Green Wedge
HEDONISTIC SUSTAINABILITY In Denmark, a power plant that converts trash to energy just happens to also be a year-round ski slope. Copenhagen is home to the “cleanest waste-to-energy power plant in the world”, but it’s another aspect of the facility that has really captured people’s imagination. It also operates as a 400m artificial ski slope. CopenHill, as the 90m tall structure is known, is capable of converting 440,000 tonnes of waste into clean energy annually.
Also housed in the structure are a rooftop bar, cross-fit area and a lush garden. There are 10 floors of naturally lit administrative space and an education centre.
Designed by Danish architecture firm BIG, CopenHill doubles as a centre for public recreation. In addition to the ski slope on its roof, it also features tree-lined hiking trails and an 85m high artificial climbing wall – described as the world’s tallest – on its facade. “CopenHill is so clean that we have been able to turn its building mass into the bedrock of the social life of the city,” says BIG founder Bjarke Ingels. “Its facade is climbable, its roof is hikeable and its slopes are skiable.” Copenhill’s blocky facade is constructed from 1.2m and 3.3m wide aluminium bricks.
energy‑production tech capable of incinerating sufficient waste to provide clean electricity and district heating for 150,000 homes annually.
“To me, CopenHill is a perfect example of the world-changing power of architecture,” Ingels says. “We have the power to give form to the future that we want to live in.” Copenhagen is aiming to become the world’s first carbon‑neutral city by 2025. ■
Inside, it contains waste-treatment and
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HVAC&R Nation
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www.airah.org.au/nation
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October 2021
