During the boom years, architects like Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid built bold, iconic buildings. Then came an economic crash and a backlash from people who criticized what they saw as "excess" and called for less wasteful, more modest buildings. But some say you can have your cake and eat it too. Bjarke Ingels is a protégé of Rem Koolhaas. With his own firm BIG, or Bjarke Ingels Group, Bjarke has designed high rises, multi-use buildings and urban plans -- many unbuilt -- that are huge in scale and striking in form. But he also comes from Copenhagen, one of the world's cleanest, greenest and most human-scale cities. He was in LA last week and he talked about a design approach that tries to have the wow-factor, without waste.
Danish harbor water and the actual Little Mermaid,
on show in the Danish Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo
Danish Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo gives visitors city bikes
Segment photos: Iwan Baan