Martin Voelkle

Martin Voelkle is a Partner at BIG and focuses on architecture, sustainable construction, and technology. Martin has been leading BIG’s collaboration with ICON Build, a developer of advanced construction technologies, including 3D printed buildings that are produced with less waste and in a more expedited manner than typical construction methods. Collaborations with ICON have included affordable housing communities, market rate residential, hospitality and event spaces, and NASA Project Olympus—a research base that will be the first lunar surface construction on another planetary body. Martin is leading BIG’s transportation portfolio with the Zurich International Airport Dock A in Switzerland, a design that celebrates the passenger experience and ease of movement by way of its flexible framework constructed of renewable timber, the largest of its kind. Additionally, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Central, a reconsideration of the BQE transit corridor thru Brooklyn with a focus in accessibility, integration with growing neighborhoods, and incorporated public realm. Martin’s work varies from cultural, infrastructural, residential, and commercial buildings including the Shenzhen Energy Mansion HQ in China; Gowanus active community hub and residence in New York; and the Qianhai Prisma Towers in Shenzhen, China, designed to be a landmark gateway integrated thoughtfully with the existing skyline and public realm; and NABR, a residential building in San Jose. Martin’s design interest and expertise expands to the urban scale with the development of King’s Cross Google HQ in London and Telosa the design for a new city in Nevada. Martin began working at BIG Copenhagen in 2010; he helped build the BIG New York office in 2012; and in 2016 he led the enterprise of BIG’s London office before returning to BIG New York.