With the new waste-to-energy Incineration Line, the city of Roskilde in Denmark will have a second towering landmark, besides the UNESCO world heritage Cathedral: The Energy Tower designed by Erick van Egeraat. The facility was inaugurated by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik on September 2, 2014.

The plant will incinerate waste, from nine surrounding municipalities and from many places abroad to produce electricity and heat power for the whole region of Roskilde. To provide the huge new incinerator line, planned in a relatively flat landscape and next to the relatively small city of Roskilde with a suitable appearance, an international design competition was organized. In 2008 the jury unanimously selected the design proposed by Erick van Egeraat. The design presents an iconic expression for the otherwise functional architecture of the local waste management company Kara/Noveren’s next generation incineration line. The façade consists of two layers: the inner layer is the skin which provides the actual climatic barrier, allowing the second skin to be treated more freely - raw umber-coloured aluminium plates with an irregular pattern of laser cut circular holes. The aluminium plates are treated to give them the desired colour and patina at day time. At night, the programmable lighting, installed between the two facades, gives the building an additional metaphor.

Text provided by the Architect