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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
Zahle joined BIG as an intern in the early days, and helped win the practice its first major commission when he met the Danish developer Per Hopfner in his friend’s backyard. On learning Hopfner was a developer, Zahle outlined BIG’s ambitions and invited him to the office to find out more.
“I called him up a week later and asked if he wanted to drop by,” says Zahle. “He said he’d be there in 15 minutes. At the time there were only nine of us, we didn’t have a receptionist and everything was a total mess. We frantically cleaned up and then showed him around. We had no built work at all, but he must have seen something in us, because he asked if we could design a housing project for him.”
This led to BIG’s first assignment, the VM Houses in Copenhagen, and the collaboration with Hopfner continued with the Mountain and the 8 House.
For Zahle, he knew that BIG was the place for him when the practice won the competition for the Danish Maritime Museum in Helsingor. “We decided that I should be the project manager, even though you’d normally be expected to have 10 years experience for the role. I realised we’d created an environment where it was more about talent and trust than how much experience you had.
“It was a turning point for me, realising that, here, I can basically do anything.”
Zahle is currently involved with several BIG projects in the Nordics and is overseeing the business development of BIG’s Scandinavian projects. Projects include the Amager Resource Center, the Panda House at Copenhagen Zoo and Kistefos Museum, Norway.
Bjarke Ingels on David Zahle “David is a real people person. He’s great at relating to people internally and externally. I think he acknowledges the significance of that in architecture. It’s a very important skill.”
BIG’s design for the new Panda House at Copenhagen Zoo begins with a circular shape, formed by the zoo’s surrounding facilities at the intersection of multiple walkways. Panda House is designed to feel like humans are the visitors in the pandas’ home, rather than pandas being the ‘exotic guests from faraway lands’. The habitat has been designed to closely resemble the pandas’ natural habitat. The architect said of the design: ‘It forms the freest and most naturalistic possible environment for the pandas’ lives and relationships with each other, providing the freedom to roam about and the ideal conditions to mate – one of the major challenges facing pandas.’
The Panda House features separate spaces for the male and female pandas
The Panda House features separate spaces for the male and female pandas
With an increasing number of luxury hotels and resorts offering day and resort passes to
drive staycation business, Book4Time, a leader in innovative spa and wellness solutions, is
thrilled to announce the launch of Day & Resort Passes on its award-winning platform. [more...]
Himalayan Source has launched the Himalayan Salt Capsule to help spa, wellness and fitness
facilities or residences upgrade their offering with halotherapy. [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
Zahle joined BIG as an intern in the early days, and helped win the practice its first major commission when he met the Danish developer Per Hopfner in his friend’s backyard. On learning Hopfner was a developer, Zahle outlined BIG’s ambitions and invited him to the office to find out more.
“I called him up a week later and asked if he wanted to drop by,” says Zahle. “He said he’d be there in 15 minutes. At the time there were only nine of us, we didn’t have a receptionist and everything was a total mess. We frantically cleaned up and then showed him around. We had no built work at all, but he must have seen something in us, because he asked if we could design a housing project for him.”
This led to BIG’s first assignment, the VM Houses in Copenhagen, and the collaboration with Hopfner continued with the Mountain and the 8 House.
For Zahle, he knew that BIG was the place for him when the practice won the competition for the Danish Maritime Museum in Helsingor. “We decided that I should be the project manager, even though you’d normally be expected to have 10 years experience for the role. I realised we’d created an environment where it was more about talent and trust than how much experience you had.
“It was a turning point for me, realising that, here, I can basically do anything.”
Zahle is currently involved with several BIG projects in the Nordics and is overseeing the business development of BIG’s Scandinavian projects. Projects include the Amager Resource Center, the Panda House at Copenhagen Zoo and Kistefos Museum, Norway.
Bjarke Ingels on David Zahle “David is a real people person. He’s great at relating to people internally and externally. I think he acknowledges the significance of that in architecture. It’s a very important skill.”
BIG’s design for the new Panda House at Copenhagen Zoo begins with a circular shape, formed by the zoo’s surrounding facilities at the intersection of multiple walkways. Panda House is designed to feel like humans are the visitors in the pandas’ home, rather than pandas being the ‘exotic guests from faraway lands’. The habitat has been designed to closely resemble the pandas’ natural habitat. The architect said of the design: ‘It forms the freest and most naturalistic possible environment for the pandas’ lives and relationships with each other, providing the freedom to roam about and the ideal conditions to mate – one of the major challenges facing pandas.’
The Panda House features separate spaces for the male and female pandas
The Panda House features separate spaces for the male and female pandas
Paul Hawco, a seasoned figure in the international wellness industry, has assumed the role of
executive director – integrated wellbeing at independent, hospitality group Banyan Group.
The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee in the southeastern US state of Georgia is celebrating a
new milestone after unveiling its newly renovated 27,000sq ft destination spa.
Art’otel, Radisson’s contemporary art-inspired lifestyle hotel brand, has strengthened its
presence in London with a new hotel in Hoxton fusing art, design and hospitality.
Luxury hotel brand Aman, widely known for its strong spa focus, has just launched its much-
talked-about sister brand Janu in Tokyo – complete with a 4,000sq m urban wellness retreat.
Equinox, has teamed up with health platform, Function Health, to offer 100 comprehensive
laboratory tests, giving members vital insights into their internal health.
Spanish wellness brand SHA Wellness Clinic is busy preparing to bolster its wellness portfolio in
2026 with a hyper-exclusive island wellness enclave in AlJurf, UAE.
The historic Breakers Hotel in Long Beach, California, is set to reopen in mid-2024 as a
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts property after a significant restoration and redevelopment project.
Marriott International has signed a new deal with Neom to open a Ritz-Carlton Reserve property
as part of Trojena, a brand new year-round mountain adventure destination in Saudi Arabia.
The Bannatyne Group says it has officially bounced back from the pandemic, with both turnover
and profits restored to pre-2020 levels in 2023, according to its year-end results.
While British adults are the most active they’ve been in a decade, health
inequalities remain with the same groups missing out, according to Sport
England’s latest Active Lives Adults Report.
With an increasing number of luxury hotels and resorts offering day and resort passes to
drive staycation business, Book4Time, a leader in innovative spa and wellness solutions, is
thrilled to announce the launch of Day & Resort Passes on its award-winning platform. [more...]
Himalayan Source has launched the Himalayan Salt Capsule to help spa, wellness and fitness
facilities or residences upgrade their offering with halotherapy. [more...]