CopenHill: Copenhagen's Innovative Waste-to-Energy Plant with Europe's Highest Climbing Wall and Year-Round Ski Slope

During my visit to Copenhagen, I explored CopenHill, a unique building that serves as a garbage incinerator while offering public benefits, including the highest climbing wall in Europe (85 meters) and an artificial ski slope, all set against a backdrop of a cafe perfect for enjoying the view.

This facility provides energy and heat for 80,000 people. While the inside is focused on garbage incineration, they are using one of the outside areas for a climbing wall and the slope from the top for a ski lift and a hill to ski or snowboard down.

As our guide jokingly suggested, you can climb to the top and then ski down!

This facility is controversial in Denmark because burning garbage produces CO2 and because the Danes do not have so much garbage that they end up importing garbage from the UK.

However, as a tourist, I appreciated the view and loved the innovation in conceiving an industrial facility that could have another purpose and be used by the public.

What other examples do you have of buildings that have industrial as well as added function?