VM Houses
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) + JDS · Copenhagen, Denmark · 2005
VM Houses is an important early housing project by BIG and JDS in Copenhagen’s Ørestad district. The project consists of two angular residential blocks, one shaped like a V and the other like an M, arranged to maximize daylight, views, and privacy between apartments. Its most recognizable feature is the pattern of projecting triangular balconies, which animate the glass facades and give each unit an outdoor extension. The project challenged the repetitive logic of speculative housing by creating a large variety of apartment types within a strong formal system. Together with nearby Mountain Dwellings and 8 House, VM Houses helped define Ørestad as a laboratory for new Danish residential typologies in the early 21st century.