Daily Archives: January 27, 2020

In 2020, doomsday scenarios are legion. Bruce Munro talks to "preppers" of various stripes about getting ready for the end of the world as we know it.

He lives in Otago. He is a respectable professional. And, he is stockpiling silver and gold against what he says is an inevitable, global, economic meltdown.

She is a successful New Zealand businesswoman who also heads up Survival Movement New Zealand. She is calling on the Government to stockpile enough food and fuel to buffer the country against risks ranging from droughts and war to meteors and solar flares.

He is an ordinary dad looking to shift permanently from Australia to New Zealand with his daughter. He has done the calculations. He has looked at the safest options. He wants to be living in Mosgiel when the world goes pear-shaped sometime after 2028.

Take your pick.

No, seriously, how would you most like, or most fear, the world as we know it to end?

Whatever your doomsday flavour - economic, political, natural, environmental, military, technological, social, climatic, extraterrestrial - there is someone who will tell you it is inevitable, imminent, inescapable ... and that you should be preparing for it.

Not that they are necessarily all barking mad. Yesterday it was announced the Doomsday Clock - set up in 1947 by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists to signal the proximity of nuclear, climate and other global catastrophe - had moved 20 seconds forward. It now sits at 100 seconds to midnight. The closest ever.

No wonder. The warning signs of a dozen different Armageddons lurking on the horizon are difficult to ignore.

Or how about the shaky global financial system? Around the world, private debt continues to balloon. New Zealand is right up there. Household debt levels, at 93% of GDP, are among the highest in the world. Bubbles are also appearing in housing markets, bond markets and stock markets worldwide.

"I see bubbles everywhere,"warns Yale Prof Robert Shiller, who has a Nobel Prize in economics. Prof Shiller predicted both the 2000 stock market crash and the 2007 United States housing market crash.

Last time, the banks were considered "too big to be allowed to fail". But there are many who say the underlying problems that led to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) were plastered over by printing money rather than reigning in debt. As far back as 2010, the International Monetary Fund said a tax on financial activities was needed to pay for the next GFC. But its warnings have not been heeded. Could the next international pecuniary calamity, perhaps just around the corner, mean our whole monetary system keels over, taking with it governments, businesses, law and order?

Then, there is, of course, the gathering climate crisis.

The world is warming. The worlds oceans, which absorb 90% of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases, are warming at a rate equivalent to five nuclear bombs of heat every second, day and night, 365 days a year.

Extreme weather events are increasing. Globally, since 1980, floods and various water events have quadrupled, while other climate events such as extreme temperatures, droughts and forest fires have more than doubled, the European Academies' Science Advisory Council says.

Close to home, Australian bush fires, piggy-backing off the worst drought in decades and record-breaking air temperatures, have scorched 18.6 million hectares and could keep burning for months.

It fits predictions of life in a climate-changed future. Scientists warn that beyond a global temperature rise of 2degC the impacts of climate breakdown will likely become catastrophic and irreversible.

Add to the horrendous list the increasing risk of nuclear warfare, an expected major earthquake on the Alpine Fault, the possibility of super volcanoes, the potential for synthetic viruses to be unleashed as bioweapons ... and it is hard to avoid the feeling the end is nigh. Or, at least, the end of life as we have known it.

SO, how best to prepare?

What are those who see "the end" fast-approaching in their rear vision mirrors doing to ready themselves?

What can be learnt from them?

If you do not live in a temperate, antipodean paradise at the bottom of the world, then the doomsday preppers clear message is - move there. Or at least buy yourself a bolt hole there and have a private jet capable of flying non-stop from the US to New Zealand fuelled and waiting for the apocalypse to kick off.

Peter Thiel, the billionaire venture capitalist who co-founded PayPal, has bought a multi-million dollar chunk of land on the edge of Lake Wanaka. Thiel has cited The Sovereign Individual, a roadmap to power and riches in a post-democratic future, as the book he is most influenced by. He has also called New Zealand "a utopia".

He is not the only one.

Speaking of New Zealand as a favoured refuge in the event of a cataclysm, billionaire LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman told the New Yorker that saying youre buying a house in New Zealand is kind of a wink, wink, say no more.

It has been reported that five Silicon Valley executives co-own an "escape" jet, a Gulfstream G550, capable of reaching New Zealand without refuelling.

There are also unsubstantiated claims that up to 35 underground survival bunkers have been shipped to New Zealand by super-rich Americans scared by whatever end-game scenario they see on the horizon.

They might be on to something, according to Prof Nick Wilson.

The Wellington-based University of Otago academic says the risk of human extinction has never been higher. His particular focus is near-extinction events such as a northern hemisphere nuclear war (1.4% annual risk) or a global pandemic caused by a synthetic virus escaping a laboratory.

In such scenarios, Prof Wilson says the resources, development and relative isolation of New Zealand and Australia make them the worlds top two candidates for "island refuges" - hideaways where a remnant of humanity could hole-up until the dust settled and then begin rebuilding.

He has called on the Government of New Zealand to do three things; collaborate with Australia in planning for a near-extinction event, invest in resiliency and rehearse rapidly sealing the nations borders.

Also urging the Government to act is Lisa Er, founder of Lisas Hummus, which she sold in 2006, and head of Survival Movement New Zealand. In the face of risks ranging from drought to war, Er wants the Government to set up a disaster "think tank" and to stockpile and maintain a three month supply of food and fuel for the whole country.

Sarah Stuart-Black, who is executive director for the National Emergency Management Agency, says they are all over it, sort of.

The country has "extensive and agile arrangements" in place across agencies that would allow it to deal with a range of events, "both foreseen and unforeseen".

This includes working with other countries "to respond to emerging threats".

In regards to building resilience nationwide, a National Disaster Resilience Strategy was launched last year.

New Zealand has "reasonable stocks" of medical, food and other supplies. But individuals and families should make sure they have their own supplies, the nations emergency planner says. There is no mention of fuel.

Asked whether any members of Cabinet had a secret bunker or a panic room, Stuart-Black says "Meeting facilities for Ministers are available within the Parliamentary precinct in Wellington. I would note that arrangements are also in place to move Parliament to Auckland on a temporary basis should Wellington become severely impacted by an earthquake".

It is best to ask Customs NZ about border closure rehearsals, she advises.

Customs NZ responds that bits of the border, including sea and air ports, are closed during regular national security exercises. But the country has never tried shutting down the entire border at one time - an action that would require Cabinet-level sanction - and so no-one knows how quickly it can be done.

Bottom line, despite uncertainties New Zealand is a better place than most to ride out a global meltdown.

But once here, where to live and how to prepare?

Hoard silver. And gold. That is the advice of a Dunedin man in the education sector who does not want to be identified.

"I dont want to appear like a nutter," he says.

He is not anticipating the collapse of society. The world will keep turning. But he insists there is a financial adjustment coming that will be big enough to cause our paper money-based monetary system to "keel over".

All those bills have to be repaid. But when the financial house of cards starts to fall, individuals and banks will be caught a long way short, he says.

"I can already see cracks appearing."

Silver and gold, however, hold their value. In fact, their worth climbs every time the financial markets get spooked and soars when it crashes.

So, he has bought gold, silver coins, and silver bars. He owns five, 1kg bars of silver, worth $50,000 each.

When it does go awry, he is going to use his hoard to invest in property and companies.

Someone told him "youre going to be king of the rats when it all falls down".

"Better to be a king than a rat," he replied.

A different apocalyptic vision floats in the mind of Greg Cromack. An Australian-born New Zealand data programmer, Cromack is alarmed by projections of life in a climate crisis world.

A widower, he describes himself as "a scared parent who worries about the future of his daughter".

"Im a deep adaptation prepper," Cromack explains.

"Were doing too little, too late to respond to climate change. Were going to have a hard time of it."

Cromack has decided Australia will be hit too hard. He plans to move permanently to New Zealand. But not to the North Island - that will be too chaotic. Nor to Canterbury - too dry. Nor the West Coast - too many storms.

Ticking all his climate change survivor boxes, however, is Otago. Specifically, Mosgiel.

From his research, a population of 3000 to 5000 individuals is ideal "when things go pear-shaped". It will be a big enough community to be sustainably self-sufficient in food, energy and other basics such as healthcare.

"Were going to have to respond to this on a community level."

Cromack does not believe we will have to wait long to see he is sadly correct.

"People will be able to keep on lying to themselves that life is going great - I give us eight years ... That will be the point when everyone realises, thats it."

Cromack is friendly and voluble, especially compared with self-confessed hardcore doomsday preppers; the type that foresee a world gone not just ugly but nasty. They keep their heads low.

One, a "Rambo-type" individual who lives on the West Coast, tells a Dunedin-based intermediary he does not want to talk to a journalist. Another, who lives north of Wellington, does not want to detail his preparations but is happy to provide tips on how to prepare.

Put earthquakes, heatwaves, financial collapses or bioweapons to one side, however, and it becomes clear that the differences between how people believe the world as we know it will end are less important than actually preparing for it.

A message arrives from the Wellington doomsday prepper who is writing his top 10 tips.

"Im sticking to the basics of prepping," he writes.

"Im avoiding [listing] underground bunkers filled with enough gear to supply a small regional war."

"Focus on how you'd suggest preparing for whichever armageddon you consider most likely," he is requested.

"If you prep for one, you prep for the other," he replies.

1. Make sure you have enough food for at least three weeks.

2. Ensure you have a means of purifying water.

3. Have a small gear bag with you at all times, containing a good pair of boots, a change of clothes, some food, a bottle of water, a first aid kit, a mask and some rope.

4. Make photocopies of your key documents, including passport and insurance, and put a copy on a usb drive.

5. Put together a comprehensive first aid kit.

6. Get first aid training.

7. Learn to construct a shelter, make a toilet, start a fire and cook over an open fire.

8. Plant a vegetable garden.

9. Make a disaster response plan with family, so everyone knows what to do.

10. Have a means other than a cellphone of contacting those close to you, such as a designated spot to leave messages.

Source: Maarty Lintern/Natural Disaster Prep NZ

How to prepare for a doomsday scenario:

1. Be the "grey man". Dont let too many people know you have prepared for what will come.

2. Test all your equipment before you need it.

3. Have a Bug Out location you can travel to if civil unrest occurs during a SHTF (Shit Hits The Fan) event.

4. Stock up on toilet paper and soap. Getting sick during a survival situation could kill you.

5. Everything will be valuable, so make sure you have items for trade.

6. Go diesel. Petrol will run out fast but diesel can be obtained at more places and diesel vehicles can run on cooking oil if need be.

7. The lone wolf dies alone. Hoard and train with family and friends so you can support and care for each other.

8. Dont put all your supplies in one place. A building collapse could destroy all your stores.

9. Pack an INCH (Im Never Coming Home) bag with enough gear for you to survive in the bush for at least two weeks.

10. Learn to use a .22 rifle or learn to trap. If protein becomes scarce, small game and livestock become options.

Source: Anonymous doomsday prepper, Wellington region

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Meet the Kiwis ready for the world's end - Otago Daily Times

Patrick Stewart can still act. That is, perhaps, no revelation. But the strongest moment in the series premiere of Star Trek: Picard comes when the show simply gives him a moment to emote, to condemn, to express his distress and regret over the state of the world. When pushed to explain why he left Starfleet, the fire that fueled The Next Generation smolders up, and the ghosts of Picards lost utopia are exercised.

He left Starfleet because of xenophobia, because of isolationism, because of an abandonment of the principals of altruism and mercy and acceptance that undergirded the Federation he knew and believed in. That connection to larger ideas of a once noble people turning its back on those in need, out of a fear for what opening ones doors to the world could invite in not only imbues this story with a real world resonance; its pure Trek. Theres power in one of the great architects of that interstellar community severing his ties when it shrinks from the ideals he holds so dear.

But its not enough to simply linger with a man meditating on his legacy and the institutions that crumbled on his watch. So we need a mystery box. And we need a terrorist attack from a group of synths on Mars that scared the Federation into submission. And we need Romulan refugees resettling in an old Borg cube. And we need Romulan fighters trying to root out and destroy the last of artificial lifeforms. And we need a mysterious young woman half-River Tam and half-Daisy Johnson to seek out Picards help to sort it all out.

Thats allalright. Its naive to expect a modern day science fiction show to rely on the staid, contemplative tone that The Next Generation thrived on. Theres nothing wrong with Dahj (Isa Briones) kicking ass in a hand-to-hand combat scene that makes Kirks karate chops look like childs play. Theres nothing wrong with a wire fu-esque battle between her and a cadre of Romulan attackers that involves dodging phaser fire, leaping grand distances, and gory explosions. Times change, and shows have to change with them, even if it means making allowances for the sort of fireworks that once disappointed fans in Picards jump to the big screen.

Its naive to expect a modern day science fiction show to rely on the staid, contemplative tone that The Next Generation thrived on.

But whats more troubling is how generic so much of the rest of the episode feels. Make no mistake it is a tall order to follow-up to one of the most beloved science fiction series of all time and honor past successes while forging a distinct path for the series at hand. But if you shaved off the serial numbers and took away the Easter eggs, Remembrance could be any other modern science fiction show, with an aesthetic and dialogue and mysteries that suffice, which but dont wow.

The best you can say is that in the early going at least, Star Trek: Picard doesnt feel like fanservice. Sure, Picards dog is named Number One, and he orders earl grey tea, and he has a futuristic safety deposit box full of familiar trinkets. But when the show invokes the past, it does so in service of the story in the here and now.

And yet, thats both a blessing and a curse. Revealing Dahj as Datas daughter adds some emotional urgency to her pairing with Picard. Remembrance makes Brent Spiners guest appearances in the episode more than a fond recollection of everyones favorite android, but rather a touchstone for Picards close relationship with his former protege. For all the flack Star Trek: Nemesis caught, one of its saving graces was the way it suggested that, flesh and blood be damned, Data was Picards son and his family. So by making Dahj a sort of granddaughter to Picard through that bond, she becomes more relevant in the early going, when the show has to be economical about establishing its characters and its stakes.

But at the same time, thats part of the problem. Stewart and Briones do their best, but the on-screen chemistry isnt quite there yet. So the results feel more like Star Trek: Picard drafting on the good feelings of old, even as it seemingly wants to move in a new direction. Fans of the Next Generation will shudder to hear the name Bruce Maddox, the man who tried to have Data declared property, invoked. Still, it feels a tad cheap to have him missing and potentially responsible for some sort of new-fangled biological synthetic that is cloned or replicated or somehow otherwise spawned from Data.

All the while, Remembrance has the same, overly glossy look that the rest of modern Trek does. All the while, we get characters giving tearful statements that tidily deposit their backstories into the narrative, with performances that cant support the psychological weight the show wants to place on them outside of Stewart.

All the while, it offers yet another damn mystery box, where were left to guess who created Dahj and her twin sister, and whether the twins new flirty Romulan acquaintance is part of this apparent terrorist group, and what the true motivation of the synths who blew up Utopia Planitia was. The show apparently doesnt trust that it can muster that sort of intrigue while still putting its proverbial cards on the table.

And all the while, the viewer must cut through clunky scenes that try to establish every piece of this. Little of it is outright bad. Star Trek: Picard is a competent production with a stellar lead performer and enough reverence for the source material not to upset the applecart. But when youre bringing back one of televisions all-time great characters and invoking the legacy of the series that started a new age of Star Trek, its fair to expect better than this solid but less-than-inspired dose of adequacy.

None of it quite matches that one moment of personal truth in Picards interview or the real-life implications of his disdain for what the organization he once loved has become. While Remembrance builds on the strength of Stewarts presence and gravitas, in other moments it becomes just another off-the-shelf science fiction series, albeit one that can harness the history and setting of The Next Generation, The Original Series, and even the 2009 reboot.

In that one scene, though, Star Trek: Picard gives us a glimpse of the show it could be. Remembrance soars when it allows its lead performer to do what he does best and embraces the thematic resonance and introspection that were the hallmarks of his prior series. It sinks when it devotes itself to flash and whodunits and twisty reveals. Only time will tell whether, with so much narrative throat-clearing and table-setting out of the way, the series can set a better course.

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Star Trek: Picard and a Remembrance for its Best Performer - The Spool

CultureTVDeft plotting, fantastic performances, mystery and a twist that landed with a wallop: this was a return to Doctor Who at its best

Sunday, 26th January 2020, 10:56 pm

Doctor Who, BBC1, 7pm,

One of the biggest criticisms of the Jodie Whittaker era of Doctor Who is that it has lacked the ideas, surprises and ambition that made the modern show such a hit in the first place. But no such thing could be said about this weeks barnstorming "Fugitive of the Judoon" a return to Doctor Whos very best.

Well publicised was the return of fan-favourite the Judoon, the heavy-handed rhino police force whose search for an alien fugitive brought them to the small English town of Gloucester. Cue a first act built around novelty nostalgia, silly gags (theres a platoon of Judoon near the moon!) and the mystery of potential fugitive Lee (Neil Stuke) and his bubbly tour guide wife Ruth (Jo Martin). In reality, though, the Judoon were just a Trojan horse (or rhino) for an episode which featured shock after shock after shock.

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The first, of course, was the sensational return of John Barrowmans Captain Jack Harkness, whose attempt to teleport the Doctor up to his orbiting ship went awry after he accidentally teleported the companions instead.

After nine years away, you got the impression Barrowman had missed the role just as much as fans did (you can get excited now!), and it was a genuine thrill to watch Graham, Ryan and Yaz try to process this horny force of nature. No one delivers a cheeky one-liner like Barrowman, nor an ominous warning. Beware the lone Cyberman, he said one of many intriguing mysteries set up here.

If this episode had only featured the return of the Judoon and Jack Harkness, it could have been written off as a surrender to nostalgia, a desperate attempt to evoke past glories after last series failed experiment of only featuring new monsters. But then came the twist.

Lee wasnt the fugitive the Judoon were searching for. It was Ruth, the seemingly innocuous tour guide who had no idea why she had the ability to take out a whole squad of Judoon like Jason Bourne, or why she felt drawn towards a curious lighthouse by the beach. Once they arrived, however, it was resolved with the biggest swing this era has taken yet: a TARDIS buried in an unmarked grave, and the revelation that Ruth was in fact a previously unknown incarnation of the Doctor herself.

It is a twist that had been done before,with the Master having masked his identity using the same Time Lord technology in 2007s Utopia. Even so,thanks to some deft plotting, and fantastic performances from Jodie Whittaker and Jo Martin it landed here with an absolute wallop. Who is this new Doctor? Where did she come from? Is she from the Doctors past or her future? Why do neither of them know each other? Why is this new Doctor so badass and gun-toting? Never before has this era been so engulfed in fascinating questions; never before has it proved so gripping.

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Fugitive of the Judoon was everything Jodie Whittaker's Doctor Who era has been missing - inews

Bjarke Ingels: "If we can Change the Climate of the World by Accident, Imagine What we can Achieve by Trying"

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Bjarke Ingels is one of the most well-known architects of our time. During a conversation in Copenhagen between Ingels and Sky-Frame, he discussed his point of view, creating reality, immense courage and the secret behind his unwavering pragmatism.

Sky-Frame visits Bjarke Ingels on his houseboat, which is gently bobbing, moored right at the Port of Copenhagen. Gazing out to the sea, Bjarke speaks enthusiastically of his projects, the tempo in contrast to the leaden motion of the old 450-tonne car ferry, which Bjarke has converted into his family home.

With BIG, the Bjarke Ingels Group, he has become one of the most sought-after architects of our time. In 2019 alone, he and his team completed as many as 13 projects, including large-scale undertakings such as Copenhill, a zero-emission waste-to-energy plant. The innovative solution is the first of its kind in the world: utopia turned reality.

Combining pragmatism and utopia

Utopia is the concept of a world that is so perfect as to be entirely impossible. Pragmatism takes stock of reality and its conditions, exploring how to handle them. You may think that the two cannot be combined. But it is this very combination that reminds us with every new project: we have a little piece of the world here that we can turn into our own idea of utopia. That is how fiction can become factual.

The interview takes place in the loft-like living room of Bjarkes house ferry, where an enormous window pane grants sweeping views over the entire Port of Copenhagen. On the one side sits the Copenhill power plant, on the other side is Amalienborg Palace. This sort of setting is impossible to find in the old town. Thanks to my ferry, we are at the heart of it yet surrounded by open space.

Just you and the view

Here, on the water, the views and natural light are an integral part of the homes atmosphere. We watch the sun rise in the east and set in the west. That is the first axis. On the top storey, my wife and I have a little flat. It gives us sweeping views to the south and north: the second axis.

The Sky-Frameframeless sliding windowthat has been integrated into the houseboat allows them to experience its breathtaking setting up close. In an architects ideal world, the indoors and outdoors are separated by as little material as possible. We want the best and clearest glass with the lowest possible iron content. Zero colouration. We want as little structure, as few frames, as possible. The windows on our ferry are so transparent that you feel as though you can float right through them.

Unconstrained thought

Bjarke may well draw inspiration from his view, but his method of incorporating a range of perspectives and adjacent systems in his projects involves taking in the wider context:

Certainly, this does not help us to keep a clear head. But it puts us in touch with the major challenges we face. This way of zooming out, called reframing in psychology and sociology, gives us a view of the bigger picture, the overarching framework. Rather than understanding a single building, we want to understand the neighbourhood and the ecosystem in which it exists.

We start not with the answers but with the big questionsWe dont just do away with boundaries. We ask the big questions and bear the consequences.

Taking innovation a step further

The newly opened waste-to-energy plant situated in the middle of the industrial island in the Port of Copenhagen is solid proof of Bjarke Ingels ability to answer the questions he asks. Its chimney emits no pollutants: 99.9 per cent of all particles generated during the process are filtered or cleaned. It gives us the opportunity to show the world that clean technology benefits, not just the environment but the very inhabitants of our cities. The power plant is proof of the architect's complete trust in the human capacity to do something about climate change:

Architecture is more than just commentary. It doesnt just make you think about reality. It makes reality.

Seeking alternatives to the standard

BIG always questions reality, uninterested in standard solutions. That is not to say that the standard is bad: A standard solution does not become the standard because it is bad but because it does its job extremely well, predictably and efficiently. If you want to surpass those standard solutions, you cannot ignore them. You must understand what is good about them.

To challenge the status quo and instead pursue opportunities for growth, ask yourself how the world has changed. Once you find the answer, you will start seeing the small fissures. The parts where our current reality and the standard solutions diverge because they no longer fully match. Those fissures are opportunities for finding alternative answers and changing reality.

As architects, it is our duty to observe, listen and understand in order to recognise change.

That drive to diverge from the great monotony of the masses is what gives many a city its soul - the drive to find exemplary, trailblazing solutions. Within any local culture, architects face a tough struggle to show that things can be done differently. Once you achieve that and once the alternative option has been built, welcomed, perhaps even loved, it may become a point of reference for other architects. They can look at it and ask: If they can build a power plant with ski slopes on it, why cant we?

Bjarke Ingels points out that he and Sky-Frame share this ongoing pursuit of innovation: By constantly striving for perfection,they have successfully reduced all minor necessities to invisibility wherever it was able to.

The success of a window system lies in its ability to disappear, draw no attention and never be in the way. For architects, a structure consisting entirely of weather protection and insulation and nothing else would be perfection. No other product comes as close to that dream as Sky-Frame does.

Bjarke Ingels ongoing quest for a better solution ultimately led him to Sky-Frame. We were looking for sliding windows with the most minimal structure possible. The fixed and opening parts had to be indistinguishable.This is the slimmest, most elegant and most minimalistic product on the market.

As an architect or designer, you advance a project by criticising everything you have already done until there is nothing left to criticise. Of course, you never reach that point. But if you never stop improving and refining your work, you can get remarkably far.

Sometimes, people ask me what is next, now that I have achieved everything. They must be joking. We are light years away from our full potential. We just keep edging closer. And we will never achieve perfection, but we can approximate it by pursuing it relentlessly.

Despite his visions and his global success, his simplicity and groundedness might be the source of the pragmatism that has helped him succeed. Living on a houseboat has been very educational. As modern humans, we take everything for granted: electricity, heating, running water, plumbing. When you move onto a boat, you suddenly become this tiny, self-sufficient ecosystem. And you realise how much water you really use because you have to fill one tank and empty the other. It is like a giant Tamagotchi that your own well-being depends on.

About Bjarke Ingels

Bjarke Ingels was born in Copenhagen on 2 October 1974. After completing degrees at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (Kongelige Danske Kunstakademiets Arkitektskole) in Copenhagen and the Escola Tcnica Superior dArquitectura in Barcelona, he worked at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture in Rotterdam from 1998 to 2001. He experienced the Royal Academy as a highly conservative environment, but his time in Barcelona left a lasting impression on him. It continues to influence his work to this day.

In 2001, Bjarke Ingels and his Belgian colleague Julien de Smedt founded the architectural firm PLOT in Copenhagen. Five years later, in 2006, he established the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) in Copenhagen. The company opened a second branch in New York in 2010 and employs more than 400 members of staff from 25 countries today. In 2009, Ingels co-founded the KiBiSi design agency.

BIG has outgrown its modest beginnings as an architectural firm. Today, it is a research and development facility specialising in urbanism. Its holistic service portfolio also includes interior, landscape and product design. BIG is currently working on projects in Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East.

Find out more on Sky-Frame's website.

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Bjarke Ingels: "If we can Change the Climate of the World by Accident, Imagine What we can Achieve by Trying" - ArchDaily