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[T]his... relationship between the pragmatic and the utopian, or... th — Bjarke Ingels

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"[T]his... relationship between the pragmatic and the utopian, or... the utilitarian and the . One such example... This is where the Granville bridge touches downtown Vancouver. We got invited to look at turning it into a mostly residential and also educational development. So we just started mapping the constraints. There are setbacks from the streets... from the bridges. The city has a rule that you cannot build residences closer than 30 meters, or a hundred feet to the traffic on the bridge. Theres a park where were not supposed to cast any shadows, and finally we were left with this tiny triangular footprint, almost too small to build. So... we started thinking... If the purpose of the 100 ft setback is a minimum distance, once we get a hundred feet up in the air we can grow the building back, so... the triangular footprint... turns into a rectangle. ...[W]hen you drive over Granville bridge its... as if someone is pulling a curtain aside, welcoming you to Vancouver."
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Bjarke Ingels
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Bjarke Ingels
Bjarke Ingels
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Bjarke Bundgaard Ingels is a Danish architect, founder and creative partner of Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG).

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"He came to us because he wanted to move his restaurant... to... Christiania, this kind of hippie commune in Copenhagen. Its part of the old fortification... a historical landmark... The hippies invaded in 1969 and never left. You can buy mild drugs openly... The main part of the building is an old... mine storage. ...We thought the city was going to give us a medal for trying to make it nice, but the city had this attitude that as long as it was only deteriorating organically, everything was fine... [A]s soon as we started trying to repair it, everything was incredibly restricted."
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Bjarke Ingels
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"We designed and built MÉCA, la Maison de léconomie créative de Aquitaine. Its a... regional art foundation, and a library and...performance center... on the waterfront of in ... next to the first bridge designed and built by . ...As you walk along the Garonne river the museum lifts you up, allow you to pass through and continue your journey... The theater and the library become the pillars that carry the art museum. ...It creates this urban room ...shaded from the Bordeaux sun... gently lifts the public up through the building and out. It creates... effortless seating in the shade of the building overlooking the river. ...[J]ust by opening the facade a tiny bit ...all the programs that need daylight are visible from the outside. ...All the finishes ...almost like Le Corbusien ...raw and simple material. ...[Y]ou enter ...a little storytelling pit ...Its really like a warehouse for the arts. ...As you ascend up, the theater with the skylit stage, so for rehearsals they have daylight, and finally the art space on the roof and the beautiful view of the city. ...[A]lmost like an extension of the industrial neighborhood behind, bringing the city and its life all the way down to waterfront."
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Bjarke Ingels