Bjarke Ingels
“Plan for Planet”
Wednesday, January 31, 5:00p.m. est
EMPAC Concert Hall
Sponsor: Kenneth L. Warriner Memorial Lecture
Bjarke Ingels founded BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group in 2005 after co-founding PLOT Architects in 2001 and working at OMA in Rotterdam. Bjarke defines architecture as the art and science of making sure our cities and buildings fit with the way we want to live our lives. Through careful analysis of local culture and climate, the ever-changing patterns of contemporary life, and the ebbs and flows of the global economy, Bjarke believes in the idea of information-driven design as the driving force for his creative process. Named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time Magazine in 2016, Bjarke has designed and completed award-winning buildings globally.
Bjarke was appointed Knight of the French Order des Arts et des Lettres and the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Dannebrog in 2019 and 2018, respectively. In 2021, he was selected as an ambassador of the EU’s New European Bauhaus. He was named an Honorary Fellow by the AIA in 2020, the RIBA in 2015 and the RAIC in 2014. The Wall Street Journal recognized Bjarke as Innovator of the Year in 2011, the same year he received the Danish Crown Prince’s Culture Prize. Bjarke was also awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2004 and the ULI Award for Excellence in 2009. Alongside his architectural practice, Bjarke has taught at Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University and Rice University and is an honorary professor at the Royal Academy of Arts, School of Architecture in Copenhagen. He is a frequent public speaker and continues to hold lectures in venues such as TED, WIRED, AMCHAM, 10 Downing Street, the World Economic Forum and many more.
BIG’s latest transformation is the BIG LEAP: Bjarke Ingels Group of Landscape, Engineering, Architecture, Planning and Products. A plethora of in-house perspectives allows BIG to see what none of us would be able to see on our own. The sum of BIG’s individual talents becomes our collective creative genius. A small step for each of us becomes a BIG LEAP for all of us.