Bjarke Ingels credits BIG’s enormous success to the creative team he has built around him, and the studio now has partners spread across the world. Each brings something markedly different to the table, as Kim Megson and Magali Robathan find out
US born Yang studied at The Harvard Graduate School of Design, where he applied to BIG for an internship and then coincidentally found out that Bjarke Ingels was one of the examiners for his final review. “It turned very quickly into a de facto job interview,” says Yang. “I guess it went well because that summer I ended up at BIG.”
Yang has been with BIG since 2007, and has worked on a wide range of projects including the Lego House, the Amager Resource Center, Tirpitz Museum and the Shenzhen Energy Mansion.
Yang particularly enjoys what he describes as the conscious naivete of BIG’s approach to architecture, as well as the socially level atmosphere at the practice. “Day to day, there’s no real hierarchy in the office,” he says. “There is for decision making, because you need that, but it doesn’t influence who speaks in a design meeting. You can be an intern on your first day and be expected to contribute to the design conversation. That’s something driven strongly by Bjarke.”
Yang was project leader for the competition phase of the Amager Resource Center, and remembers the idea of putting a ski slope on the roof of the building as being born from “the sheer anxiety of having to submit something brilliant in a very short timescale.
“We didn’t have a scheme until about two weeks before the submission date,” he says. “We sat down with the team to discuss what the hell we were going to do. Someone mentioned the fact that Denmark is flat and that Danes drive three hours to Sweden to ski there, and Bjarke said, ‘We have to do a ski slope on top of the factory’. I remember that moment – all of a sudden the energy in the room turned.”
Brian Yang married fellow BIG employee Cat Huang in Texas in 2013.
Bjarke Ingels on Brian Yang “He’s a Swiss Army knife of an architect. He really has the ability to command the room and he has such a professional attitude to architecture.”
Amager Resource Center Copenhagen, Denmark OPENING DATE: 2018 The BIG-designed Amager Resource Center is a combined waste-to-energy plant and ski centre located in an industrial area of Copenhagen that’s being transformed into an extreme sports destination. The 85m-high building will act as a ‘mountain’ for Copenhagen, with an artificial ski slope on its roof, a climbing wall on one facade and a rooftop hiking trail. As a way of raising awareness about climate change, the plant’s chimney will emit giant steam rings in order to illustrate the amount of carbon dioxide being saved by the factory.
Photo: Julien Lanoo
The 85m-high sloped roof at the Amager Resource Center doubles as a ski slope
COMPANY PROFILES
IAAPA EMEA
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Clip 'n Climb
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investors more than 40 colourful and unique
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DJW
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An opportunity to reimagine one of the UK’s most recognisable towers has been formally
opened by Rivington Hark, as St Johns Beacon invites operators and partners to shape its
next phase. [more...]
Bjarke Ingels credits BIG’s enormous success to the creative team he has built around him, and the studio now has partners spread across the world. Each brings something markedly different to the table, as Kim Megson and Magali Robathan find out
US born Yang studied at The Harvard Graduate School of Design, where he applied to BIG for an internship and then coincidentally found out that Bjarke Ingels was one of the examiners for his final review. “It turned very quickly into a de facto job interview,” says Yang. “I guess it went well because that summer I ended up at BIG.”
Yang has been with BIG since 2007, and has worked on a wide range of projects including the Lego House, the Amager Resource Center, Tirpitz Museum and the Shenzhen Energy Mansion.
Yang particularly enjoys what he describes as the conscious naivete of BIG’s approach to architecture, as well as the socially level atmosphere at the practice. “Day to day, there’s no real hierarchy in the office,” he says. “There is for decision making, because you need that, but it doesn’t influence who speaks in a design meeting. You can be an intern on your first day and be expected to contribute to the design conversation. That’s something driven strongly by Bjarke.”
Yang was project leader for the competition phase of the Amager Resource Center, and remembers the idea of putting a ski slope on the roof of the building as being born from “the sheer anxiety of having to submit something brilliant in a very short timescale.
“We didn’t have a scheme until about two weeks before the submission date,” he says. “We sat down with the team to discuss what the hell we were going to do. Someone mentioned the fact that Denmark is flat and that Danes drive three hours to Sweden to ski there, and Bjarke said, ‘We have to do a ski slope on top of the factory’. I remember that moment – all of a sudden the energy in the room turned.”
Brian Yang married fellow BIG employee Cat Huang in Texas in 2013.
Bjarke Ingels on Brian Yang “He’s a Swiss Army knife of an architect. He really has the ability to command the room and he has such a professional attitude to architecture.”
Amager Resource Center Copenhagen, Denmark OPENING DATE: 2018 The BIG-designed Amager Resource Center is a combined waste-to-energy plant and ski centre located in an industrial area of Copenhagen that’s being transformed into an extreme sports destination. The 85m-high building will act as a ‘mountain’ for Copenhagen, with an artificial ski slope on its roof, a climbing wall on one facade and a rooftop hiking trail. As a way of raising awareness about climate change, the plant’s chimney will emit giant steam rings in order to illustrate the amount of carbon dioxide being saved by the factory.
Photo: Julien Lanoo
The 85m-high sloped roof at the Amager Resource Center doubles as a ski slope
Movie Park Germany has opened a new Paramount Pictures-themed attraction as part of its 30th
anniversary celebrations, using immersive storytelling and adaptive reuse to reinforce the park’s
longstanding “Hollywood in Germany” positioning.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Efteling has opened Hooghmoed, a new family drop tower designed to broaden the appeal of its
recently launched Sirene Island themed area and introduce younger visitors to thrill attractions.
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’
planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–
Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism inv
Shedd Aquarium has opened the Immersion Theater developed in partnership with SimEx-
Iwerks, as part of a wider strategy to enhance the guest experience and create additional
revenue opportunities.
The UK government has announced a temporary reduction in VAT on visitor attractions and
children’s meals as part of a summer cost-of-living support package designed to stimulate the
visitor economy and encourage family days out.
As designer Yinka Ilori prepares for his first solo gallery show in London, he speaks exclusively
to CLADmag about his mission to spread joy, the power of play, and his bold approach to using
colour (including the colours you won’t see in his work).
The government of Thailand is exploring plans for a THB300bn (£6.3bn, US$8.3bn)
entertainment complex in the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), with officials
proposing a large-scale theme park and sports destination as part of a broader tourism and
economic development strategy.
Royal Caribbean has revealed its Hero of the Seas cruise ship, home to the most pools at sea
(nine), and a record-breaking 28 dining venues, as well as attractions including a waterpark
with two new family raft slides.
An opportunity to reimagine one of the UK’s most recognisable towers has been formally
opened by Rivington Hark, as St Johns Beacon invites operators and partners to shape its
next phase. [more...]
