Formgiving - An Architectural Future History is rooted in the Danish word for design, “formgivning” which literally means to give form to that which has not yet taken shape. In other words, to give form to the future.
This interesting book takes readers on a chronological journey across time and space through a collection of exclusive essays, a selection of BIG's projects from the last decade, planetary proposals, and a glimpse of Masterplanet.
The projects presented in the book are structured around six strands of evolution (Making/ Sensing/ Sustaining/ Thinking/ Healing/ Moving), interdisciplinary concepts encompassing the building industry. Culture, climate, and landscape, as well as all the energies derived from the elements—the thermal mass of the ocean, the dynamics of currents, the energy and warmth of the sun, the power of the wind—are incorporated into these projects.
Throughout more than 700 pages, Bjarke Ingels presents his personal selection of projects, including the 12,000-square-meter LEGO House in Denmark, the human-made ecosystems floating on oceans, the redesign of a World War II bunker into a contemplative museum, and the ski slope-infused power plant celebrating Copenhagen’s commitment to carbon neutrality.
Through architecture and design, BIG gives shape to a sustainable and simultaneously colorful world. Each step not only reveals a world that resembles our dreams but also already tries to realize these dreams pragmatically.
For the author, using our power to give form, rather than allowing the future to take shape, is more important now than ever, as humankind’s impact on the planet continues to increase and pose ever greater challenges to all life forms.
This interesting book takes readers on a chronological journey across time and space through a collection of exclusive essays, a selection of BIG's projects from the last decade, planetary proposals, and a glimpse of Masterplanet.
The projects presented in the book are structured around six strands of evolution (Making/ Sensing/ Sustaining/ Thinking/ Healing/ Moving), interdisciplinary concepts encompassing the building industry. Culture, climate, and landscape, as well as all the energies derived from the elements—the thermal mass of the ocean, the dynamics of currents, the energy and warmth of the sun, the power of the wind—are incorporated into these projects.
Throughout more than 700 pages, Bjarke Ingels presents his personal selection of projects, including the 12,000-square-meter LEGO House in Denmark, the human-made ecosystems floating on oceans, the redesign of a World War II bunker into a contemplative museum, and the ski slope-infused power plant celebrating Copenhagen’s commitment to carbon neutrality.
Through architecture and design, BIG gives shape to a sustainable and simultaneously colorful world. Each step not only reveals a world that resembles our dreams but also already tries to realize these dreams pragmatically.
For the author, using our power to give form, rather than allowing the future to take shape, is more important now than ever, as humankind’s impact on the planet continues to increase and pose ever greater challenges to all life forms.
“To feel that we have license to imagine a future different from today, all we have to do is look back ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years, to realize how radically different things were then than they are today. The same will be true if we can look ahead with the same clarity of vision.
As we tackle the complexities of everyday life, these six evolutionary trajectories allow us to place a firm gaze on the horizon of time to prevent us from being derailed by the random distractions of today. Since we know from our past that our future is bound to be different from our present, rather than waiting for it to take shape on its own, we have the power to give it form.”
As we tackle the complexities of everyday life, these six evolutionary trajectories allow us to place a firm gaze on the horizon of time to prevent us from being derailed by the random distractions of today. Since we know from our past that our future is bound to be different from our present, rather than waiting for it to take shape on its own, we have the power to give it form.”
Bjarke Ingels
The special role that architecture plays in proposing spaces for our lives, which are fragments of the future under construction, is crucial. That is why Bjarke Ingels proposes the six evolutionary trajectories to become a map to project the future and which are in turn the common thread of this book.
