Kai-Uwe Bergmann is a Partner at Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), where he leads global business development and oversees urban design and landscape projects. Known for his strategic approach to "the political scale," Bergmann has been instrumental in scaling BIG from a Copenhagen-founded practice into a global force operating in over 40 countries. He is a primary contributor to Manhattan’s "Big U," a 10-mile coastal resiliency project designed to protect the city from future climate events.

BIG, often described as "pragmatic utopian," focuses on transforming complex societal challenges (from energy and food distribution to affordable housing) into opportunities for design innovation.

Bergmann’s personal journey, spanning from a German upbringing to an apprenticeship in glassmaking and stone masonry, informs his belief that architecture is a "limitless" field that requires the investigative skills of a detective and the foresight of a strategist.

0:00 Intro

1:09 Why architecture?

7:57 Glass-blowing, apprenticeships, and the value of experiences

13:21 Meeting Bjarke: A 20-year collaboration

17:43 Designing beyond election cycles

20:51 BIG's stratospheric rise

32:51 What architecture school doesn't teach you

36:52 What should architects be doing more of?

42:28 Scaling BIG and navigating the global scale

47:48 Balancing work-life and family life

49:48 The importance of architecture and the role of the architect

51:24 Architecture as a hopeful act