The world has become focused on achieving a global climate target with the goal of mitigating the effects of climate change. Some countries, and even cities, have also implemented personal climate targets with the hopes of achieving carbon neutrality even sooner. In one city, a mountain-shaped plant can power 150,000 homes with a revolutionary technology, and all of that happens while visitors are skiing over a smokestack. It’s a revolutionary and contradictory design that surely will have people talking.
Achieving climate targets by lowering carbon emissions one step at a time
Denmark has a national climate target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 70% by 2030. This national target has significantly influenced and contributed to one particular Danish city’s own. According to the World Economic Forum, this city implemented the CPH 2025 Climate Plan in 2012, which entailed achieving carbon neutrality by 2025. While this goal has not been completed yet, the city has achieved a 75% reduction by late 2024.
Skiing over a mountain-shaped plant for more than fun and games
“Very soon it’s going to be a fact that in Copenhagen we ski on the roofs of our power plants.” – Bjarke Ingels, founder of the Danish architecture practice Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG).
This contradictory landmark is known as Copenhill, which is finally in operation after eight years of delay. This unique building is 90 feet in height and is officially Copenhagen’s new waste-to-energy power plant. What makes this building so unique is that it features a 1,300-foot-long artificial ski slope, which was co-designed by Colorado’s International Alpine Design.
The slope is comprised of gradients of green to highlight the sustainable agenda, and nearby is smaller chimneys releasing a smokestack. At the bottom of the building is the Amager Resource Centre (ARC), which can provide power and heating to 150,000 homes thanks to furnaces, steam, and turbines converting 440,000 tons of waste annually into enough clean energy, according to the Arch Daily.
This mega-project’s construction cost nearly 4 billion Danish kroner, or $670 million, and is the biggest project in Copenhagen’s history. However, Denmark is going to be part of an even bigger project featuring power from a small island.
This smokestack is about so much more than its power
This smokestack and its rooftop ski slope are about so much more than its power. Visitors can enjoy a ski rental shop, ski lifts, a cafe, hiking trails, and the world’s tallest artificial climbing wall. The landmark also features a park, co-designed by Danish landscape practice, SLA. The park has a manicured Nordic wilderness design, with the goal to attract natural wildlife.
A few disadvantages to consider
- The building’s metal facade is disadvantageous for birds and other animal inhabitants
- The building was constructed from non-sustainable materials, including glass, steel, concrete, and aluminum, which defeats the purpose of the building
- Expensive building construction costs for a power plant that will be obsolete in the near future, as a recycling system is being planned for waste management
Ingels describes their landmark’s architecture as “unrestrained.” When viewed from his perspective, Copenhill becomes an ambitious landmark that utilizes clean technology to generate an improved environment, quality of life, and awareness of consumption habits. In general, the combination of leisure activities with unique architectural designs and renewable technologies could be the major breakthrough in the renewable industry that we have been looking for.