AMAGERVÆRKET BIO4: A steel building with a remarkable facade made of tree logs

Abstract

ABSTRACTCopenhagen has an ambition to become the first CO2 neutral capital in the world by 2025. The utility company HOFOR that provides district heating for 500.000 Copenhagen residents are therefore converting the heat and energy production at Amagerværket from coal to sustainable biomass.For the main building complex, this comes into play with the use of hanging tree logs and a garden at roof level. The façades of the main building complex consists of an inner layer of golden steel sandwich panels and an outer layer of tree trunks in full building height. The tree trunks are supported on the steel superstructure using an external secondary steel support system. On the northern façade, which is facing the city, the tree trunks are more prominent, as it consists of more layers of tree trunks and includes a stairway going up between the trunks to the viewing platform on top of the building. This part will be open for the public with features allowing the public to be educated about the BIO plant.The public access to the viewing platform gives special challenges for robustness and fire demands, but also for dynamic load and comfort for both the support system for tree logs, the stairway, and the cantilevered platform.For the facade with hanging tree logs there are supplementary challenges with, aesthetics, durability, structural use of wood logs and development of static supporting system, natural loading, as well as fabrication and erection, incl. mock up for testing the system.Modularity of the system is designed into this, so that there will be sets with large number of identical “boxes” that can be placed with variation throughout the facade giving a visual variation in the hanging tree logs but insuring the modularity for fabrication and erection.3,500 tons of steel makes all this happen.