BIG. Formgiving.

An
Architectural Future
History
 By
Taschen
Taschen GmbH
Formgiving. An Architectural Future History, the new book by BIG
(Bjarke Ingels Group), is a visionary attempt to look at the horizon
of time. The Danish word for "design" is "formgivning," which
literally means to give form to that which has not yet taken shape. In
other words, to give form to the future. 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. Architecture plays a special role by proposing spaces for our
lives that are fragments of the future in the making. William
Gibson's words embody architecture's role perfectly: "The future is
already here-it's just not evenly distributed."

With Formgiving, BIG presents the third part of its TASCHEN

trilogy, which began with Yes is More, one of the most successful
architectural books of its generation, and continued with Hot to
Cold. An Odyssey of Architectural Adaptation. The book is
presented in a timeline, stretching from the Big Bang into the most
distant future. Projects are structured around six strands of
evolution-"Making," "Sensing," "Sustaining," "Thinking,"
"Healing," and "Moving"-the multimedia-based, 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.

Bjarke Ingels: "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."Formgiving is also a companion volume
to the exhibition of the same name, which was conceived at the
Danish Architecture Center in Copenhagen and will travel to other
venues worldwide. More than 65 projects document BIG's global
work through the eyes of their users, from the drawing board to
global construction sites and finished projects. Throughout the book
are insights into developments that reach five, ten, or fifty years into
the future, and evidence of BIG's intransigence to reach beyond the
ordinary, and beyond worlds, to contribute to the future with each
project. Each step not only reveals a world that resembles our
dreams but also already tries to realize these dreams pragmatically.
We have the power to create the world of tomorrow!The book
features:

previously unpublished essays by Bjarke Ingels,

award-winning photography by Laurian Ghinitoiu, Iwan Baan, and

Rasmus Hjortshoj, among others,
planetary proposals for habitats on the Moon and research centers
on Mars,

20 LEGO master-builder models of BIG's work,

a glimpse of Masterplanet-BIG's ongoing work on a collective,

crowdsourced masterplan guide for sustaining our planet.

Taschen GmbH

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