🏗 Skiing on Trash!

Plus: Goodbye, Columns

Hello Fellow Engineers!

Ever wondered what it’s like to ski on top of a trash can? Or see a bridge flip like a spatula? Well, this week’s newsletter has you covered! From the slopes of Copenhagen’s trash-powered wonder to the mesmerizing mechanics of a Dutch drawbridge, let’s dive in!

👷‍♂️ Truss Me, I’m an Engineer…

Skiing on Trash!

Get ready to slide into the future with CopenHill, the only place where you can shred the slopes on top of a power plant! Opened in 2019, this sci-fi wonder is a ski slope, hiking trail, and climbing wall all rolled into one, built right on top of Copenhagen’s waste management center. Yes, you read that right—skiing on a trash can!

If you’re not the skiing type, no worries! You can hike the roof, or, if you’re feeling extra brave, tackle the world’s tallest climbing wall at 85 meters. It’s all part of Copenhagen’s mission to become the world’s first carbon-neutral capital.

Technically speaking, CopenHill isn't just about skiing on top of a power plant. The plant can switch between operating modes, churning out anywhere from 0-63 MW of electricity and 157-247 MW of district heating, all depending on local heat demand and power prices.

It even produces more clean water than it uses and claims the title of the world's cleanest incineration plant. Oh, and also, they experimented with the chimney so it wouldn't just puff out exhaust like a regular plant. Instead, it was designed to release "smoke" rings made of water vapor.

⚡ Cool Links

Goodbye, Columns
During the National Gallery’s Sainsbury Wing renovation, a letter from an original donor was discovered hidden in a column, happily bidding farewell to those very same columns. Even in the ‘90s, some architect choices weren’t quite... universally appreciated!

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Nintendo Indie World Showcase
No Switch 2 reveal? Nintendo’s latest 40-minute stream still packed a punch with some good surprises, including the comeback of MySims and retro bundles for Tetris, Castlevania, and classic Capcom fighters.

Doodling castles
Tiny Glade, the much-anticipated castle doodling game, finally drops in September! It’s all about stress-free creativity, no management, no combat, just pure, gridless building bliss as you turn meadows into charming dioramas. This one looks like the perfect game to relax to.

🐕‍🦺 Paddy’s Corner

Throwback Thursday

Throwing it back to day two with Paddy (nearly 4 years ago!).

After being the perfect pup on his first night, we woke up to snow. He spent the day figuring out what this cold, white stuff was, and it turned out, he loved it!

It’s time for a Bridge Review!

Feast your eyes on the Flying Drawbridge in Leeuwarden, Netherlands—where traffic stops and your bridge literally flips like a spatula.

Just look at that massive arm in action, effortlessly hoisting a chunk of the road into the sky like it’s about to serve up the world's largest pancake.

Forget your typical, boring drawbridges. It’s a 8.4 from me—points docked for moving at the speed of a snail

Another Throwback Thursday, I already built this in Poly Bridge 2 in 2020!

👾 Game of the Week

Adding the ENTIRE WORLD'S food production to one dish...

Ever wondered what it would be like to run a fruit-flipping empire? In Idle Colony, that’s exactly what you get, without even having to click! This game is all about combining fruits in a giant wok, automating the process, and building a colony of creatures who do all the heavy lifting for you.

Check it out!

🏗 r/realcivilengineer Spotlight

Thanks u/Makimit2i

🤔 Thoughts from an Engineer

See you next week!

Peace, Love and Flying Drawbridges,

Matt