Bjarke Ingels is partnering with Ian Gillespie to build a fantastical tower in downtown Vancouver. When the tower was in its inception stage, I received some unusual mail from Ian’s Westbank Developments. It was a series of post cards promoting the new tower, showing Bjarke either biking around Vancouver or standing around Vancouver.
Bjarke was involved with OMA the firm that built Seattle’s Central Library which is well worth a visit. The best way to view that building is to take the elevator to the top floor and the escalators down each floor, to feast on the architectural design and detail. This was the only time that Bjarke actually worked for anyone before starting his own business with a Belgian design partner.
Bjarke has been tremendously successful at selling his image and his ideas, as witnessed by the commissions he has received. Kudos to Brent Toderian for openly addressing that Bjarke needs to learn how to work on the ground plane to mesh his buildings into active streetscapes. Read the rest of the story, published in the Globe and Mail, here.
