program are idiomatic to the French public way of supporting and promoting culture all over the territory. Working on the MÉCA building in Bordeaux is a great occasion to cross views and balance between international references and local issues.” Guillaume Aubry, Cyril Gauthier and Yves Pasquet, Founding Partners, FREAKS freearchitects.

A giant periscope by the restaurant and elevators allows visitors to see the activity in the outdoor urban room and vise-versa, creating an indoor-outdoor dialogue.

On the same ground floor, those with tickets can enjoy performances in OARA’s 250-seat theatre featuring flexible seating configurations and acoustic systems optimized by an all-black checkerboard panel of concrete, wood and perforated metal. Upstairs, filmgoers can view screenings at ALCA’s red-accented 80-seat cinema or visit the two production offices and project incubation area.

FRAC occupies the upper floors with 7m high exhibition spaces, production studios for artists, storage facilities, 90-seat auditorium and café.

The 850 m2 public roof terrace serves as a flexible extension to the exhibition spaces, allowing future large-scale art installations and performances to be placed outdoors amid views of the city and the Basilica of St. Michael.

MÉCA’s façade is composed almost entirely of 4,800 prefabricated concrete panels interspersed with windows of various sizes to control the amount of light entering inside and to create a sense of transparency. The concrete slabs, which weigh up to 1.6 tons, are sandblasted to expose its raw qualities and to texture the surface with the local sandstone of Bordeaux. Yellow granules for brightness and warmth radiate the building in the sun and integrates MÉCA as a familiar yet new vernacular sight to the city.

MÉCA is BIG’s second project unveiled in France this year, following the opening of Galeries Lafayette on the Champs-Élysées, and marks exactly 10 years since the studio exhibited Yes is More at the arc en rêve centre d’architecture. Learn more about MÉCA many other BIG projects at our FORMGIVING exhibition at the Danish Architecture Center in Copenhagen, on view until January 5, 2020:

MÉCA FACTS

Name: MÉCA – Maison de l’Économie Créative et de la Culture en Aquitaine

Type: Competition

Location: Bordeaux, FranceSize: 18,000 m2 / 193,750 ft2

Client: Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Collaborators: FREAKS freearchitects, Lafourcade-Rouquette Architectes, ALTO Ingénierie, Khephren Ingénierie, Hedont, dUCKS Scéno, Dr. Lüchinger+Meyer Bauingenieure, VPEAS, Ph.A Lumière, ABM Studio, Mryk & Moriceau, BIG Ideas

BIG – BJARKE INGELS GROUP

Partners-in-Charge: Bjarke Ingels, Jakob Sand, Finn Nørkjær, Andreas Klok Pedersen

Project Leaders: Laurent de Carnière, Marie Lancon, Gabrielle Nadeau

Team: Alexander Codda, Alicia Marie Sarah Borha­rdt, Annette Birthe Jensen, Åsmund Skeie, Aya Fibert, Bartosz Kobylakiewicz, Bernhard Touzet, Brigitta Gulyás, David Tao, Edouard Champelle, Espen Vik, Greta Krenciute, Greta Tafel, Hyojin Lee, Ivan Genov, Jan Magasanik, Jeffrey Mark Mikolajewski, Karol Bogdan Borkowski, Katarzyna Swiderska, Kekoa Charlot, Lorenzo Boddi, Maria Teresa Fernandez Rojo, Melissa Andres, Michael Schønemann Jensen, Nicolas Millot, Ola Hariri, Ole Dau Mortensen, Pascale Julien, Paul-Antoine Lucas, Raphael Ciriani, Santiago Palacio Villa, Se Hyeon Kim, Sebastian Liszka, Seunghan Yeum, Snorre Emanuel Nash Jørgensen, Teresa Fernández, Thiago De Almeida, Thomas Jakobsen Randbøll, Yang Du, Zoltan David Kalaszi, Tore Banke, Yehezkiel Wiliardy

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The new expansion and partial renovation of the Isenberg School of Management nearly doubles the school’s current space to accommodate Isenberg’s growth in the last decade, while introducing new facilities for more than 150 staff and 5,000 students in undergraduate, master’s and PhD programs. BIG and Goody Clancy were commissioned in 2015 to design a flexible space that inspires and facilitates collaboration for every Isenberg student.

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“As a top business school, we want to offer our students, faculty and staff an environment that inspires creativity, communication, innovation and collaboration—a physical space designed to train and prepare students for careers in the 21st century. The new Business Innovation Hub clearly reflects our mission and vision for the future.  Equally important, with flexible spaces and state-of-the-art tools and technologies, the Business Innovation Hub will continue to meet the rapidly evolving needs of the Isenberg community.” Tom Moliterno, Interim Dean, Isenberg School of Management.

Prominently situated on Haigis Mall near the entrance to the campus, a dramatic triangular glass entrance created by a domino-effect greets students. The building exterior is wrapped in straight, vertical pillars that gradually slope downward, creating a distinct appearance without any curved elements.

The Business Innovation Hub directly extends the school’s existing 1964 building from the north and east sides in a wide circular loop, linking back on the upper floors to maintain connectivity. The loop consolidates Isenberg’s faculty and staff under one roof, creating a singular place of arrival and a strong visual identity for the entire Isenberg School of Management.

“The new Business Innovation Hub at the Isenberg School of Management is conceived as an extension of both the building and the campus mall. The linear structure is bent to form a full loop framing an internal courtyard for the life of the students. The façade is pulled away in a domino effect to create a generous invitation from the Haigis Mall to the Learning Commons. The mall and the courtyard – inside and outside form a forum for the students, the faculty and the profession to meet, mingle and mix society and academia.” Bjarke Ingels, Founder & Creative Director, BIG.

The Business Innovation Hub’s exterior is clad in copper, so long-term exposure to the elements will naturally weather the metal from a dark ochre to an enduring patina. With longevity and sustainability in mind, the building also targets LEED Silver certification.

“There’s no other building at UMass Amherst that’s going to look remotely like this. Isenberg is trying to raise its profile among peer institutions. We have no doubt this will help Isenberg attract the best and brightest faculty and students.” Roger Goldstein, Principal, Goody Clancy.

Upon entering, students and faculty arrive at the 5,000SF Learning Commons. Daylight peers between the accordion-like pillars to illuminate the multi-story atrium, where the heart of the business school hums with students learning, networking and dining.

The bright and spacious Learning Commons doubles as an event venue for guest speakers, award ceremonies, banquets and career fairs. In any room or hallway, natural light reaches inside from both the campus and the inner courtyard.

Throughout the Business Innovation Hub, spaces are designed with student interactions, teamwork and chance encounters in mind: soft chairs adorn the corridors, benches are affixed to the grand stairway and classroom chairs can easily maneuver for theater-style lectures or small group work.

On the second and third floors, students and staff occupy the innovation labs, advising spaces and faculty offices. To support the career development of every Isenberg student, classrooms are equipped with integrated technology for distance learning. In addition, the Chase Career Center gains 15 new interview rooms, and various conference rooms and breakout areas are distributed throughout the loop.

The inner spaces of the extension face a circular courtyard, where an open-air garden and stone benches create an oasis for collaboration and contemplation. The courtyard connects back to the campus via two pathways between the original Isenberg building and the Business Innovation Hub. The buildings are fused by two bridges above the paths: the large bridge cloaked in copper becomes the gateway to the courtyard while the small bridge glazed with glass forms a visual continuity around the interior courtyard.

In the evening, the Business Innovation Hub glows from the life within—appearing as an inviting beacon on the campus and creating a lasting impression for campus visitors, staff and students.

FACTS

NAME: Isenberg School of Management Business Innovation Hub

SIZE: 70,000ft2 / 6,500m2
LOCATION: Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
CLIENT: University of Massachusetts Building Authority

DESIGN ARCHITECT: BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group

ARCHITECT OF RECORD: Goody Clancy
COLLABORATORS: Richmond So Engineers, Arup, BIG IDEAS, Nitsch, VAV, Towers Golde, Haley & Aldrich, Acentech, HLB, SGH, PEER, WIL-SPEC, VGA, Lerch Bates, LN Consulting, Mohar Designs

BIG – BJARKE INGELS GROUP

PARTNERS-IN-CHARGE: Bjarke Ingels, Thomas Christoffersen, Beat Schenk, Daniel Sundlin
PROJECT LEADERS: Yu Inamoto, Pauline Lavie-Luong, Hung Kai Liao
TEAM: Alice Cladet, Amina Blacksher, Barbara Stallone, Beat Schenk, Cheyenne Vandevoorde, Daniel Kidd, Davide Maggio, Deborah Campbell, Denys Kozak, Derek Wong, Domenic Schmid, Douglass Alligood, Elena Bresciani, Emily Mohr, Fabian Lorenz, Francesca Portesine, Ibrahim Salman, Jan Leenknegt, Justyna Mydlak, Kai-Uwe Bergmann, Kristoffer Negendahl, Ku Hun Chung, Linda Halim, Lucas Hong, Manon Otto, Maria Eugenia Dominguez, Mustafa Khan, Nicolas Gustin, Pei Pei Yang, Peter Lee, Seoyoung Shin, Simon Lee, Terrence Chew, Tianqi Zhang, Tore Banke, Yehezkiel Wiliardy, Yixin Li

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By 2050, 90% of the world’s largest cities will be exposed to rising seas. The vast majority of coastal cities will be impacted by coastal erosion and flooding, displacing millions of people, while destroying homes and infrastructure. Marc Collins Chen, Co-Founder and CEO of OCEANIX, said humans can live on floating cities in harmony with life below water. “It is not a question of one versus the other. The technology exists for us to live on water, without killing marine ecosystems. It is our goal to make sure sustainable floating cities are affordable and available to all coastal areas in need. They should not become a privilege of the rich.”

Designed as a man-made ecosystem, Oceanix City is anchored in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, channeling flows of energy, water, food and waste to create a blueprint for a modular maritime metropolis.

“9 out of 10 of the world’s largest cities will be exposed to rising seas by 2050. The sea is our fate – it may also be our future. The first sustainable and self-sustained floating community Oceanix City is designed as a human made ecosystem channeling circular flows of energy, water, food and waste. Oceanix City is a blueprint for a modular maritime metropolis anchored in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The additive architecture can grow, transform and adapt organically over time, evolving from a neighborhood of 300 residents to a city of 10,000 – with the possibility of scaling indefinitely to provide thriving nautical communities for people who care about each other and our planet.” Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner, BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group

Oceanix City is designed to grow, transform and adapt organically over time, evolving from neighborhoods to cities with the possibility of scaling indefinitely. Modular neighborhoods of 2 hectares create thriving self-sustaining communities of up to 300 residents with mixed-use space for living, working and gathering during day and night time. All built structures in the neighborhood are kept below 7 stories to create a low center of gravity and resist wind. Every building fans out to self-shade internal spaces and public realm, providing comfort and lower cooling costs while maximizing roof area for solar capture.

Communal farming is the heart of every platform, allowing residents to embrace sharing culture and zero waste systems. Below sea level, beneath the platforms, biorock floating reefs, seaweed, oysters, mussel, scallop and clam farming clean the water and accelerate ecosystem regeneration.

By clustering six neighborhoods around a protected central harbor, larger villages of 12 hectares can accommodate up to 1,650 residents. Social, recreational and commercial functions are placed around the sheltered inner ring to encourage citizens to gather and move around the village. Residents can easily walk or boat through the city using electric vehicles.

Aggregating to reach a critical density, six villages connect to form a city of 10,000 residents with a strong sense of community and identity. A larger protected harbor is formed in the heart of the city. Floating destinations and art, including six specialized landmark neighborhoods with a public square, market place and centers for spirituality, learning, health, sport and culture create destinations drawing residents from across the city and anchoring each neighborhood in a unique identity. All communities regardless of size will prioritize locally sourced materials for building construction, including fast-growing bamboo that has six times the tensile strength of steel, a negative carbon footprint, and can be grown on the neighborhoods themselves.

Floating cities can be prefabricated on shore and towed to their final site, reducing construction costs. Pairing this with the low cost of leasing space on the ocean creates an affordable model of living. These factors mean that affordable housing can be rapidly deployed to coastal megacities in dire need. The first Oceanix Cities are calibrated for the most vulnerable tropical and sub-tropical regions around the globe.

OCEANIX CITY FACTS

CLIENT: OCEANIX

SIZE: 75 hectares

COLLABORATORS: MIT Center for Ocean Engineering, Mobility in Chain, Sherwood Design Engineers, Center for Zero Waste Design, Transsolar KlimaEngineering, Global Coral Reef Alliance, Studio Other Spaces (Olafur Eliasson and Sebastian Behmann), Dickson Despommier

BIG–BJARKE INGELS GROUP

Partners-in-Charge: Bjarke Ingels, Daniel Sundlin
Project Leaders: Alana Goldweit, Jeremy Alain Siegel

Team: Andy Coward, Ashton Stare, Autumn Visconti, Bernardo Schuhmacher, Carlos Castillo, Cristina Medina-Gonzalez, Jacob Karasik, Kristoffer Negendahl, Mai Lee, Manon Otto, Terrence Chew, Thomas McMurtrie, Tore Banke, Tracy Sodder, Walid Bhatt, Will Campion, Yushan Huang, Tore Banke, Ziyu Guoh

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Named after its Dortheavej address in the northwestern part of Copenhagen, the 5-story building winds through the area characterized by car repair shops, storage and industrial buildings from the 1930s–50s. BIG was commissioned to design Dortheavej in 2013 by Danish non-profit affordable housing association Lejerbo, whose mission is drafted by Danish urban space designer Jan Gehl. BIG was asked to create much needed affordable housing and public space in the area, while keeping the pedestrian passageways open and the adjacent green yard untouched. Earlier this spring, BIG and Lejerbo were honored by the Danish Association of Architects with the Lille Arne Award for prioritizing the spatial qualities of the residences and the building strategy on a strict affordable housing budget.

“Our ambition was to create affordable apartments by the world’s leading architects. Together with BIG, we have succeeded in creating sustainable, safe and functional homes that see eye to eye with the people who live in them.“ Jan Hyttel, President, Lejerbo Copenhagen.

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“Affordable housing is an architectural challenge due to the necessary budget restrictions. We have attempted to mobilize modular construction with modest materials to create generous living spaces at the urban as well as the residential scale. The prefabricated elements are stacked in a way that allows every second module an extra meter of room height, making the kitchen-living areas unusually spacious. By gently adjusting the modules, the living areas open more towards the courtyard while curving the linear block away from the street to expand the sidewalk into a public square. Economical constraints often lead to scarcity—at Dortheavej, we have managed to create added value for the individual as well as the community.” Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner, BIG.

The characteristic checkered pattern of Dortheavej is based on a singular prefab structure. Conceived as a porous wall, the building gently curves in the center, creating space for a public plaza towards the street on the south side and an intimate green courtyard towards the north. On the street level, the building opens up to allow the residents and general public to pass seamlessly into the courtyard.

The characteristic checkered pattern of Dortheavej is based on a singular prefab structure. Conceived as a porous wall, the building gently curves in the center, creating space for a public plaza towards the street on the south side and an intimate green courtyard towards the north. On the street level, the building opens up to allow the residents and general public to pass seamlessly into the courtyard.

The housing modules repeat along the curve and are stacked to the height of the surrounding buildings. The stacking creates additional space for each apartment to have a small terrace, providing a setting for healthy, sustainable living. On the sunny south side, balconies retract and add depth to the façade while on the northern side, the facade is even. Long wooden planks cover the façade on all sides, highlighting the modules and alternating to accentuate the checkered pattern.

Large floor-to-ceiling windows in the apartments allow lots of daylight into the units and outside views to the green courtyard or the surrounding neighborhood. The size of the apartments ranges from 60-115m2 and the materials are all kept very simple with wood and concrete in light colors dominating inside and out.

Evening views of Dortheavej situated in one of the most multi-ethnical, low-income neighborhoods in Copenhagen, show the building as light and transparent. Residents can look out from their balconies and the surrounding community can see the activity inside.

The small square created by the building’s slight curve will be landscaped with cherry trees and spaces for bicycle parking—the preferred way of getting around the city.

The north facing façade looks towards an enclosed green courtyard which residents of Dortheavej and the neighboring buildings can use for recreational activities.

FACTS

CLIENT: Lejerbo

COLLABORATORS: MOE
LOCATION: Copenhagen, Denmark
SIZE: 6,800 m2

BUDGET: 9.8 million USD or approximately 1,539 USD/m2

64 million DKK or approximately 10.000 DKK/m2

BIG – BJARKE INGELS GROUP

Partners-in-Charge: Bjarke Ingels, Finn Nørkjær
Project Managers: Ole Elkjær-Larsen, Per Bo Madsen
Team: David Zahle, Alberte Danvig, Alejandro Mata Gonzales, Alina Tamosiunaite, Birgitte Villadsen, Cat Huang, Claudio Moretti, Dag Præstegaard, Daruisz Duong Vu Hong, Enea Michelesio, Esben Christoffersen, Ewelina Moszczynska, Frederik Lyng, Henrik Kania, Høgni Laksáfoss, Jakob Andreassen, Jonas Aarsø Larsen, Karl Aarso Larsen, Katerina Joannides, Krista Meskanen, Laura Wätte, Lucas Torres Aguero, Maciej Jakub Zawaszki, Maria Teresa Fernandez Rojo, Michael Schønemann Jensen, Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard, Nigel Jooren, Rasmus Pedersen, Robinson Neuville, Sergiu Calacean, Taylor McNally-Anderson, Terrence Chew, Tobias Hjortdal, Tobias Vallø Sørensen

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