ANDREAS KLOK PEDERSEN from the office BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group)
06.10.2010
The series of events titled “FAR NORTHERN REFRACTIONS OF EUROPEAN ARCHITECTURE” provided an opportunity to present contemporary architectural trends from the countries of Northern Europe in Greece and to explore the differences between countries that, at first glance, appear to be governed by a timeless homogeneity. This apparent uniformity has been established by similarities in the natural environment, political and social conditions, the standard of living, and even the locally available building materials.
On behalf of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture, I would like to thank the Embassies and Institutes of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland for their valuable assistance, and especially Professor Andreas Giakoumakatos, who had the idea for the events and took overall responsibility for their realization. Finally, I thank the staff of the HIA and its director Marianna Milioni for the entire organization and the editorial work of the publication that accompanies the lectures and exhibitions.
Kalogeras, Emeritus Professor, National Technical University of Athens
President of the HIA
BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) is a team of 85 architects, designers, and thinkers based in Copenhagen, active in the fields of architecture, urban planning, and research. They have become internationally renowned for creating buildings that feature programmatic and technical innovations, while also taking into account cost and resource concerns. BIG shows particular sensitivity to environmental needs and mixed-use programs. Applying what they call “programmatic alchemy,” BIG often mixes conventional components such as living, leisure, work, parking, and consumption into new forms of symbiotic architecture.
BIG seeks to liberate architectural imagination from conventional thinking and traditionally defined typologies so as to respond to the ever-evolving challenges of modern life. Theory and pragmatism (characteristic of the approach of architects like Rem Koolhaas, who was Bjarke Ingels’ teacher) define the group’s signature style.