Dive Brief:
- A Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)-designed power plant in Copenhagen set to open next year will include an unusual feature for area residents — a ski slope, according to The Guardian.
- The 1,444-foot-long artificial ski run will start at the roof of the waste-to-energy plant's exterior and, at pitches of up to 45%, will feature four levels of difficulty. Elevators will take skiers up to the start of the run through the plant's interior.
- The plant — expected to open Dec. 1, with the slopes opening in early 2017 — will burn approximately 400,000 tons of waste each year and provide power to 60,000 homes and some communal heating plants. The only waste product from plant processes will be pure water.
Dive Insight:
The plant is part of Copenhagen's zero-carbon-city initiative and will also be surrounded by public park space. Aside from BIG's overall plant design, project officials said the firm is still working out how to get the plant to blow a large smoke ring symbolizing the conversion of waste to clean power.
BIG is known for infusing sustainable, community elements into its designs. The Spiral skyscraper in New York City, for example, features greenery-laced terraces winding up the building's exterior, and the firm's design for a new Washington Redskins stadium — if the team can find a new location for it — features park space encircling the venue, which will be surrounded by a moat-like body of water in which visitors can kayak. Ingels has said the design aims to encourage use of the facility all year long, not just on game days.
At the 2016 Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, Bjarke Ingels told attendees that sustainability and design are not at odds but "can actually coexist perfectly." He also said that much of BIG's work "is fed by a rejection of the traditional dichotomy where it’s either this or that. It’s either sustainable or enjoyable."
