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The world's cleanest waste-to-energy plant has become a social hub, with a ski slope, hiking trail and climbing wall turning an industrial complex into a recreational attraction. Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, SLA, AKT, Lüchinger+Meyer, MOE and Rambøll, the 41,000-square-metre CopenHill aligns with Copenhagen's ambitious goal of becoming the planet's first carbon-neutral city by 2025.
The year-round ski plant was selected following an international competition in 2011 and broke ground two years later. Operated by Amager Ressourcecenter (ARC), it replaces an adjacent 50-year-old waste-to-energy plant. It also enhances existing recreational activities on the Amager waterfront, which include wakeboarding and go-kart racing.
"We are very proud to have built the most energy efficient waste-to-energy plant in the world," said Jacob Simonsen, Managing Director, ARC. "At the same time the plant delivers the best environmental performance with hardly any environmental emissions, enabling us to have neighbours only 200 metres away and to be located less than two kilometres from the Queen's Residence. Last but not least, we have succeeded in building the safest waste-to-energy plant so local citizens and guests from all over the world can ski on the roof."
The slope of the power plant is facilitated by the precise positioning and organization of the internal machinery, enabling the 9,000-square-metre ski terrain. Skiers access the park from the platter lift, carpet lifts or glass elevator for an inside look at the 24-hour operations of the plant.
There's also plenty to do for non-skiers, with a rooftop bar, crossfit area, the tallest artificial climbing wall in the world, and Copenhagen's highest viewing deck rounding out the building's crown. A 490-metre-long tree-lined hiking trail coupled with the 10,000-square-metre green roof absorbs heat, removes air particulates and minimizes stormwater runoff.
The building converts 440,000 tons of waste every year, delivering electricity and district heating to 150,000 homes. Ten floors of administrative office space contain the ARC team, including an education centre for school tours, workshops and sustainability conferences.
"CopenHill is a blatant architectural expression of something that would otherwise have remained invisible: that it is the cleanest waste-to-energy power plant in the world," said Bjarke Ingels, Founder and Creative Director, BIG. "As a power plant, CopenHill is so clean that we have been able to turn its building mass into the bedrock of the social life of the city — its facade is climbable, its roof is hikeable and its slopes are skiable. A crystal clear example of Hedonistic Sustainability — that a sustainable city is not only better for the environment — it is also more enjoyable for the lives of its citizens."
The building's facade is composed of a series of overlapping aluminum bricks interrupted by glazed windows allowing daylight deep into the facility, with larger windows on the southwestern elevation illuminating the office workplaces.
Copenhagen Lord Mayor Frank Jensen officiated the inaugural run of the rooftop ski slope, overseeing opening celebrations which involved sports competitions and charity walks supporting the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. CopenHill was christened ahead of the C40 Mayors Summit in October, when 96 member cities committed to climate action will assemble.
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