03.03.2020.
Building sustainable infrastructure is one of the targets of SD9. Having that in mind, we instantly knew we want to present to you the inspiring idea that everyone attending the last year's 1MillionStartups Global Conference had the pleasure to hear. Mr. Gustavsson, the managing director of The Amager Bakke Foundation told us their story:
"The Amager Bakke Foundation was established as a vehicle for realizing the ambitious idea of creating a green roof park and recreational facilities on top of the waste-to-energy plant Copenhill in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Copenhill is the world’s most energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly waste-to-energy plant in the world, using non-recyclable waste from the greater Copenhagen area for producing central heating and green energy. Today, more than 20% of the households in the city of Copenhagen are heated through Copenhill.
The idea of combining a powerplant with a public roof park was conceived by BIG architects in 2010 and the project has been further developed in its current state by the Amager Bakke Foundation. The green roof has the same size as three soccer fields, and the facility contains the country’s biggest ski-slope, where a synthetic material makes it possible to go skiing all year round, a ski-center where visitors can rent and buy equipment, eat and drink, a roof-top bar, a stunning 3.000m2 large mountainous landscape where visitors can run and hike and the world’s tallest climbing wall, making it possible for the first time in Denmark to perform multi-pitch climbing.
This is the first time in the world, that a powerplant is combined with a public park. The goal is not only to create an outstanding experience and bring mountain-sports to the city but also to teach visitors and the citizens about how to manage their waste properly.
I believe, that societal change starts with an understanding of your role and responsibility, and the recreational facilities at the waste-to-energy plant are an excellent way of de-mystify your garbage bin and what happens after the waste-truck has collected your waste. Ultimately, Copenhill is there for a reason - that we as society produces waste. And that waste is a valuable resource that should be dealt with in the proper way.
On the other side, we hope that we can inspire the world about what is possible to achieve. If we as such a small country can get away with building a ski-slope on top of a powerplant, practically in the city, with all the engineering and design challenges this gives, we can push the boundary of what others might think is possible. The project has been extremely complex to realize and has been eight years in the making. But now you can go skiing in Copenhagen, and the city will never be the same again!"
Read more about the project at www.facebook.com/copenhill or at www.fondenab.dk
Copenhagen, March 2020,
Patrik Gustavsson
Managing Director, The Amager Bakke Foundation.
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