STATUS
COMPLETED
CLIENT
Amager Resource Center | Amager Bakke Foundation
TYPOLOGY
Infrastructure
SIZE M2/FT2
41,000 / 441,324
SHARE
Located in an industrial area near Copenhagen city center, CopenHill, also known as Amager Bakke, is an exemplary model in the field of waste management and energy production, as well as an architectural landmark in the cityscape of Copenhagen. The building replaces the 50-year-old Amagerforbraending plant and is the single largest environmental initiative in Denmark.
The new breed of waste-to-energy plant is topped with a ski slope, hiking trail, climbing wall, an urban recreation center, and environmental education hub, turning the power plant into a destination. The building embodies BIG’s notion of hedonistic sustainability while contributing to Copenhagen’s goal of becoming one of the world’s first carbon-neutral cities.
PROGRAM
— Without sacrificing efficiency, BIG was able to organize the volumetric organization of the machinery inside the plant from tallest to shortest.
FUN FACTORY
— BIG proposed a new breed of waste-to-energy plant, one that is economically, environmentally and socially profitable.
FACADE
— The building is gently wrapped with a continuous façade made out of stacked aluminum bricks. The openings between them are letting cascades of light into the deep process hall and the administration spaces.
PLANTERS
— In time, the bricks on the facade can function as planters, creating a green façade and turning the building into a green mountain from afar.
ALPINE SKIING IN COPENHAGEN
— BIG proposed to turn the roof of the new plant into an artificial, year-round ski slope for the citizens of Copenhagen.
THREE PISTS
— The geometry of the roofscape supports three slopes of different gradients with a total of 500 m of ski runs and a terrain park. This accommodates beginner and pro skiers.
SLOPE ACCESS
— Access to the ski paths is through an elevator adjacent to the smokestack. The elevator has a glass wall facing the interior of the plant, allowing recreational buffs and sightseers to have a glimpse into the internal workings of the plant.
TAKE A WALK IN THE PARK
— The roof doesn't only function as a ski slope, but like a real mountain with green forest areas, hike trail and climbing walls. The top of the slope invites visitors to enjoy a café and 360 views from the viewing platform.
COPENHILL
— Rather than a traditional visitor center, people come on their own for skiing and hiking, and become curious about what happens inside the mountain.
Located on the industrial waterfront of Amager, where raw industrial facilities have become the site for extreme sports – from wakeboarding to go-kart racing – the new power plant adds skiing, hiking, and rock climbing to the area. Expert skiers can ski down the artificial Olympic half-pipe length ski slope all year round, 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 with views inside the 24-hour waste incineration process.
CopenHill’s continuous façade features 1.2 m tall and 3.3 m-wide aluminum boxes stacked like gigantic bricks overlapping with each other. In between, glazed windows allow daylight to reach deep inside the facility, while larger openings on the southwest façade illuminate workstations on the administrative floors.
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The public can enjoy the rooftop bar, cross-fit area, or the highest observation deck in the city before descending the 490 m tree-lined hiking and running trail within the lush, mountainous terrain. The 10,000 m2 green roof, 85 m high up in the air, features a biodiverse landscape while absorbing heat, removing air particulates, and minimizing storm-water runoff.
Biologists have monitored the biodiversity of Copenhill since its inauguration in 2019. At the latest investigation in 2020, 119 different new plant and tree species were observed.
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On the longest vertical façade, an 85 m climbing wall is installed making it the tallest artificial climbing wall in the world.
Beneath the slopes, whirring furnaces, steam, and turbines convert 440,000 tons of waste annually into enough clean energy to deliver electricity and district heating for 150,000 homes. The power plant’s infrastructure, from ventilation shafts to air-intakes, helps create the varied topography of a mountain; a man-made landscape created in the encounter between the needs from below and the desires from above.
Ten floors of administrative space are occupied by the Amager Resource Center team, including a 600 m2 education center for academic tours, workshops and sustainability conferences.
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At the bottom of the ski slope, an après-ski bar welcomes locals and visitors to wind down once the boots are off. Formerly a piece of infrastructure in an industrial zone, CopenHill is now a destination for all citizens and visitors of Copenhagen.
Bjarke Ingels Finn Nørkjær David Zahle Jakob Lange Brian Yang Andreas Klok Pedersen Blake Smith Jelena Vucic Jesper Boye Andersen Annette Jensen Anders Holden Deleuran Buster Christensen Chris Falla Gonzalo Ivan Castro Vecchiola Joanna M. Lesna Kamilla Heskje Lars Thonke Mads Engaard Stidsen Nanna Gyldholm Møller Ryohei Koike
AWARDS
Energy Globe National Award, 2022
World Architecture Festival Best Building of the Year Winner, 2021
World Architecture Festival Best Energy & Infrastructure Category Winner, 2021
IOC, IPC and IAKS award international architecture prize, 2021
Bundesverband GebäudeGrün Green Roof Award, 2020
IDEAT Future Award, Best Public Architecture, 2020
Popular Science Best of What’s New Award, 2020
ICONIC Awards, Innovative Architecture, Best of the Best Award, 2020
Design Educates Award, 2020
German Design Council Innovative Architecture, Best of the Best Award Winner, 2020
Architizer A+ Awards Factories & Warehouses Popular Winner, 2020
ArchDaily Building of the Year Award, Industrial Architecture, 2020
Scandinavian Green Roof Award, 2019
Architizer A+ Award, Architecture Photography, 2019
European Steel Design Award, 2017
Tekla Global BIM Awards, 2015
P/A Progressive Architecture Awards, Citation, 2015
MIPIM AR Future Projects Awards, 2012
COLLABORATORS
Detail Design:
MOE
SLA
Lüchinger+Mayer
Rambøll
Zublin
Jesper Kongshaug
BIG Ideas
Competition:
AKT
Topotek 1
Man Mad Land
Realities: United
A.P. Møller Fonden
Lokale og Anlægsfonden
Nordea Fonden
R98 Fonden
Københavns Kommune
Frederiksberg Kommune
Tårnby Kommune
Dragør Kommune
Hvidovre Kommune
