Testing The Ski Slope On Copenhagen’s Waste-To-Energy Plant

Waste-to-energy plant in Copenhagen with tested ski slope (Bjarke Ingels Group)

A state-of-the-art waste-to-energy plant that hosts a recreational ski park on its roof? Where else but Copenhagen. With Denmark having already established themselves as an important player in sustainability, this highly anticipated offering from renowned Danish architects Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) is certainly something to crow about.

Set atop the Amager Resource Centre (ARC), Copenhill urban mountain redefines urban sustainability. It hosts the city’s first ski slope and is a welcome new playground and a major new tourist attraction.

Dramatically altering the skyline, Copenhagen’s new architectural beacon is visible from most of the city. In addition to boasting the world’s longest artificial ski slope at 600 meters, it also features the tallest climbing wall up one face of the ‘mountain’ at 90 meters. The park will also have forested areas for hiking and mountain biking, a viewing deck and a full-service restaurant. So residents and visitors to the city have reason to be excited.

The building itself is nothing short of spectacular – a futuristic, geometric design with aluminum and glass paneling. Built on Amager Island, a popular destination for extreme-sports enthusiasts, the building will be one of the city’s tallest at 100 meters. At 1.02 million square feet, it’s been aptly dubbed Amager Bakke (Amager Hill). Altogether, it’s a ground-breaking initiative in the realm of how architecture can respond to sustainable issues and a landmark in environmental design.

The roof park development is in line with BIG’s philosophy of ‘hedonistic sustainability’ and this project proves that saving the planet and having fun at the same time is an achievable objective. The latest in Copenhagen’s many greening projects, it’s another step forward in the city’s goal of becoming the world’s first, carbon-neutral capital.

Copenhagen must remove 928,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to reach its 2025 target, and the plant is expected to remove 33,000 tons.

Opened in 2017, the power plant is one of the most technologically advanced waste-to-energy plants in the world. The playful design of the building showcases an innovative new approach to urban resource management, which can be welcomed for its many benefits to the community.

The plant uses a state-of-the-art catalytic filtration system, the first of its kind in Denmark. It can burn 35 tons of waste per hour while cutting emissions by 99.5%, which makes it capable of converting 400 000 tons of waste each year. All the while also providing heat to 150 000 households and low-carbon electricity for 550 000 people.

A further playful touch, the plant release’s giant ‘smoke’ rings from an oversized smokestack. This is activated whenever one ton of fossil CO2 is released. As the incineration process is nearly pollution free, the ‘smoke’ rings are actually composed of water vapor and serve as a playful reminder of the impact of consumerism and the building’s underlying function.

With the ski-slopes recently tested, the project is due for completion in early spring and aims to attract 65 000 skiers per annum. Meanwhile, local ski-enthusiasts stand by in anticipation for the chance to hurtle down the slopes of their very own ski-park.