As if to prove to the world that yes, this thing is actually happening, today Design Boom unveils photos of the models for Amagerforbrændingen, Bjarke Ingels' ambitious hybrid ski slope/waste-to-energy plant in Copenhagen. The 95,000-square-meter complex broke ground in March and "is set to be an economically, environmentally, and socially profitable mainstay of the Danish community," according to Design Boom.
When the project was announced, Ingels called it a combination of "added value in terms of added functionality" and "the ambition to create beauty," He also assured skeptics that "visitors will reach the dizzying heights of Amagerforbrændingen ski roof via an external lift system which will rise past the plant's smokestack, ensuring that they are aware of the building's primal function." The exterior of the incinerator will be clad with planter boxes, creating a green wall, and the ski slope itself, planned for the roof, will also feature greenery. In taking something utilitarian and, well, plainly gross, and reinventing it for recreational use, Ingels is aiming to turn the conventional factory on its head.
This is obviously not the first time the architecture it-boy has done something totally wacky: he's torn buildings in half, designed sharp pyramids for 57th Street in Manhattan, created residential complexes that one can literally bike up, and he's just released plans for a Lego museum. All in a day's work, all in a day's work.
· bjarke ingels group: BIG's amagerforbraending ski slope incinerator [Design Boom]
· Bjarke Ingels' Waste Plant Will Also be a Ski Slope [Curbed National]
· All Bjarke Ingels coverage [Curbed National]