Best Housing is in Denmark

Danish architect Bjarke Ingels won the award in the Housing category at the World Architectural Festival (WAF) with his residential building project  8House (Danish: 8TALLET), DR.dk reports, citing Berlingske online.

The house with 476 apartments and residences was announced the world’s best housing project on 3 November 2011 in Barcelona at the WAF, where 700 buildings and projects from 66 countries competed in different categories.

“One should feel as if they were in an Italian hill town and at the same time in a lively Copenhagen neighborhood,” Bjarke Ingels explains the concept of his 8 House project located in Ørestad district.

It is already the second project of the young architect, whose fame is growing, which wins the first award. His housing block VM Bjerget, also located in Ørestad, was selected as the winner for the 2008 World Architecture Festival Award in the Housing category.

With spectacular view over Kalvebod Fælled (western part of the island of Amager), 8 House is the largest housing in Copenhagen.

The unusual building that allows people to bike all the way from the ground floor to the top, moving alongside townhouses, has already picked up several awards and is popular with foreign architects and students.

Translated by Elena Kandaurova

Original text, photo: DR.dk