3XN, gottlieb paludan + KHR vie for BIO4 power plant project

3XN, gottlieb paludan + KHR vie for BIO4 power plant project in denmark
(above) entry by KHR architects
all images courtesy of HOFOR

update: on may 3rd 2015, it was announced that gottlieb paludan architects (GPA) had been chosen to complete the sustainable power plant. scroll down for more information on their design, as well as its competing proposals.

together with møller & grønborg and speirs + major, gottlieb paludan architects were selected as the winners of this two-stage invited competition to design and deliver the new bio-mass combined heat and power-plant block, as well as the masterplan for HOFOR’s facility located in central copenhagen.

‘the idea was to capture the essence of a forest as place, while at the same time communicate bio-mass as a new and sustainable fuel-source, providing both heat and electricity to the city’, explains jesper gottlieb, creative director and partner at GPA. ‘the trunks work together to form a façade that is experienced as a sequence of surprising spatial episodes, both from a distance, and from up-close. the tree-trunks have a life-time of over 30 years, the old-trunks being ground up and used as fuel’.

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three danish practices have been chosen to advance to the second stage of a competition to determine who will design a combined heat and power plant adjacent to bjarke ingels’ amagerforbraending. the three chosen firms are as follows: 3XN, gottlieb paludan architects and KHR architects, with bjarke ingels group / BIG and henning larsen architects missing out.

the assignment included the design of a new energy unit that would use biomass as a sustainable fuel. named ‘BIO4’, the program also includes administrative, laboratory, workshop and welfare facilities. as part of the competition’s second phase, the three teams are invited to a negotiated tender, with a final winner to be announced at the start of may. see below for more on each of the shortlisted entries.

a vast area of public space positioned adjacent to the power plant

KHR architects

for their proposed design, KHR architects has outlined plans for a huge 70 meter-tall waterfall to cascade down from the power plant’s highest point. designed with landscaping by kristine jensen architects, the scheme features a vast area of public space positioned adjacent to the structure.

3XN’s proposal expresses the need for people to be part of a sustainable dialogue with nature

3XN

3XN’s proposal expresses the need for people to be part of a sustainable dialogue with nature, and emphasizes the the requirement of synergy between production efficiency and nature’s raw power. the peninsula where the power plant is located is planted with trees that encircle the plant. consequently, this woodland symbolizes the story of sustainable energy production – from trees, to fuel, to energy.

the masterplan has been developed in collaboration with schønherr

an observation deck is positioned at the top of gottlieb paludan’s renovated design

gottlieb paludan architects

designed to reflect the shift from fossil fuels to more sustainable energy sources, the proposed scheme by gottlieb paludan architects is located behind a expressive cladding of vertical tree trunks. an observation deck is positioned at the top of the renovated structure, affording guests sweeping views of the project’s surroundings. the submission has been developed in collaboration with miller & grønborg as landscape architects, and speirs & major as lighting advisers.

GPA’s scheme is contained behind a expressive cladding of vertical tree trunks