BIGs proposal was designed to serve as the new headquarters for st Century Fox and News Corp who were planning to move and consolidate their companies and more than , people under one roof. The design concentrates the needs and requirements of the media company and other tenants into seven separate building volumes, each tailored to their unique activities, while simultaneously creating , sq ft of outdoor space.
BIG was invited for a competition to design a Maritime museum inside the neighboring decommissioned dry-dock, where ships used to be built. Instead, BIG proposed to place the museum underground, just outside the wall of the dock in order to preserve the dock as an open, outdoor display, maintaining the powerful structure as the center of the Maritime Museum. By placing the museum this way, it appears as a discreet part of the cultural environment associated with the Kronborg Castle and the neighboring Culture Yard, while at the same time manifesting itself as an independent institution.
The , sq ft campus includes a new building and ceremonial courtyard, as well as the potential renovation of existing historical buildings. BIG’s competition proposal, developed in collaboration with landscape architects Olin Studio and digital media agency Squint/Opera, seeks to reflect the historical context of the Navy Yard, while referencing the scale, materials and details of Navy vessels. An array of large-scale vitrines open up towards a public street, welcoming visitors and locals with an impressive glimpse into the museums collection of artifacts inside and outside, conveying the mission, lineage and breadth of operations that constitutes the US Navy.
A new public promenade ties together the bay in east and leisure harbor in west. The meandering shape of the promenade defines a series of new public spaces on land and water weaving together the two and extending the new public realm into the water earlier reserved for industrial purposes. The promenade brings life to the area through a sports plaza, harbor bath, theater, restaurants, cafés, and beach huts which all together create a new vibrant waterfront in Aarhus.
The base of the building utilizes the maximum area of the site, housing TV studios and , sq ft of retail space over multiple levels. The lobby is connected to the WTC transit hub, providing direct access to subway lines and PATH trains. A public plaza at the foot of the building and access to shopping and restaurants in the adjacent transportation hub and concourses will ensure life and activity in and around the new World Trade Center.