"Hedonistic Sustainability"

METROPOLIS published an article online recently on incorporating activity and pleasure into sustainable technologies. Drawing sustainability out of the realm of science and placing squarely into peoples' lives is essential for building public support and expanding our expectations for how sustainability ought to interact with the built environment.

Leave it to Bjarke Ingels to win a competition for his proposal for a new waste to energy plant by designing a 31.000 m2 ski slope. The competition, which yielded 36 proposals in fall 2010, was the largest environmental initiative in Denmark. With a budget of 3.5 Billion DKK, competing teams designed structures to replace a 40- year-old Amagerforbraending plant in Copenhagen with a more sustainable waste energy plant. 

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) decided to approach their design in a way that truly celebrates the idea of sustainability. What they call “hedonistic sustainability,” refers to design that improves the quality of life, both directly and indirectly- ecologically and socially.

Physical exercise and fresh air are rarely associated with waste treatment plants. But here the ski slope reaches out to citizens and gives them a new recreational facility, even as it creates a new relationship between waste plant and city. It shows a connection between shaping a healthy future and disposing waste. And it employs the latest technologies in waste treatment, while focusing on environmental performance. This is not a hidden, isolated, utility structure, but a celebration of health and well being. 

BIG really topped itself this time. While the firm’s buildings continue to be green, innovative, and never fail to surprise, here they propose the ultimate in sustainability. The ski slope, made from recycled materials, sits atop a building wrapped in a green facade formed by plant modules. Beneath this living skin are new waste management and energy management technologies. This building takes the idea of mixed use to a whole new level. Shouldn’t all our buildings strive to do the same?

In Los Angeles, like most cities, sustainable practices are integrated into things like building design or streetscape improvements but rarely is the sustainable technology itself the focus of the design exercise. Ingels' design forces us to rethink our understanding of "sustainability" and conceive of new ways in which Los Angeles could leverage sustainable technologies (like waste to energy plants) as cultural and social resources. Creating a symbiotic relationship among these concepts can advance the sustainability of the region while also adding to its vitality and livability.