Happiness in the shape of the figure 8

The formula for happiness by the Danish architecture studio BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) is the 8 House located in Ørestad, south Copenhagen – a unique village not placed randomly in the landscape but rather stacked into vertical layers of a famous residential building built non-traditionally in the shape of a figure 8.

„8 House is the example of architectural alchemy – the idea that by mixing traditional ingredients such as shops, row-houses and apartments in untraditional ways – you create added value if not gold. The mix allows the individual activities to find their way to the most ideal location within the common framework – the shops facing the street, the offices towards northern light and the residences with sun and views to the open spaces. 8 House is a perimeter block that morphs into a knot, twisting and turning to maximise the life quality of its many inhabitants,“ says Bjarke Ingels, Architect and Founding Partner, BIG.

The apartments are placed at the top while the commercial programme unfolds at the base of the building. As a result, the different horizontal layers have achieved a quality of their own: the apartments benefit from the view, sunlight and fresh air, while the office life merge with life in the street. This is emphasised by the shape of 8 House which is literally hoisted up in the northeast corner and pushed down at the southwest corner, allowing light and air to enter the southern courtyard.

Our tip:

To experience the atmosphere of the 8 House, with your own eyes, watch The Infinite Happiness – a fascinating documentary revealing the building through an inner and intimate point of view of its human and animal residents.

Our product seen in this project:

The building creates several intimate interior courtyards, separated by the centre of the cross, which houses 500 sqm of communal facilities. For the residents to relax and gather, the architecture studio has furnished the community space with our Portiqoa benches that fit perfectly into the whole concept of this unconventional complex with their intelligent shape and impressive optical effect of diagonally built sides.