Bjarke Ingels continues his relentless forward march toward world domination, winning yet another project, this time a gallery in Nuuk, Greenland. With so many recent mountains, it appears BIG has moved on to new iconographies inspired by land art, a barnacle perhaps?

The Greenland National Gallery is a low, doughnut-shaped structure hugging a difficult terrain on a dramatic fjord. BIG’s entry beat a number of firms including Norwegian Snøhetta, Finnish Heikkinen-Komonen, Islandic Studio Granda and Greenlandic Tegnestuen Nuuk.

“The Danish functionalistic architecture in Nuuk is typically square boxes which ignore the unique nature of Greenland. We therefore propose a national gallery which is both physically and visually in harmony with the dramatic nature, just like life in Greenland is a symbiosis of the nature. We have created a simple, functional and symbolic shape, where the perfect circle is supplied by the local topography which creates a unique hybrid between the abstract shape and the specific location”, Bjarke Ingels said in a release.

Visitors enter the building under a slight lift in the building’s facade facing a panoramic view of the waterfront. The building itself is a perfect circle surrounding an interior sculpture courtyard forming a hybrid focal point of culture and nature. BIG says the layout enables flexible gallery arrangements.