1. ArchDaily
  2. Amager Bakke

Amager Bakke: The Latest Architecture and News

New Photographs Explore BIG’s Waste-to-Energy Plant as Ski Slope Roof is Installed

Photographer Aldo Amoretti has captured new images of one of 2018’s most awaited projects, as the BIG designed Amager Bakke Waste-to-Energy Plant takes shape in Copenhagen, complete with an SLA-designed park and ski slope. The images show to the completed power plant, which opened in March 2017, while work progresses on the 170,000-square-foot (16,000-square-meter) park and ski slope that will cap the scheme.

Initially master planned by BIG, the unique design seeks to reclaim a typically unused element of a building for the public through the introduction of the nature-filled program. During summer months, the SLA-designed rooftop activity park will provide visitors with hiking trails, playgrounds, fitness structures, trail running, climbing walls, and of course, incredible views. In the winter, the park will be joined by over 1,640 feet (500 meters) of ski slopes designed by BIG.

New Photographs Explore BIG’s Waste-to-Energy Plant as Ski Slope Roof is Installed - Image 1 of 4New Photographs Explore BIG’s Waste-to-Energy Plant as Ski Slope Roof is Installed - Image 2 of 4New Photographs Explore BIG’s Waste-to-Energy Plant as Ski Slope Roof is Installed - Image 3 of 4New Photographs Explore BIG’s Waste-to-Energy Plant as Ski Slope Roof is Installed - Image 4 of 4New Photographs Explore BIG’s Waste-to-Energy Plant as Ski Slope Roof is Installed - More Images+ 40

SLA Reveals Park and Ski Slope That Will Cap BIG's Groundbreaking Waste-to-Energy Plant

The final designs for one of 2018’s most awaited projects have been revealed, as SLA has released plans for the 170,000-square-foot (16,000-square-meter) park and ski slope that will cap the BIG-designed Amager Bakke Waste-to-Energy Plant in Copenhagen, Denmark.

SLA Reveals Park and Ski Slope That Will Cap BIG's Groundbreaking Waste-to-Energy Plant - Image 1 of 4SLA Reveals Park and Ski Slope That Will Cap BIG's Groundbreaking Waste-to-Energy Plant - Image 2 of 4SLA Reveals Park and Ski Slope That Will Cap BIG's Groundbreaking Waste-to-Energy Plant - Image 3 of 4SLA Reveals Park and Ski Slope That Will Cap BIG's Groundbreaking Waste-to-Energy Plant - Image 4 of 4SLA Reveals Park and Ski Slope That Will Cap BIG's Groundbreaking Waste-to-Energy Plant - More Images

Here's How BIG's Power Plant Ski Slope Will Blow Smoke Rings

When BIG's proposal for Amager Bakke, a waste-to-energy plant in Copenhagen, was unveiled in 2011, there was a lot for skeptics to pick apart. Is it really possible to run a publicly accessible ski slope on the roof of an industrial building? Would they really be able to make it blow giant smoke (or rather, steam) rings? The whole idea seemed rather too good to be true. The project's ground breaking in 2013 may have silenced some critics, but the video above should convince the rest of the design's feasibility.

BIG’s Waste-to-Energy Plant Breaks Ground, Breaks Schemas

There are many things that set BIG’s latest project, Amager Bakke, apart. The plant, which broke ground yesterday, will be the cleanest waste-to-energy plant in the world. It will be the tallest and biggest building in Copenhagen. It will house Denmark’s first ski-slope (on the roof of the plant, no less). It will emit its CO2 emissions - not as a continuous stream of smoke, oh no - but in sudden, bursting smoke rings.

However, the Amager Bakke waste-to-energy Plant is far more than the sum of its rather remarkable features. As an urban “destination in itself” and a landmark in environmental design, it’s one of the most radical representations of architecture as a means of public engagement of our time. And, what’s more, it’s a signal that BIG has finally reached maturity, truly coming into its own as a firm.

Read more about BIG’s remarkable Amager Bakke waste-to-energy plant, after the break....