Bjarke Ingels

APARTMENTS
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
Architects: Bjarke Ingels Group, JDS
Area : 25000 m²
Year : 2005
Contractor : Hopfner A/S

Bjarke and BIG have been contrib-

uting to the built environment with a
socially, economically and ecologically
sustainable approach to architecture
and urbanism under the philosophy of
Hedonistic Sustainability

Bjarke Bundgaard Ingels is a Danish architect, founder and creative partner of Bjarke Ingels
Group. In Denmark, Ingels became well known after designing two housing complexes in
VM Houses
Ørestad: VM Houses and Mountain Dwellings. Wikipedia
Born: 2 October 1974 (age 48 years), Copenhagen, Denmark
Partner: Ruth Otero
Children: Darwin Otero Ingels
Awards: European Prize for Architecture, Nykredit Architecture Prize
Parents: Elisabet Ingels, Knud Bundgaard Jensen
Education: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · Barcelona Tech - UPC (1999), Royal Danish
Academy of Fine Arts
The VM Houses are two residential blocks formed as the letters V and M. The blocks are
formed as such to allow for daylight, privacy and views. The vis-à-vis with the neighbour is
eliminated by pushing the slab in its centre, ensuring diagonal views to the vast and open,
surrounding fields. All apartments have a double-height space to the north and wide pan-
oramic views to the south. The logic of the diagonal slab utilized in the V house is broken
down in smaller portions for the M house. In this project, the typology of the Unite d' Hab-
itation of Le Corbusier is reinterpreted and improved; the central corridors are short and
receive light from both ends, like bullet holes penetrating the building. The VM Houses offer
more than 80 different apartment types that are programmatically flexible and open to the
individual needs of contemporary life - a mosaic of different life forms.

Inspired by Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation concept, two residential blocks, with

footprints in the shape of the letters V and M, have been designed with an em-
phasis on daylight, privacy and views. Rather than looking over the neighbour-
ing building, all the apartments have diagonal views of the surrounding landscape.
Corridors are short, rather like bullet holes through the building. There are some
80 different types of apartment in the complex, adaptable to individual needs

Marc Newson approaches design as an
experimental exercise in structure and
advanced technology, combined with a
tactile and exacting exploration of materials,
processes, and skills. As an industrial design-
er—the only one represented by Gagosian—his
reach is broad and diverse, incorporating
watches, footwear, luggage, and aircraft
interiors. Since the outset of his career, he
has also produced limited-edition furniture,
including the iconic Lockheed Lounge (1988).
As distinctions between art and design be-
come increasingly blurred, Newson remains a
trailblazer, having pursued parallel activities
in exclusive and mass production for more
than thirty years.
Marc
Newson
Born: 20 October 1963 (age 59 years), Syd-
ney, Australia
Spouse: Charlotte Stockdale (m. 2008)
Awards: Royal Designers for Industry
Parents: Carol Newson, Paul Newson
Education: Sydney College of the Arts (1984)
Books: Marc Newson, Design at the Reyka-
vik Art Museum Iceland March - May 1999,
Marc Newson: Pop on Pop Off.
 Embryo
Chair
DESIGN DATE: 1988
DESIGNER: Marc Newson (b. 1963, Australian)
MANUFACTURER: Idée, Tokyo, Japan
MEDIA: steel, aluminum, polyurethane foam and neoprene
upholstery
DIMENSIONS: 30 3/8 x 25 1/4 x 33 1/2 inches

Marc Newson’s narrow-waisted Embryo Chair is an example of the

designer’s minimalist, biomorphic aesthetic. The chair’s name and
undulating organic design both suggest inspiration from microbiolo-
gy. Though designing in the Postmodern era, Newson was inspired by
simpler designs from the 1950s and 1960s, which he modernized with
the use of new materials, like this chair’s neoprene covering—a fabric
also used in wetsuits. The use of neoprene pays homage to the surfer
culture in which the Australian Newson grew up. A theme in Newson’s
work is the juxtaposition of round organic shapes like the Embryo
Chair’s biological inspiration, and industrial materials such as the
metallic legs. Newson’s brand of futuristic design is meant to be bright
and friendly. He said, “Today the future doesn’t seem to be represented
in such an optimistic way. The most exciting things visually in cinema have
been films like Alien and Bladerunner, which take a much darker view of
the future.” His use of new fabrics “suggested such things can be done.
For me it represented something very optimistic, it showed the future.”