Roskilde Incinerator-line 6 | Erick van Egeraat

We got tons of it. Tons and tons of garbage. Why not burn it? I think besides the whole stigma attached to the word ‘burning’ it’s really a pretty good idea. We burn coal. We just don’t think of its burning- it’s energy production.
The winning design by Erick van Egeraat for the new Roskilde Incinerator-line 6 in Roskilde, Denmark, brings together historical and industrial heritage into an iconic facility which upon its completion will supply power to some 60,000 households each year. The architects describe the project with the following-It is a contemporary Cathedral, close to the ground we shaped the building to reflect the angular factory roofs of the immediate surroundings”, says Erick van Egeraat. “We then let the building culminate in a 100-meter tall spire, which is an articulation of a fascinating and sustainable process in creating energy” So the building is an incinerator. There probably aren’t many typologies that are cooler than incinerators. I mean as far as a concept. In the US, these things are designed by engineers and are not beautiful. This burning machine is housed within laser cut walls of raw umber-coloured aluminum, creating a ‘box-within-a-box’ of sorts, enabling the outer layer to be free and largely serving to the aesthetic purposes. At night this facade is backlit, symbolizing the energy embodied within. And every hour, for a few minutes, the glow wells up to a blazing flame of light filling the entire building. And then it goes out; back to smoldering embers.