TEDxAmsterdam » Denmark’s Little Mermaid heads East

Denmark’s Little Mermaid heads East

Bjarke Ingels on the roof of the Danish world expo pavillion

Bjarke Ingels on the roof of the Danish world expo pavillion (PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

At TEDxAmsterdam 2009, one speaker that completely enthralled the room was Bjarke Ingels. The founder of the Danish architectural firm BIG presented some of his agency’s work and finished by describing a cultural exchange between his native Denmark and China. Ingels detailed the efforts involved in building an exhibit at the World Expo, for which 500,000 litres of Danish harbour water was shipped to Shanghai, and that included negotiations with the Chinese cultural board: where BIG had compared the two countries as the ‘dragon’ and the ’swan,’ the Chinese cultural board suggested that BIG ‘change swan to panda’.

We are delighted to report that in the meantime, the Danish pavillion at the Shanghai World Expo was realised as planned: mermaid, bicycles, ocean water and all. Indeed, that’s Bjarke himself, riding his bicycle on the roof of the Danish pavillion in Shanghai.

The Danish Pavillion (Picture Inhabitat)

According to Inhabitat, the Danish Pavilion is conceived as an elegantly sloping circular loop, and the structure is topped with a rooftop garden that holds 300 bicycles for visitors to use. (A picture overview can be found at The Contemporist). The little Mermaid that has been Copenhagen’s popular tourist attraction for years is now a big hit with the expo’s visitors. And with a bit of luck, Chinese visitors will learn how to operate the Danish handbreaks and stop falling off their bicycles.

If you want to see Bjarke speak at TEDxAmsterdam, and want to know more about the intriguing story behind the Little Mermaid’s move (not to mention all that water), we warmly recommend this one!