BIO4 Power Plant Denmark, Copenhagen Building Project, Danish Architecture Photos
BIO4 Power Plant in Copenhagen
19 Oct 2021
Design: Gottlieb Paludan Architects
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Photos by Allan Tofft
BIO4 Power Plant
Located 2km from Copenhagen?s downtown area,?the original?Amagerværket power plant was built in 1971 and was located far from residential areas. However, the city?s growing population has led to homes getting closer, and to guarantee safety for those living nearby, the power plant has gone through several upgrades to eliminate any production of harmful emissions, and ensure it is not an eyesore.??
As part of this development work, an extensive competition was run to appoint an architect to design a new biomass-fired CHP unit called BIO4 at Amagervaerket; the winner being Gottlieb Paludan Architects.?The winning competition bid also included a lighting concept by prominent lighting designers Speirs Major.
With the unit holding a prominent position so close to the city, and diagonally behind the Copenhagen Opera House, the architectural design of the 46-metre building is critical. To symbolise renewable and green technology, Gottlieb Paludan Architects used a forest theme, with the unit being fully wrapped in a fascia made up of suspended tree trunks.?The vision for this was to represent the move from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Enhancing this further, to mimic the brightness and shadows that are uniquely experienced in a forest, Speirs M...