Bjarke Ingels has been announced as the winner of the Louis Kahn Memorial Award 2016. The award has been Philadelphia’s signature event honoring an individual who has made significant contributions to the field of architecture since 1983. It also raises funds to help support the Charter High School for Architecture + Design (CHAD), founded in 1999 by the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
Courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group
Bjarke Ingels started BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) in 2005 after co-founding PLOT Architects in 2001 and working at OMA in Rotterdam. Through a series of award-winning design projects and buildings, Bjarke has developed a reputation for designing buildings that are as programmatically and technically innovative as they are cost and resource conscious.
Courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group
During the awards ceremony, Ingels shed the light on the work of BIG, from the ski slope on top of a power plant in Denmark to the Two World Trade Center tower in New York. He also spoke about the design process of the 1200 Intrepid, his first project in Philadelphia that’s expected to finish construction later this month.
Courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group
“I wouldn’t say that my work is linear of Louis’,” Ingels said, “but I think that he rediscovered symbolism and designed super-functional architecture that’s been lost and has been re-created by pragmatism.” Ingels, the Danish architect who has offices in Copenhagen and New York, has described his approach to architecture as “pragmatic utopianism.”
© Ulrik Jantzen
Ingels has received numerous awards and honors, including the Danish Crown Prince’s Culture Prize in 2011, the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2004, and the ULI Award for Excellence in 2009. Alongside his architectural practice, Bjarke taught at Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, and Rice University and is an honorary professor at the Royal Academy of Arts, School of Architecture in Copenhagen.
Ibrahim Abdelhady is an architect, academic, and media entrepreneur with over two decades of experience in architecture and digital publishing. He is the Founder and CEO of Arch2O.com, a leading platform in architectural media, renowned for showcasing innovative projects, student work, and critical discourse in design. Holding dual PhDs in Architecture, Dr. Abdelhady combines academic rigor with industry insight, shaping both future architects and architectural thought. He actively teaches, conducts research, and contributes to the global architecture community through his writing, lectures, and media ventures. His work bridges the gap between practice and academia, pushing the boundaries of how architecture is communicated in the digital age.