In Copenhagen, BIG designs three plazas as if a meteorite had struck the city

BIG wins the competition to renovate public spaces  in Ørestad, around the largest concert area in the Nordic region, prefiguring them as places of sociality and interaction for all forms of life.

After the iconic residential projects VM Houses (2005), The Mountain (2008) and 8 House (2010), BIG returns to Ørestad, Copenhagen, bringing -in full “big” style: irreverent, dynamic and expressively powerful-new vital energy to the city's public spaces: and he does so through “The Impact,” the competition-winning design for the renovation of the Byens Scene (literally, the “City Stage”) area, which includes the three main, distinct but interconnected plazas around DR Concert Hall, Bella Arena and Copenhagen's Royal Arena (the largest concert area in the Nordic region). Covering an area of more than 50,000 square meters, The Impact prefigures a hybridization of everyday life and spectacle in an immersive and vaguely surreal context: as the result of a telluric shift or the crash of a meteorite, a “crack” opens in the pavement acting as a fil rouge connecting the areas, from which water, light, vegetation and life (in its many forms) overflow breaking into the aulic urban context. In the words of Bjarke Ingels, Founder and Creative Director of BIG: “with “The Impact”, we have taken an approach that breaks open the perfect, finished surfaces of the city like a meteor strike, creating space for all forms of life, plants and animals, nature and culture. Like a form of urban Kintsugi - the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold - the cracks and fractures will create a kind of accelerated patina on the otherwise very new district. In the words of Leonard Cohen: “There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in”.

BIG, The Impact, Ørestad, Copenhagen, Denmark, ongoing

The expressive features are different though within the overall coherence of the design. Near DR Concert Hall, the existing body of water is transformed from an urban void into a stage with tiered seating and floating islands that invite relaxation and entertainment. The plaza in front of Bella Arena becomes a sequence of more enclosed open-air green rooms shaped by wetlands, dense vegetation, and furniture integrated into the landscape. Near Fields Mall, two works of art stand out like meteorites struck down on the urban fabric, from which a glowing golden crack (like a blade of lava from inland) leads toward the Royal Arena, introducing playful reflections and reshaping the area as a vibrant social space. As always in BIG’s work, special attention goes to environmental sustainability. With a calculated carbon footprint of less than 0.1 kg of CO₂ per square meter per year, the project is designed to integrate recycled materials (granite and concrete reused in surfaces and furnishings), efficient local water management, and lush native vegetation to enhance biodiversity and microclimatic comfort.

BIG, The Impact, Ørestad, Copenhagen, Denmark, ongoing
BIG, The Impact, Ørestad, Copenhagen, Denmark, ongoing

Renderings BIG, Playtime, Ping-Pong Space

BIG, The Impact, Ørestad, Copenhagen, Denmark, ongoing

Renderings BIG, Playtime, Ping-Pong Space

BIG, The Impact, Ørestad, Copenhagen, Denmark, ongoing

Renderings BIG, Playtime, Ping-Pong Space

BIG, The Impact, Ørestad, Copenhagen, Denmark, ongoing

Renderings BIG, Playtime, Ping-Pong Space

BIG, The Impact, Ørestad, Copenhagen, Denmark, ongoing

Renderings BIG, Playtime, Ping-Pong Space

BIG, The Impact, Ørestad, Copenhagen, Denmark, ongoing

Renderings BIG, Playtime, Ping-Pong Space

BIG, The Impact, Ørestad, Copenhagen, Denmark, ongoing

Renderings BIG, Playtime, Ping-Pong Space

BIG, The Impact, Ørestad, Copenhagen, Denmark, ongoing

Renderings BIG, Playtime, Ping-Pong Space

BIG, The Impact, Ørestad, Copenhagen, Denmark, ongoing

Renderings BIG, Playtime, Ping-Pong Space

BIG, The Impact, Ørestad, Copenhagen, Denmark, ongoing

Renderings BIG, Playtime, Ping-Pong Space

BIG, The Impact, Ørestad, Copenhagen, Denmark, ongoing

Renderings BIG, Playtime, Ping-Pong Space

BIG, The Impact, Ørestad, Copenhagen, Denmark, ongoing

Renderings BIG, Playtime, Ping-Pong Space

BIG, The Impact, Ørestad, Copenhagen, Denmark, ongoing

Renderings BIG, Playtime, Ping-Pong Space

BIG, The Impact, Ørestad, Copenhagen, Denmark, ongoing

Renderings BIG, Playtime, Ping-Pong Space

BIG, The Impact, Ørestad, Copenhagen, Denmark, ongoing

Renderings BIG, Playtime, Ping-Pong Space

BIG, The Impact, Ørestad, Copenhagen, Denmark, ongoing

Renderings BIG, Playtime, Ping-Pong Space