BIG is getting even bigger.
The firm’s ever expanding project load – since just last fall, 6 projects have been completed with 7 more under construction – has prompted some major changes and expansions, including the establishment of an in-house engineering department in March and the continued development of the think tank research group, BIG IDEAS.
In this profile for Building Design in Construction Network, BIG Managing Partner and Head of Global Business Development Kai-Uwe Bergmann discusses the upcoming move of the firm’s New York office into their new 52,000-square-foot offices in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Dumbo – a space more than double their current location in lower Manhattan – and the shifting role of the practice’s founder and charismatic front man, Bjarke Ingels.
Highlights from the article include Ingels’ worry about his public identity –
"But Ingels is also aware of the hazards of publicity: in a recent freewheeling profile in Rolling Stone magazine, he expressed concern that a segment about BIG on “60 Minutes” made him look like a ‘salesman.’”
– and Bergmann’s opinion of Ingels’ role in the office:
"Despite his indefatigable pace and commitments, Ingels remains involved in every project, and Bergmann portrays him as ‘the conductor of a symphony.’"
Read the full profile and get caught up on their projects’ recent progress here.
The Business of Design Success: How did BIG Get So... Big?
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.
Jakob Lange on Founding BIG Ideas and the Diverse Future of Architectural Practice
In an age when companies of all types are seeking diverse and creative ways to achieve their goals, the traditional model of architectural practice appears to be increasingly old-fashioned.
