When I write about the work of the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), I am usually complaining about something. Bjarke is my poster child for needless complexity. Where German-American architect Mies van der Rohe said “less is more,” Bjarke is from the Morris Lapidus school—the architect of over-the-top Miami Beach hotels and whose motto was “too much is never enough.”

But this new factory for Norwegian furniture manufacturer Vestre is different. It is everything that Bjarke and his buildings are not: subtle, restrained, quiet. Not screaming, “LOOK AT ME!!!”

According to a press release by BIG:

Of course, it is called The Plus because it looks like a big plus sign. Did I say Bjarke was subtle? Each wing serves a different function: warehouse, color factory, wood factory, and assembly, with “an efficient, flexible, and transparent workflow between the manufacturing units and the intuitive visitor experience.”

it is in the middle of a 300-acre public park and includes an exhibition space where the public learns about energy, water, and circular design.

Bjarke Ingels explains:

Many of us rolled our eyes when we first heard the term “hedonistic sustainability,” defined by Ingels to be “a mind-set that integrates aspects of sustainability with playfulness into a building to improve human life.” It often involves architectural jokes, like the Plus sign.

BIG partner David Zahle picks up on the fun: “Playfulness, democracy, and sustainability are at the heart of the Vestre brand and everything they do; our wooden, colorful factory in the middle of the Norwegian woods – surrounded by a 300,000m2 public forest park where the local community can come to experience the gigantic Vestre furniture pieces sprinkled throughout – lives and breathes this philosophy.”

We have discussed the “right to roam” before. They take it seriously in Norway and in this building, letting the public roam right over the roof with stairs, a ramp, and a slide back down.

It’s all built of local wood, low carbon concrete, and recycled reinforcement steel.

There is no word on how much this all cost, and it is surprising that a company that makes street furniture and terrible squiggly bike racks could afford it, but good for them.

As BIG concludes: