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Squint/Opera: The Latest Architecture and News

Visions of the Future of Architectural Storytelling: In Conversation with BIG and Squint/Opera

Architectural presentations to clients typically include renders, diagrams, and drawings. Interpreting these and envisioning the final product requires imagination and architectural insight to fill in the gaps and visualize a final product. BIG and Squint/Opera, a partnership between an architectural powerhouse and a creative digital studio, explore innovative methods to convey spatial and architectural design beyond traditional means. They reimagine architectural storytelling beyond static 2D visuals through cutting-edge video production and immersive technology, enabling clients and the general public to fully experience their futuristic visions of city planning and architectural design. Their notable collaborations include the video production for the Toyota Woven City Project and the creation of the VR collaborative design tool HyperForm.

In a conversation with ArchDaily, Daniel Sundlin, partner at BIG, and Matt Quinn, Commercial Director at Squint/Opera, discuss their insights on the future of architectural digital storytelling.

BIG Selected as a Finalist for New United States Navy Museum Design

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) was selected as one of the finalists in the Naval Heritage History and Command’s (NHHC) competition for the design of the new National Museum of the U.S. Navy. The competition’s aim is to create a publicly accessible modern museum for Naval veterans and the public, a memorial to the U.S. Navy’s heritage, and a center for education and cultural events. The other finalists are DLR Group, Frank Gehry Partners, Quinn Evans, and Perkins&Will.

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UNStudio Wins Competition to Design the Chungnam Art Museum in South Korea

UNStudio and South Korean design firm DA Group have been selected to design the Chungnam Art Museum in Naepo, South Korea. The proposal will provide an immersive cultural experience, with a strong focus on the interaction between art and the public. In addition to creating an assemblage of technology and art, the project will serve as a social anchor for the local community, a space defined by notions of flexibility and “art for all”.

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UNStudio and BIG Invest in Virtual Design Platform SpaceForm

UNStudio and Bjarke Ingels Group have partnered up with Squint/Opera to develop SpaceForm, a virtual, cloud-based platform that facilitates design, review and collaboration processes for architects and developers. The new virtual workspace explicitly developed for the architecture and construction industry aims to fill a gap by creating a viable and sustainable way of collaborating and designing remotely across global teams, thus reducing the need for travel.

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Watch Bjarke Ingels Take You on a 360 Degree Virtual Tour of BIG's VIA 57 West

Want to know how BIG's VIA 57 West was designed? Let Bjarke Ingels explain it you himself in this new 360 degree video from creative production house Squint/Opera.

Shot in incredible 4K video, the video uses motion graphics and CGI overlays to take you through the building's construction while Ingels provides commentary on the design of the"courtscraper," winner of the 2016 International Highrise Award.

And for the full immersive experience, the video can be viewed through a VR headset using the youtube app on your smartphone.

Bringing Design to a Broad Audience: The 7th New York Architecture and Design Film Festival

October has become a busy month in the design world. If you’re living in the United States, New York specifically, it means Archtober: a portmanteau that means the city is flooded with architecture activities, programs and exhibitions, piled onto an already rich design calendar. One of these events is the New York Architecture & Design Film Festival, which started on Tuesday night and runs through Sunday October 18th, and will screen 30 films from around the world in 15 curated, themed programs.

This week, I was able to visit the festival to absorb the atmosphere and speak to the festival's director Kyle Bergman, to learn the ins and outs of this year’s festival, how things got started, and where it will go in the future.

Videos: Bjarke Ingels on His Europa City Project for Paris

In 2013, Bjarke Ingels Group came first in Paris' Europa City competition, an 800,000 square meter cultural and recreational facility on the far North-Eastern outskirts of the city. In an attempt to explain the design of this huge project, filmmakers Squint/Opera have enlisted the help of Bjarke Ingels and a green screen to describe the project - Minority Report style - with a combination of live action and futuristic video effects. In a second video, a detailed walkthrough of the building enlists both 2D and 3D graphics "to capture the excitement and energy of this unique centre." Read on after the break for both videos.