Bjarke Ingels Group
A Danish architecture and design practice known for combining pragmatic planning with ambitious, visually distinctive buildings and urban environments.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Bjarke Ingels Group, widely known as BIG, is an international architecture and design practice founded by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels. The firm works across architecture, urban planning, landscape design, product design, research, and cultural projects. Its work ranges from housing, offices, schools, museums, public spaces, and hospitality developments to infrastructure, industrial buildings, cultural venues, masterplans, and speculative proposals. The practice developed out of PLOT, an architecture office established in Copenhagen by Bjarke Ingels and Julien De Smedt in January 2001. PLOT closed in the middle of the decade, and Ingels subsequently established BIG in late 2006; the firm is commonly described as having been founded in 2005. BIG's early international recognition came from projects such as VM Houses and Mountain Dwellings in Copenhagen, the latter combining terraced housing with a large parking structure. These projects helped establish a design approach that translated practical constraints—density, circulation, climate, infrastructure, and public access—into highly visible architectural forms. BIG became especially associated with what Ingels has described as a pragmatic form of utopianism: designs that seek ambitious social or environmental outcomes without abandoning commercial, technical, or functional realities. The firm's buildings frequently use folded, sloped, stacked, or courtyard-based geometries to combine multiple uses. Examples include 8 House in Copenhagen, a mixed-use residential development organized around a continuous circulation route; VIA 57 West in Manhattan, a hybrid between a European perimeter block and a New York tower; and Amager Bakke, a Copenhagen waste-to-energy plant whose roof incorporates a public ski slope and recreational landscape. The practice expanded internationally during the 2010s. It opened a New York office in 2010 and later established or expanded operations in London, Barcelona, Shanghai, Los Angeles, Zurich, Oslo, and Bhutan, in addition to Copenhagen and New York. As of 2023, the firm employed more than 700 people according to the cited reference material. Its portfolio includes work across Europe, North America, Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East, with clients ranging from public authorities and universities to technology companies, cultural institutions, property developers, manufacturers, and consumer brands. BIG's collaborations have included LEGO House in Billund, Google campuses in California and London, the headquarters of Shenzhen Energy, the Plus furniture factory in Norway, and the CapitaSpring mixed-use tower in Singapore. The firm has also designed museums and cultural institutions including the Danish Maritime Museum, Tirpitz Museum, Kistefos Museum's The Twist, FLUGT—Refugee Museum of Denmark, and the planned Vltava Philharmonic Hall in Prague. Its work often incorporates environmental strategies such as passive shading, green roofs, public landscapes, adaptive reuse, compact urban form, and integration of renewable or low-carbon technologies, although the environmental performance of individual projects depends on their construction and operation. Alongside built work, BIG has used exhibitions, books, lectures, visual communications, and research to explain its design methods. Yes Is More presented the firm's architectural development through a graphic, comic-like format, while Hot to Cold examined how buildings adapt to different climatic contexts. Formgiving broadened the firm's discussion toward the ways natural and built environments are shaped over time. BIG remains an active, partner-led international practice, with a project portfolio that includes completed buildings, projects under construction, competition proposals, masterplans, and long-term urban developments.
History
BIG's origins lie in PLOT, the Copenhagen practice established by Bjarke Ingels and Julien De Smedt in January 2001. PLOT pursued experimental architecture that combined strong formal ideas with practical urban and social objectives. Its projects included early Copenhagen work such as the Harbour Bath, Maritime Youth House, Psychiatric Hospital, and VM Houses. After PLOT closed, Ingels established Bjarke Ingels Group in late 2006. The firm is also commonly dated to 2005 in profiles and reference material. BIG's first major completed commission was Mountain Dwellings in Copenhagen, begun during the PLOT period. The project placed housing on a sloping, inhabited structure above parking, turning a conventional infrastructure requirement into a terraced residential landscape. This approach became characteristic of BIG: rather than treating constraints as obstacles, the firm often makes them the organizing idea of the project. 8 House continued this interest in mixed-use urban form, using a large looped route to connect homes, offices, retail, and shared space. In 2009, BIG published and exhibited Yes Is More, a graphic account of architectural evolution and the firm's own projects. The same period saw an expansion of the partnership to include Thomas Christoffersen, Jakob Lange, Finn Nørkjaer, Andreas Klok Pedersen, David Zahle, Sheela Maini Søgaard, and Kai-Uwe Bergmann. The publication and exhibition helped make BIG's method accessible beyond the profession and reinforced its public identity as a young, media-aware practice. The opening of the New York office in 2010 marked a major international step. The office secured VIA 57 West, a Manhattan mixed-use building that combines the courtyard logic of a European block with the height and density of a New York tower. BIG subsequently developed projects in North America, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Its portfolio expanded from housing and public buildings to corporate campuses, factories, museums, hospitality, infrastructure, and large-scale urban plans. During the 2010s, BIG completed or advanced several projects that broadened its reputation. Superkilen in Copenhagen used public art, landscape, and objects associated with the neighborhood's diverse communities to create a new urban park. The Danish Maritime Museum was inserted into a former dry dock in Helsingør. LEGO House in Billund transformed the visual language of LEGO bricks into an experience center for play and learning. Amager Bakke, also known as CopenHill, combined a waste-to-energy facility with a publicly accessible recreational roof. The firm also designed the 2016 Serpentine Summer Pavilion and the Kistefos Museum's The Twist. BIG's design research continued through exhibitions and books. Hot to Cold examined adaptation to climatic context, while Formgiving considered how natural and built environments are shaped across time. The practice also worked across smaller-scale and non-building formats, including furniture, product concepts, pavilions, exhibitions, and installations. The firm experienced further growth in the late 2010s and early 2020s. It worked with Google and Heatherwick Studio on the Bay View campus in Mountain View, designed the Plus furniture factory for Vestre in Norway, and developed major buildings such as CapitaSpring in Singapore and Google campuses in California and London. In 2018, BIG was selected for a replacement National Theatre of Albania in Tirana. The proposal became controversial because of the historic value of the existing theater. Protests intensified in 2019, and the old building was demolished on 17 May 2020, making the project one of the most contested episodes associated with the practice. BIG continued to add partners and offices. Seven partners were added in 2021, and the firm opened a London office. Barcelona followed in 2022, while Los Angeles and Oslo offices opened in 2023. In 2023, BIG also moved into a new purpose-built headquarters in Copenhagen's Nordhavn district. The Spiral, the firm's first supertall, was completed in Manhattan in 2023. Other recent work includes The Plus in Norway, FLUGT—Refugee Museum of Denmark, IQON in Quito, CapitaSpring, Google Bay View, Wildflower Studios, and One High Line. The practice remains active on projects ranging from public buildings and cultural institutions to climate resilience, commercial development, infrastructure, and new urban districts.
- 2023
The Spiral completes and BIG opens Los Angeles and Oslo offices
[1]The firm's first supertall, The Spiral, is completed in New York, while BIG expands its office network and opens a new Copenhagen headquarters.
- 2022
Barcelona office opens and major projects complete
[1]BIG expands to Barcelona and sees completion of projects including CapitaSpring, IQON, and FLUGT.
- 2021
BIG expands its partnership and opens in London
[1]Seven new partners are added and BIG opens a London office.
- 2020
National Theatre of Albania is demolished
[1]The former National Theatre in Tirana is demolished amid heritage protests over its replacement project.
- 2019
The Plus and Amager Bakke are completed
[1]BIG completes the Vestre furniture factory The Plus in Norway and Copenhagen's Amager Bakke waste-to-energy and recreation project.
- 2018
Formgiving exhibition launches
[1]BIG presents Formgiving, an exhibition exploring how the built and natural environment takes shape.
- 2017
LEGO House opens
[1]BIG's LEGO House experience center opens in Billund, Denmark.
- 2016
BIG begins Google Bay View collaboration
[1]BIG works with Google and Heatherwick Studio on a new headquarters campus in Mountain View.
- 2010
New York office opens
[1]BIG opens its New York office and begins work on VIA 57 West.
- 2009
Yes Is More is published and exhibited
[1]BIG releases its first major book and exhibition, presenting its architectural evolution in a graphic format.
Products and positioning
An internationally recognized, design-led architecture practice positioned around inventive, pragmatic, and environmentally conscious solutions to complex urban and building problems.
Residential architecture · 2008
Mountain Dwellings
A Copenhagen residential project that stacks terraced homes above a large parking structure. Its sloped form turns parking infrastructure into a planted residential landscape and became one of BIG's early internationally recognized works.
Mixed-use architecture · 2010
8 House
A large mixed-use development in Copenhagen organized around an extensive looped route. The circulation system links residences, workplaces, retail, and communal spaces while creating a recognizable urban block with varied elevations.
Landscape and public realm · 2012
Superkilen
A public park in Copenhagen's Nørrebro district developed with landscape and art collaborators. Its zones, colors, furniture, and objects reference the diverse backgrounds of local residents and create a highly programmed civic landscape.
Residential and mixed-use architecture · 2016
VIA 57 West
A Manhattan residential tower often described as a courtscraper. It combines the enclosed courtyard of a European perimeter block with the verticality required by New York's dense urban context, producing a distinctive pyramidal profile.
Cultural and visitor attraction · 2017
LEGO House
An experience center in Billund built around the spatial and visual logic of interlocking LEGO bricks. The project combines exhibition, play, learning, and public gathering spaces in a stacked composition of bright, brick-like volumes.
Infrastructure and public recreation · 2019
Amager Bakke
A Copenhagen waste-to-energy facility whose sloping roof is designed as a public recreational landscape, including a ski slope. The project presents industrial infrastructure as an accessible civic destination.
Industrial architecture · 2019
The Plus
A furniture factory for Norwegian manufacturer Vestre, located in a forested setting at Magnor. The design organizes production around a cross-shaped plan and integrates landscape, visitor circulation, and workplace visibility.
Museum architecture · 2019
The Twist
A gallery and bridge structure at Kistefos Museum in Norway. The building twists across a river, functioning simultaneously as a circulation link, exhibition space, and sculptural intervention in the museum's landscape.
Mixed-use high-rise · 2022
CapitaSpring
A high-rise development in Singapore designed for CapitaLand. The tower combines offices, residences, hospitality, and elevated planted spaces, using a vertical garden concept to introduce greenery into a dense commercial district.
Museum and cultural architecture · 2022
FLUGT – Refugee Museum of Denmark
A museum in Oksbøl, Denmark, created on the site of a former World War II refugee camp. The institution focuses on refugee experiences and uses the historic site as part of its interpretation.
Corporate campus · 2022
Google Bay View
A Google campus in Mountain View designed by BIG with Heatherwick Studio. Its large canopy system, flexible interior organization, and integrated landscape support Google's workplace and environmental objectives.
Office high-rise · 2023
The Spiral
BIG's first supertall building, completed in Manhattan. The office tower is defined by a continuous series of landscaped terraces that wrap around the rising form, linking interior workplaces with outdoor space.
Controversies
2020
Demolition of Albania's National Theatre
The historic theater was demolished on 17 May 2020 amid continuing opposition. Authorities detained some protesters, and the episode remained a major heritage and governance controversy connected with the replacement project.
2019
Controversy over the proposed National Theatre of Albania
BIG's proposal to replace Tirana's aging National Theatre became controversial because preservationists considered the existing building historically significant. Protests continued after the selection of the replacement design.
Marketing campaigns
- 2018Formgiving
Denmark · International
An exhibition exploring how environments are formed by natural processes, human decisions, technology, and architecture.
Outcome. Extended BIG's public design narrative beyond individual buildings into broader questions of environmental formation.
- 2013Hot to Cold
United States · Denmark
An exhibition and publication examining how architecture changes in response to climatic and geographic conditions.
Outcome. Reinforced BIG's association with climate-responsive and research-oriented design.
- 2009Yes Is More
Denmark · France
A book and exhibition presenting BIG's projects and design evolution through a comic-inspired visual narrative. It functioned as both architectural communication and a public-facing statement of the firm's optimistic, iterative approach.
Outcome. Expanded public awareness of BIG's design philosophy and international profile.
Brand decisions
2021
Accelerate international office expansionStrategyBackground
BIG's project activity had become geographically broad, requiring a larger network of regional offices and partners.
Action taken
The firm added seven partners and opened a London office, followed by expansion to Barcelona, Los Angeles, and Oslo.
Aftermath
BIG increased its capacity to pursue and manage projects across multiple global markets.
2018
Accept the National Theatre of Albania commissionOtherBackground
Albania sought a replacement for a theater building viewed by authorities as inadequate for contemporary performance needs, while preservationists argued for retaining the historic structure.
Action taken
BIG was selected to design a replacement National Theatre in Tirana.
Aftermath
The commission became associated with sustained heritage protests and the eventual demolition of the old theater in 2020.
2016
Pursue technology-campus and advanced-mobility collaborationsStrategyBackground
BIG expanded beyond conventional building commissions into technology, transportation, and large corporate developments.
Action taken
The practice collaborated with Hyperloop One, Deutsche Bahn, and SYSTRA on a Hyperloop test concept and began work with Google and Heatherwick Studio on a California headquarters campus.
Aftermath
The collaborations strengthened BIG's profile in technology-oriented architecture and large-scale workplace design.
2010
Open a New York officeStrategyBackground
The firm sought a stronger presence in the North American market after receiving work in New York.
Action taken
BIG opened a New York office and developed VIA 57 West for Durst Fetner Residential.
Aftermath
New York became one of the firm's principal international bases and a platform for further North American work.
2006
Establish an independent international practiceStrategyBackground
Following the closure of PLOT, Bjarke Ingels sought to continue developing an architecture practice centered on experimental but buildable projects.
Action taken
Ingels established Bjarke Ingels Group, which later expanded from Copenhagen into a multi-office international practice.
Aftermath
BIG developed a broad portfolio across architecture, planning, landscape, product design, and cultural work.
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