Erick van Egeraat

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Milestone for Iconic Beacon Roskilde, Denmark

Thursday, 6 June 2013

A symbolic moment in the realisation of the Erick van Egeraat’s new Waste to energy Plant in Roskilde. Recently the top section of the tower was lifted to its position. The iconic Waste to Energy plant is a hypermodern and sustainable energy plant, where waste will be turned into power.

Click here to see how work in Roskilde progressed rapidly and how the plant will transform into a glowing beacon at night time.

In 2008 the jury of the international competition for the Incineration Line No 6 in Roskilde selected the design proposed by Erick van Egeraat unanimously. The facade of this building is made in two layers; the inner layer is the skin which provides the actual climatic barrier, allowing the second skin to be treated more freely; raw ember-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.

Erick van Egeraat states about his design;

“At night the backlight perforated facade transforms the incinerator into a gently glowing beacon – a symbol of the plant’s energy production. Every hour a spark of light will gradually grow into a burning flame that lights up the entire building. When the metaphorical fire ceases, the building falls back into a state of burning embers.”

Erick van Egeraat’s Waste to Energy Plant in Roskilde is created specifically to add value to an otherwise purely industrial complex. Enriching the skyline of the small Danish city, the silhouette of the incinerator also provides an historic comment; The lower part of the building resembles angular roofs of surrounding factories, but the impressive 100-meter spire and its materialisation is the modern counterpart of the city’s prime historical monument, the Roskilde Cathedral. With its twin towers and warmly coloured stone and brick, the Cathedral and the iconic glowing incinerator also have become the new guardians of the city’s otherwise modest presence in the Skagerrag landscape. The plant will incinerate waste from nine municipalities and produce electricity and heat power for the whole region of Roskilde.