CopenHill, Copenhagen, Denmark A new breed
©Rasmus Hjortshoj
©Rasmus Hjortshoj
A mountainous landscape Recreation buffs and visitors reaching the summit of CopenHill will feel the novelty of a mountain in an otherwiseflat country. Non-skiers can enjoy the rooftop bar, cross-fit area, climbing wall or highest viewing plateau in the city before descending the 490m tree-lined hiking and running trail within a lush, mountainous terrain designed by Danish landscape architect firm SLA. Meanwhile, the 10,000m2 green roof addresses the challenging micro-climate of an 85m-high park, rewilding a biodiverse landscape while absorbing heat, removing air particulates and minimising stormwater runoff. “CopenHill’s nature roof park and hiking trail invites locals and visitors to traverse a mountainous landscape of plants, rockscapes, 7000 bushes and 300 pine and willow trees atop the world’s cleanest waste-to-energy plant. It also acts as a generous ‘green gift’ that will radically green-up the adjacent industrial area. CopenHill becomes the home for birds, bees, butterflies and flowers, creating a vibrant green pocket and forming a completely new urban ecosystem for the city of Copenhagen,” said Rasmus Astrup, Partner & Design Principal at SLA.
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©Aldo Amoretti
The internal volumes of the power plant are determined by the precise positioning and organisation of its machinery in height order, creating an efficient, sloping rooftop fit for a 9000m2 ski terrain. At the top, experts can glide down the artificial ski slope with the same length as an Olympic half-pipe, test the freestyle park or try the timed slalom course, while beginners and kids practice on the lower slopes. Skiers ascend the park from the platter lift, carpet lifts or glass elevator for a glimpse inside the 24-hour operations of a waste-to-plant. “We wanted to do more than just create a beautiful skin around the factory. We wanted to add functionality. Instead of considering the Amager Resource Center (ARC) as an isolated object, we mobilise the architecture and intensify the relationship between the building and the city – expanding the existing activities in the area by turning the roof of the new ARC into a ski slope for the citizens of Copenhagen. By proposing a new breed of waste-to-energy plant, one that is economically, environmentally and socially sustainable, the facility becomes part of the city and redefines the relationship between production and recreation, between energy infrastructure and social infrastructure, between factory and city,” commented David Zahle, Partner at BIG.
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