8House

Facts

A modern village

By Rasmus Vestergaard , Mag.art. og cand.phil i kunsthistorie (12 stories)

On the farthest point of the Ørestad Syd area is "8Tallet", meaning 'the figure of eight'. This atypical building, designed by the architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and completed in 2011 is somewhere between being small village and an alternative housing block. 8Tallet contains 476 flats spanning a range from town houses and penthouse flats with own gardens to flats of various sizes. The bottom storeys contain commercial lets and shared facilities. The figure-of-eight-shaped layout which gave the building its name is a typical example of unconventional solutions in property development. Another example of this is the ecolology of the moss-clad roofing, along with a mission to encourage outdoor recreation and activity by way of the one-kilometre or so of pathway winding its way along the facades to the top of the building. The underlying design rationale is that modern life is based on versatility, variation and interaction between residents in the neighbourhood. 8Tallet concludes the BIG trilogy on "new ways of living". The two other developments in the trilogy consist of housing in Ørestad; the so-called VM houses from 2005 and Bjerget from 2008.

Not a public place

Selected entry

Political outlook and public insight

Story written by Rasmus Vestergaard

Time / Periode 2009

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How to design a city hall to make it a meeting place for citizens rather than a symbol of power and authority? This was the question the architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) was asked to address in the international architectural competition to design Tallin's new city hall. But for BIG, the answer was staring them in the face: today's democracy is a partcipatory democracy founded on openness. Straightforward and direct dialogue between politicians, officials and citizens is therefore essential. This was what Tallin's new city hall was to reflect. The BIG project won the international architectural competition for the city hall in 2009, and the building is scheduled for construction in the period 2012-2014. BIG's winning city hall is designed as an open-plan structure, consisting of 13 'boxes' that appear to float above ground, connected only at their corners. Large panoramic windows allow citizens to see the city's officials going about their daily work. Conversely, the city and its citizens are never out of sight or mind for the officials. Beneath the boxes – half out, half in – the architects have created a vibrant environment for the city hall's various services to citizens, a canteen, exhibition area, conference hall and public square. The building is a compelling, welcoming, versatile and coherent complex and as such a far cry from the closed public administrations of former times.