Today, at the Deutsches Architekturmuseum, Bjarke Ingels and BIG were presented with the International Highrise Award for Via 57 West, their "courtscraper" building in Manhattan. The following speech, which has been translated from the original German by Clara Jaschke, was delivered by architecture critic and curator Bart Lootsma at the event.

© Kirsten Bucher

Today, at the Deutsches Architekturmuseum, Bjarke Ingels and BIG were presented with the International Highrise Award for Via 57 West, their "courtscraper" building in Manhattan. The following speech, which has been translated from the original German by Clara Jaschke, was delivered by architecture critic and curator Bart Lootsma at the event.I was truly delighted when Peter Cachola Schmal called me to ask whether I would deliver the citation for Bjarke Ingels and BIG at this year?s edition of the International Highrise Award.Just the weekend before I had been thinking that I should write something about BIG. For weeks, one spectacular and interesting project after another had been popping up on Bjarke?s, Kai-Uwe Bergmann?s and a couple of others? Facebook pages.
© Kirsten Bucher

Innovative residential projects, Superkilen Park and the Amager Bakke powerplant in Copenhagen, the Google Headquarters in Mountain View in California, the Hyperloop between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Big U and of course Via 57 West in New York, which was just awarded this year?s Inter...