AKT wins role on £400m ski-slope incinerator

UK Engineer Adams Kara Taylor is part of consortium which has won the job to design a £400m giant new waste to energy plant doubling as a ski slope in Copenhagan.

AKT was in partnership with Danish architect BIG, realities:united, Topotek 1 and Man Made Land for the competition, beating a shortlist that included Wilkinson Eyre Architects, Dominique Perrault Architecture, 3xN, Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects & Gottlieb Paludan Architects.

The consortium decided to overcome potential objections to the creation of a waste recycling plant by turning the 95,000 sq m facility in to a destination. The 31,000 sq m ski-slope will sit on the roof of the building and will use a recycled synthetic material rather than relying on creating freezing conditions indoors, therefore saving energy.

The slope will be accessed by a lift in the building’s chimney, giving visitors views of the internal workings of the building and, from a 100m viewing platform, of the surrounding city and countryside.

Client Ulla Röttger, director of Amagerforbraending, said: “BIG’s proposal contributes to the city with something useful and beautiful. We see this creating a lot of opportunities and with this unique building, we can brand the Danish  knowledge and technology to show the world our abilities within environmental and energy issues.”

Bjarke Ingels, founder and partner at BIG, said the incinerator was an example of “hedonistic sustainability”. He said: “The idea [is] that sustainability is not a burden, but that a sustainable city in fact can improve our quality of life. The Waste-to-Energy plant with a ski slope is the best example of a city and a building which is both ecologically, economically and socially sustainable.”