Image: courtesy of SLA via AFP Relaxnews

Danish architecture practice SLA has revealed its design for a ski slope set to sit atop a waste-to-energy park in Copenhagen.

The masterplan for the Amager Bakke Waste-to-Energy Plant Rooftop Park comes from Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), which designed the plant and envisioned the roof as a green area home to outdoor elements such as trails, playgrounds, climbing walls, shelters and vantage points, as well as more than 500 meters’ worth of ski slopes.

The landscape architects at SLA have now taken the reins in designing the nature-filled park, which will adorn an 88-meter-tall roof whose steep slope created significant challenges for the planting design and the construction of the landscape; among them, the altitude makes for difficult living conditions for plants and trees, while the heat from the energy boilers below created high ground temperatures that must be managed.

To handle these challenges, while ensuring “the rooftop’s many activities are realized in an accessible, intuitive and inviting manner,” according to SLA partner Rasmus Astrup, the team focused on vegetation types that accommodate the harsh conditions while providing a microclimate and wind shelter for visitors.

“The result is a highly wild, lush and resilient green nature design which allows for year-round use of the rooftop while providing a sensuous and diverse environment as a basis for all the rooftop’s activities,” according to SLA.

The park will likewise shelter a number of birds, bees, butterflies and insects, and it is hoped that its nature will spread to the neighboring area through pollination and seed dispersal.

“In this way, Amager Bakke will function as a generous ‘green bomb’ that will radically green-up the entire area,” according to Astrup. Completion of the Amager Bakke Rooftop Park is expected in September 2018. JB

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