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Oct 27, 2025
showcase Spotlight

Are ‘Swiss Army’ buildings the future?

Copenhagen’s CopenHill was remodelled from an industrial incinerator into a building that combines a biodiverse, recreational habitat with a power station—with sustainability built in. Is it a blueprint for a new kind of building?

NEWSROOMS

Originals

REGION

Europe (North and East)

Subject

Technology Culture Sport

Briefing

Finding innovative ways to showcase what is technically possible was aced when Copenhagen opened this remarkable facility in 2019. Built from the remains of an industrial incinerator, its makers wanted to demonstrate that sustainability could be useful and entertaining—as well as practical. This project—which combines a ski slope, a nature trail, a climbing wall, offices and a power station that turns municipal waste into a single facility—has since become a lightning rod for planners and architects to build multi-function into their blueprints.

Insight and Strategy

CopenHill is a great example of a project telling a climate story without just telling a climate story. Here is a facility seemingly dedicated to sustainable lifestyle augmentations for physical and mental wellbeing, wrapped into a structure that is designed to burn waste to make fuel. Appealing to a wide demographic, this fascinating building project is a great example of a ‘Trojan horse’ climate story encompassing architecture, sport, wellbeing and culture—before we’ve even mentioned there’s a waste-powered station at its core.

Impact

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Are ‘Swiss Army’ buildings the future?

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