BIG's Video Persuasions

John Hill

19. February 2015

Photo: Screenshot

A trio of recent short films from BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group – on a residential tower, an urban design proposal, and the firm's overall approach to design – illustrates the potential of video as a tool of persuasion in architecture.

First is a presentation of the design process for BIG's Vancouver House located at the foot of the city's Granville Bridge. The four-minute film combines footage of Ingels in BIG's New York office with computer-generated imagery that shows the project move from massing diagram to detailed design.

Second is a four-minute film about The Big "U" – aka The DryLine – a winning proposal of the Rebuilt by Design competition for addressing storm surges in the New York City area. BIG led a team that includes landscape architects Starr Whitehouse, among other designers and engineers. In this film, BIG combines comments of people on the street with sketches and some nifty animations of their design coming to life in situ.

Third and last is Worldcraft, a six-minute film that encapsulates how BIG approaches architecture and the city. Like an architectural Jackson Pollock, we get to watch Ingels draw on a large sheet of paper on the floor, illustrating how "architecture is the canvas for the stories of our lives."