ISPA Conference & Expo
ISPA Conference & Expo
ISPA Conference & Expo

BIG special

THE BIG TEAM - Daniel Sundlin

Bjarke Ingels credits BIG’s enormous success to the creative team he has built around him, and the studio now has partners spread across the world. Each brings something markedly different to the table, as Kim Megson and Magali Robathan find out


“I’ve always been interested in visual communication on one hand, and in issues of social consciousness on the other hand,” says Sundlin, who joined BIG as an intern in 2008. For the first three years, he worked full time at BIG while also studying full time at the Royal Academy of Arts in Copenhagen. As Ingels says, of Sundlin: “He’s got one hell of a work ethic.”

Sundlin’s responsibilities as a lead designer include communicating BIG’s architecture through different media. “What defines BIG’s style of visual communication is that our diagrams clearly capture the essence of our projects, meaning that it’s very easy for people who don’t know our projects well to understand them,” he says. “That’s so important in a collaborative process.”

Sundlin is partner in charge of Google’s new headquarters in Mountain View, California, a collaboration between BIG and Heatherwick Studio. The designs shows a series of pavilions at ground level, housed under a huge, tent-like canopy. The ‘green loop’ – a circuit for cyclists and pedestrians that will run through the new building – is an integral part of the design. “You can bike and walk through the building and take part in one of the leisure activities going on in the courtyards along the route, says Sundlin. “We felt that this was a great way of bringing together the community and making it feel less like a corporate campus.”

Bjarke Ingels on Daniel Sundlin
“Daniel is blessed with a divine talent for creativity. More than most architects, he has access to the raw source of creativity. He’s such a goddamn natural-born talent”

Google HQs

London, UK & California, US
COMPLETION DATES: 2025

BIG and Heatherwick Studio have joined forces to design Google headquarters in Kings Cross, London and Mountain View, California.

The London HQ features a vast rooftop garden across multiple storeys; a sports hall; a 200m-long running track for employees; a promenade looking out towards the station; and a wellness centre containing gyms and massage rooms and a swimming pool.

The California HQ, meanwhile, is made up of a series of rooms, or ‘pavilions,’ sheltered beneath a giant tent-like roof canopy, with the offices on the first floor and the public programmes at ground level. A ‘green loop’ or pedestrian and cycle pathway, runs through the centre of the building.

BIG’s design for Google’s Charleston East Campus aims to foster a sense of community
BIG’s design for Google’s Charleston East Campus aims to foster a sense of community
BIG’s design for Google’s Charleston East Campus aims to foster a sense of community
BIG’s design for Google’s Charleston East Campus aims to foster a sense of community
company profile
Company profile: TechnoAlpin
TechnoAlpin is the world leader for snowmaking systems. Our product portfolio includes all different types of snow-making equipment for outdoor and innovative holistic solutions for indoor applications.
Try cladmag for free!
Sign up with CLAD to receive our regular ezine, instant news alerts, free digital subscriptions to CLADweek, CLADmag and CLADbook and to request a free sample of the next issue of CLADmag.
sign up
features
The BIG U high water barrier is 16km long, and incorporates community facilities
Kai-Uwe Bergmann
"BIG U is us starting the foundation work for a future resilient city."

The 'BIG culture ambassador' on the BIG U

Carsten Höller’s twisting Isomeric Slides: an ususal exit route
Carsten Höller artist
"It’s impossible to travel down a slide without smiling"

Playful installations from the Belgian artist

The Center for Sustainable Landscapes in Pittsburgh, US
José Almiñana
"We are committed to designing evocative landscapes informed by the best environmental science"

The Andropogon principal on pushing the boundaries of landscape design for the benefit of humans and nature

Catalogue Gallery
Click on a catalogue to view it online
To advertise in our catalogue gallery: call +44(0)1462 431385
features
White Arkitekter completed the Hasle Harbour Baths in Denmark in 2014
Monica von Schmalensee
"how often do you get to move a whole town?"

White Arkitekter’s Monica von Schmalensee on how culture and leisure are central to plans to move the Swedish town of Kiruna to stop it being swallowed by its mine

Chipperfield
"It’s not controversy, it’s dialogue. It’s very healthy"

The UK should take a leaf out of Germany’s book when it comes to designing and planning cities, argues the Neues Museum architect

The lap pool runs through the centre of the residence
"Even brushing your teeth in the right space can elevate a daily routine into a ritual"

With a lap pool at the heart of the home, this property is a sanctuary for Rene Gonzalez

features
David Polzin is executive director of design at CannonDesign. He studied at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture
"We were able to create an ‘acoustic shadow’ cutting decibel levels nearly in half"

How to design the perfect community leisure centre 100 13th century pilgrimage The Vietnamese village being created using historic methods

A view of the entrance of the Gilder Center
Jeanne Gang studied at the University of Illinois and Harvard Graduate School of Design
"Understanding science is so important. People are denying climate change. It’s a crisis"

The architect behind the American Museum of Natural History’s major new wing on idealism and the potential of design

The Lillehammer Art Museum
"We invite people from a range of backgrounds, then when you start doing the creative work you leave your profession behind. It’s like a kind of role play"

The founding partner of Snøhetta talks about the expansion of SFMOMA, the September 11 Memorial Pavilion and blurring professional boundaries

cladkit product news
Siminetti unveils iridescent decorative panelling range inspired by plants
The Clematis design
Megan Whitby
The Botanicals is Siminetti’s newest Mother of Pearl decorative panelling collection, inspired by the distinctive patterns found in botany and ...
Alberto Apostoli and Newform collaborate to launch the A.Zeta showerhead
The showerhead offers two modes; rainfall or waterfall
Megan Whitby
Italian architect Alberto Apostoli has renewed his partnership with Newform – an Italian wellness company – and designed A.Zeta. A.Zeta ...
Mather & Co and ITV unite to create Coronation Street Experience
Mather & Co has transformed the visitor centre into the ultimate haven for ardent Coronation Street viewers
Magali Robathan
Experience designers, Mather & Co, have orchestrated a remarkable collaboration with ITV to unveil the new Coronation Street Experience, a ...
cladkit product news
Jaffe Holden helps bring Academy Museum of Motion Pictures alive
Jaffe Holden provided architectural acoustics for the Academy Museum
Magali Robathan
Acoustical consulting firm Jaffe Holden provided architectural acoustics and audio/video design services for the recently opened Academy Museum of Motion ...
Koto Design introduces wood-fired hot tub
Koto is known for crafting modular, energy-neutral cabins and homes
Katie Barnes
A striking wood-fired hot tub has been unveiled by Koto, an architecture and design studio which has a passion for ...
Codelocks develops new glass door smart lock
The new lock model allows facilities and building managers to create and manage access via an app or online portal
Megan Whitby
Codelocks has launched its first glass door smart lock to bring intelligent access control to modern spa, leisure, fitness and ...
cladkit product news
Alberto Apostoli designs tech-forward Wellness Therapy furniture collection for Varaschin
The furniture collection draws on absolute geometries, pure lines, neutral colours and strong references to nature
Megan Whitby
Furniture manufacturer Varaschin has unveiled the new Wellness Therapy range, designed by Italian spa and wellness architect and designer Alberto ...
Eco Resort Network conference to convene in Mauritius this May
The event will be hosted in the Mauritius in 2024
Megan Whitby
Hospitality industry event Eco Resort Network is set to take place at the Ravenala Attitude Hotel, Turtle Bay, Mauritius, from ...
Eden project uses drones to spell out climate change warning
Magali Robathan
Almost 300 drones were used to signal an environmental message above the Eden Project’s biomes, during the UN Climate Change ...
ISPA Conference & Expo
ISPA Conference & Expo