This week on Dezeen, we revealed pictures of architecture studio BIG’s new headquarters as it nears completion in Copenhagen harbour.
Named BIG HQ, the seven-storey office block is located at the tip of a pier in Copenhagen’s Nordhavn port district and will become the studio’s fourth office in the city.
The founder of BIG, Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, led a tour of the building during this year’s UIA World Congress of Architects, which took place in the city this month.
In an interview with Dezeen, he described being one of the world’s best-known architects as a “double-edged sword”.
“I think on one hand, the fact that some of our projects have spoken to people in ways that are relevant to them has offered us the opportunity to do some exciting work that we would love to do by people that were drawn to our way of thinking and working,” he told Dezeen.
“But of course, the flip side is almost like knee-jerk antagonism that is maybe a good form of thermostat,” he added.
In response to British-Ghanaian architect David Adjaye being accused of sexual assault and harassment by three former employees last week, the Africa Institute cancelled work on a project his studio was designing in Sharjah.
“The Africa Institute is deeply troubled by the recently reported allegations regarding David Adjaye, and we have made the decision to cancel the building project with Adjaye Associates,” president of the Africa Institute Hoor Al Qasimi said in a statement shared with Dezeen.
In design news, former Apple chief design officer Jony Ive unveiled a “respectful and gentle” update to audio brand Linn’s Sondek LP12 turntable. Created to mark its 50th anniversary, the turntable redesign was a return to music players for the iPod designer.
“I’ve always had a deep love of music, and have had the wonderful opportunity and privilege to design a number of different music players and headphones — most notably the multiple generations of iPods while I led design at Apple,” Ive said.
This week saw a pair of US embassies unveiled. In Guatemala, The Miller Hull Partnership drew upon Mayan architecture and the ideal of “openness and optimism” for the country’s embassy in Guatemala City.
While in Turkey, New York studio Ennead Architects aimed to “balance openness and security” with a building in Ankara that was informed by traditional Turkish architecture.
Popular projects this week included a rammed-earth arts centre in Kampala, an off-grid research station in rural Kansas and an all-marble extension to Victorian house.
Our lookbooks featured interiors that capture the mood of a Wes Anderson film and
interiors that strike a balance between rustic and contemporary.
This week on Dezeen
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