2 world trade center-NYC-Untapped Cities2 World Trade Center. Rendering by Bjarke Ingels.

Danish architect Bjarke Ingels is most notable to New Yorkers these days as the designer of 2 World Trade Center, the final building slated for construction that will overlook the former Ground Zero in the new World Trade Center complex. His body of work, however, is growing in New York City with the Dry Line and the unique residential building in Hell’s Kitchen,VIA 57 West. His firm BIG is one of the hottest in the industry right now, translating the wacky and intricate modern designs Ingels is known for in Europe to the New York stage. There’s also a project, nicknamed “The Tostito” coming to Brooklyn Bridge Park.

In a new interactive and video from The New York Times, Ingels notes how Manhattan has welcomed him since moving a branch of his Copenhagen firm to New York in 2011. Ingel’s redesigned 2 World Trade Center, conceived of as a leaning stack of sharp-edged boxes, with outdoor terraces on the 80th floor and above, should be one of the more interesting sights in the Financial District, along with being the fifth tallest building in New York City. An interactive 360-view of the planned building can be seen here.


Already, Ingels’ instantly recognizable wedge-shaped VIA 57 West building is taking shape on the bank of the Hudson River.
Ingels’ other works in Europe include a figure-8 shaped apartment complex and an underground maritime museum shaped like a boat. Most often incorporating the paneled glass walls and bold geometric shapes that have come now to define most city skylines, they regularly turn heads, he says, because he “weaves the practical with the fantastical.”
Ingels’ firm is one of the most-in demand development groups in Manhattan. With a steady workflow in the city, including a redesign of the East River Waterfront, we can expect to see more glass, more unconventional shapes, and a whole new skyline in the next few years, for certain.
Next, see 14 vintage art deco mailboxes in NYC. Get in touch with the author @jinwoochong.