Copenhagen's Trash Incinerator Ski Slope Is Dead

The City of Copenhagen has denied the over $700 million loan needed to advance a trash-incinerator-cum-ski-slope proposed last year. It turns out that this spectacular scheme to redesign the Amagerforbrænding incinerator would ultimately increase the plant’s carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 30 percent annually and also fix the waste treatment plant in place for at least another 30 years. The smoke-ring-blowing recreational monument emphasized the hedonism of Danish architect Bjarke Ingels's "hedonistic sustainability" mantra perhaps a little too much, lest we forget the sustainable part.

While the incinerator is still much in need of renovation, the city has opted to push the project back and focus instead on implementing better ways for citizens to recycle materials and prevent the generation of a literal mountain of trash instead of glorifying it (with an entourage of bikini-sporting skiers no less). But according to Politiken, those who were looking forward to the new vacation spot can still hang on to the possibility of a downscaled version of the original design.

This article originally appeared at Architizer.com, an Atlantic partner site.