Battersea Power Station

London’s Great Redevelopment Soap Operas

Episode II

Continuing the Covent Garden saga, I would never have imagined the next episode would be Battersea Power Station (BPS, as the English always like their acronyms).

I thought everything had already been said about it. But the more I kept reading, the clearer it became that BPS is also a case study in the redevelopment soap opera that astonishes any curious mind.

So let’s dive into it.

The Building That Produced Plans Longer Than It Produced Electricity

HONOURS

First, what is serious and deserved: recognition for the professionals involved over the years.

Sir Leonard Pearce (1926–1935) Chief Engineer of the London Power Company (LPC). The true brain behind the operation.

Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1929–1955) The architect who apparently got most of the glory. He was brought in at the last minute when complaints about the appearance of the power station started flowing. He mainly designed the outer skin. Interestingly, he originally proposed square chimneys, not round ones. He also humbly denied that the project was entirely his child. Scott clearly liked monumental frames — he was also the designer of the famous red telephone box.

J. Theo Halliday (1929–1935) Interior architect responsible for the stunning Art Deco turbine halls.

C.S. Allott & Son (1929–1955) The civil engineering firm responsible for the massive structural work.

Jump forward several decades and a new cast arrives:

WilkinsonEyre (2013–2022) Lead architects for the restoration of the power station itself (Phase 2). They were given the “impossible” task of turning a soot-stained engine room into a luxury shopping centre and Apple’s UK headquarters.

Buro Happold (2012–2022) Structural engineers who oversaw the painstaking rebuilding of all four chimneys.

Rafael Viñoly (2008–2013) Masterplanner for the entire 42-acre redevelopment site.

LDA Design & Andy Sturgeon Landscape architects responsible for the parks and the award-winning roof gardens.

Michaelis Boyd Interior architects who designed the luxury apartments inside the power station itself.

Additional mentions (for the residential buildings):

• Frank Gehry — designer of the white, slightly “dancing” Prospect Place residential buildings.
• Foster + Partners — designers of the long Battersea Roof Gardens building.

Quite a cast list for what was originally just a coal-burning power plant.

LITTLE DETAILS AND WHIMS

The plant did not start life quietly.

One Member of Parliament criticised it dramatically, claiming it would be “bleaching all babies” and “killing every green thing within two miles.”

Perhaps King George V would also have protested, if only because people in Chelsea tend to complain about everything — and cleaning soot from your windows is simply not acceptable for aristocrats.

Then there are the unforgettable small touches.

Visitors today still remember the fantastic sign in the bathrooms, where the administrators explain they are “passionate about making your experience as memorable as possible.”

One cannot help admiring the ambition.

Forty Years of Ideas

The real soap opera began after the station closed in 1983.

Over the following four decades, developers produced ideas that now read like a catalogue of architectural optimism.

There was the theme park proposal, which collapsed even before construction really began, as costs rose faster than rollercoasters.

Then came the suggestion of leaving the building as a roofless ruin, with a public park inside. A very British idea: preserve the building by letting it decay in a picturesque manner.

At another point, someone proposed a 60,000-seat Chelsea Football Club stadium.

Because clearly the logical use for an Art Deco power station is Premier League football.

Planning Battles

We should not underestimate the contributions of local politics.

At one stage, the reopening was effectively boycotted because developers were allowed to reduce the affordable housing quota from 15% to 9%.

This decision was later reversed after a rather secret meeting at Wandsworth Council (whispers), discussing a land deal adjacent to the site.

Meanwhile, Phase 3 — designed by Gehry and Foster — was criticised for being somewhat overcrowded.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, publicly criticised the decision with considerable enthusiasm.

Planning meetings in London may appear polite, but occasionally they contain enough drama for several television episodes.

Battersea Burning Banknotes Station

Few people know that Battersea briefly acquired another unofficial title:

Battersea Burning Banknotes Station.

During the Second World War, the Bank of England prepared contingency plans to burn surplus banknotes there, preventing them from falling into German hands in the event of invasion.

At one point the U.S. Embassy also reportedly incinerated confidential documents in the furnaces under armed guard.

It was perhaps the only power station in Britain capable of generating both electricity and monetary anxiety.

The Flying Pig

Then there was the famous Pink Floyd pig.

During the photoshoot for the band’s 1977 album Animals, a giant inflatable pig was tied between the chimneys.

Naturally, it escaped.

Legend says it drifted directly into the Heathrow flight paths, briefly becoming London’s most surreal aviation hazard.

And Finally…

So today, instead of generating electricity, Battersea Power Station now produces:

• rent, shopping receipts, landscape photographs, and occasionally gullible writers like me

Battersea Power Station was originally designed as an electricity-generating cathedral.

For forty years, planners tried to turn it into everything else.

Ideas came and went. Businesses failed. Costs rose.

But the chimneys survived long enough to see the building finished again.

Which, in the long and slightly chaotic history of London redevelopment, is something close to a miracle.

Image credit: Original creators unknown, some are mine. Shared under fair use for commentary and educational purposes. If you are the copyright holder, please contact me for proper credit or removal.