BIG Waste to Energy Facility Offers Alpine Skiing in Copenhagen

01 March 2011-03-01 An ambitious new Waste to Energy (WtE) project run by Danish waste management company Amagerforbraending on the outskirts of Copenhagen, is set to offer alpine skiing on the rooftop. The innovative new facility has been designed by Danish architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), which won the contract to design the replacement of the 40 year-old furnaces on Kraftsværksvej Street. However, the hi-tech Combined Heat and Power (CHP) WtE plant will be wrapped in a transparent shell, formed as a 90-metre mountain, covered with a white plastic, enabling people to use it as a year-round ski slope. The lift ride to the top of the stack will also offer visitors a glimpse into the internal activities of the plant. An indoor elevator will reportedly send visitors to the top of the building, where they can enjoy the views over Copenhagen and southern Sweden, and then ski their way down the 1500 metre long slope. According to Amagerforbrænding the 3.5 billion kroner ($650 million) building project will be Copenhagen's new landmark. "It's a fantastic idea," said Amagerforbrænding manager Ulla Röttger. "People will be able to run, bike and ski on the building." BIG beat 36 Danish and international architectural firms in the design contest, and says that it is no co-incidence that the winning proposal includes a ski slope. align="left" hspace="5" vspace="0">"A CHP plant with a ski slope on the roof is a great example of a city and a building which is ecological, economical and socially viable," said Bjarke Ingels, founder of BIG. In addition to the ski slope, every time one ton of fossil CO2 is released, the smokestack will discharge a 30 meter smoke ring into the air The company hopes these smoke rings will serve as gentle reminder of the impact of consumption, and a measuring stick that will allow the common Copenhagener to grasp the CO2 emission in a straightforward way. After dark, heat tracking lights will continue to illuminate these smoke rings Construction is expected to begin in spring 2012, with the plant due to be finished in spring 2016.