BRIEF NEWS: Copenhagen Sees Incinerator Double As Ski Slope
4 July 2011
Architect Bjarke Ingels's latest project to transform an incinerator in heart of Copenhagen was the winning bid in a competition to design a new waste-to-energy plant that aims to be one of the cleanest in the world when it opens in 2016
"When you spend 3.5bn kroner [£424m] creating an energy plant in the middle of Copenhagen you make sure it doesn't become an ugly box that the neighbours will protest against and clutters the cityscape," said winning architect, Bjarke Ingels.
"You have to make sure it becomes a public park, an attraction. And when the kids come to go skiing on top of the plant they will probably be curious to find out what's going on inside the mountain."
The waste-to-energy plant, which will be Copenhagen's tallest building, will replace a 40-year-old incinerator located in an industrial area on the fringes of the city centre. More than 50 percent of waste in Denmark is already used to create energy and the new power plant will be 20 percent more effective than its predecessor.
The building will be wrapped in a green facade created from planters and a lift inside will guide visitors to the top of the "ski mountain" while offering them views of the machinery inside.
To remind visitors of the city's carbon footprint, the smokestack on top of the plant will eject a 30-metre smoke ring every time a tonne of CO2 is released.
Visit www.big.dk for more information
Darrel Moore
