BIG’s Vision: How US Infrastructure Can Be Beautiful
Rethinking American infrastructure by blending artistry, sustainability, and utility through innovative design.
Redefining American Infrastructure: A Vision of Beauty and Utility
For much of the 20th Century, America’s infrastructure – from bridges to wastewater plants – was designed first and foremost for utility. Aesthetics were secondary, and communities grew around pragmatic structures that often ignored the potential for public delight or environmental harmony. Yet, as climate challenges mount and cities seek to foster civic pride and resilience, a profound question gains urgency: Can infrastructure also be beautiful?
This question sits at the heart of the work by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), the renowned architecture firm led by Bjarke Ingels. With internationally recognized projects that fuse ingenuity, playfulness, and ecological awareness, BIG is now channeling its vision into the American landscape—challenging the notion that essential infrastructure must be hidden or ugly. Their book, BIG: American Infrastructure, confronts the status quo and presents a portfolio of projects that show infrastructure can be inspiring, inviting, and deeply functional.
Engineering as Civic Art
The United States boasts some of the world’s largest infrastructure systems: massive highways, sprawling wastewater plants, and energy facilities that keep society moving. But historically, such works have often been “anti-urban,” prioritizing efficiency over community engagement and design quality.
- Many major infrastructure projects are shielded from the public eye, segregated behind fences or located in uninviting industrial zones.
- This has fostered a culture where infrastructure is invisible—unless it fails—and fails to elicit public affection or stewardship.
- Bjarke Ingels and his team argue that this paradigm can and should change. Infrastructure should be celebrated, not sidelined.
The European Contrast
In Europe, many public projects—metro stations, power plants, and bridges—carry a distinct identity. They are celebrated civic landmarks, many with publicly accessible rooftops, integrated parks, or active plazas. BIG’s own Copenhagen projects—such as the CopenHill waste-to-energy plant (with its rooftop ski slope)—demonstrate that utility can coexist with recreation and beauty.
Translating this ethos to the U.S. requires navigating different funding models, planning regimes, and public perceptions. But as cities seek to address both climate resilience and equitable access, the time is ripe for a new kind of infrastructure: one that serves, inspires, and endures.
BIG’s American Experiments: Infrastructure as Community Catalyst
Through high-profile competitions and commissions across the United States, BIG explores how large-scale, complex infrastructural works can anchor vibrant public spaces, connect neighborhoods, and set benchmarks for climate adaptation. Below, we examine several of their most significant American projects.
1. The Dryline: Resilience Meets Recreation in New York City
What others are reading
After Hurricane Sandy exposed New York’s vulnerability to storm surges, the city launched “Rebuild by Design,” a global competition seeking plans for resilient coastal protection. BIG’s response was visionary: the Dryline (now called The BIG U), a 10-mile ribbon of flood protection equipped with parks, bike paths, and community spaces.
- Rather than erecting a mere seawall, BIG’s plan integrates berms and landscaped embankments that serve as public amenities.
- Features include new playgrounds, shaded promenades, and performance spaces, all reinforcing flood defense.
- The Dryline demonstrates how engineering challenges can become opportunities for public enjoyment and equity.
2. Brooklyn Queens Park: Transformative Highway Redevelopment
The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) is a notorious eyesore and a chasm in New York’s urban fabric. BIG’s proposal for the area, dubbed Brooklyn Queens Park, proposes to cap and “lid” segments of the highway, creating sprawling green parks above and seamless connectivity between neighborhoods.
- This vision would heal historic urban wounds created by 20th-century highway building.
- By reclaiming air rights and layering parkland atop aging infrastructure, BIG delivers new value for generations of city dwellers.
- The project exemplifies how infrastructure renewal can drive social and ecological restoration.
3. Islais Hyper-Creek: Bay Area Flood Adaptation
Rising waters and extreme rainfall threaten the future of San Francisco’s Islais Creek basin. BIG’s Islais Hyper-Creek proposal responds with a vision that combines climate resilience, open space, and industry:
- New levees and wetlands help manage stormwater while doubling as accessible recreational areas.
- Flexible ‘islands’ and elevated pathways are designed for future flooding, supporting both logistics hubs and urban enjoyment.
- The project reframes infrastructure as a tool for adaptive urbanism—constantly evolving to meet environmental shifts.
Designing for More Than Function: The Potential of Playful Infrastructure
BIG’s American work asserts that civic infrastructure should exceed mere technical requirements. It should spark curiosity, foster health, and model equity.
| Traditional Infrastructure | BIG’s Approach |
|---|---|
| Primarily functional, minimal design focus | Aesthetic and interactive, blending community uses |
| Often isolated from public life | Integrated with open space and recreation |
| Hidden or off-limits | Public-facing, celebrated as civic icons |
| Single-purpose (e.g., defense, transport) | Multipurpose: protection plus amenity |
- By embedding culture, play, and sustainability into utilitarian forms, BIG challenges architects and engineers to expand their ambition.
- Projects like New York’s Dryline offer lessons for other cities contending with both growth and risk.
- Long-term maintenance and flexible, incremental implementation are also key to success, ensuring projects adapt to future changes.
Obstacles and Opportunities: Funding, Policy, and Perception
Despite tantalizing possibilities, transforming U.S. infrastructure faces structural challenges:
- Fragmented budgets and strict regulations often limit architectural innovation in major public works.
- Many agencies prize short-term cost savings over life-cycle value or public benefit.
- Public expectations have been shaped by decades of utilitarianism, fostering wariness toward “frivolous” design.
Yet shifts are underway:
- Climate urgency means that new projects must serve longer-term resilience and adaptation—offering a rationale for investment in more holistic design.
- Grassroots advocacy and civic engagement are pushing cities to be more ambitious about the public realm in infrastructure.
- Federal initiatives and competitions like Rebuild by Design showcase the feasibility and desirability of integrated approaches.
The Role of Sustainability and Equity
Beyond beauty, BIG’s proposals center on environmental stewardship and social justice:
- Waterfront and flood protection projects target neighborhoods at greatest risk, often low-income or historically marginalized.
- Creating open spaces atop old highways or around sewage plants returns land to communities, improving air, health, and cohesion.
- Adaptive reuse and ecological integration help infrastructure serve both people and the planet.
The Future of American Infrastructure: Lessons and Inspirations
Bjarke Ingels compares the architect’s role to “a midwife” for civic transformation. The ultimate goal isn’t simply to complete a visually striking project, but to change public expectations about what infrastructure can be. As the U.S. prepares for generational investments in roads, bridges, parks, and flood defenses, several important lessons emerge:
- Start with Public Engagement: Communities must be included early and often to ensure projects reflect genuine needs and aspirations.
- Design for Longevity and Flexibility: Climate, technology, and social patterns will change. Infrastructure must adapt over decades, not just at opening day.
- Celebrate the Civic Role: Beautiful, accessible infrastructure fosters pride and stewardship—turning everyday structures into beloved landmarks.
- Measure Success Broadly: Go beyond cost-per-foot or gallons-processed. Consider health, happiness, biodiversity, and resilience as essential outcomes.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Why has most U.S. infrastructure historically focused on function over beauty?
A: Throughout much of the 20th century, fast growth, engineering trends, and tight budgets pushed American infrastructure toward utilitarian, “efficient” solutions. Public works were often built out of sight and with minimal design emphasis, reinforcing the idea that infrastructure should be invisible unless something goes wrong.
Q: How can infrastructure projects enhance climate resilience?
A: By designing projects that double as flood defenses, green spaces, and adaptable landscapes, cities can protect people from climate risks while creating everyday public benefits. Incorporating wetlands, berms, and parks makes infrastructure do “double duty.”
Q: What are some obstacles to “designing beauty” into infrastructure in U.S. cities?
A: Barriers include fragmented funding, conservative procurement rules, low expectations, and the politics of public expenditure. Large projects may also involve numerous agencies and long timelines, making innovation difficult without strong leadership and public support.
Q: What makes BIG’s approach unique compared to other firms?
A: BIG emphasizes playful, adaptable, and participatory design. Projects seek to blend necessary infrastructure with recreational, ecological, and civic value—creating “civic icons” rather than simply hiding public works behind fences.
Q: Are there examples of successful “beautiful infrastructure” in the United States?
A: Yes! BIG’s Dryline in New York and Islais Hyper-Creek proposals are current experiments, while past examples like the High Line in Manhattan and Seattle’s Gas Works Park show how infrastructure can be transformed into beloved public places.
Reimagining Public Works: Toward a New Urban Legacy
As U.S. cities reckon with aging assets, climate risk, and social inequity, the opportunity to rebuild goes far beyond technical fixes. Infrastructure, at its best, can be a canvas for collective imagination—a foundation for resilience and joy. BIG’s pioneering examples show that with vision and commitment, America’s next generation of public works can truly be both beautiful and enduring.
References
Similar Articles
Read full bio of Sneha Tete
