Archive London, United Kingdom
Battersea Power Station
188 Kirtling St, London SW11 8BJ, United Kingdom
This building survived a theme park proposal that stripped its roof, a 30-year vacancy, and multiple developers before the version that exists today opened. The 2008 master plan is the version that eventually got built, but it took a second, more specialized architect to actually bring the power station itself back.
What got built
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What changed
- Rafael Viñoly Architects was selected for the site master-plan role in April 2007 and unveiled its plan in May 2008, organizing new development around open space facing the restored power station.
- Station A stopped generating electricity in 1975 and Station B closed in 1983. An earlier theme-park redevelopment later removed the roof but was not completed, leaving the building exposed for years.
- WilkinsonEyre led the power station building's restoration and conversion, including extensive brick replacement and reconstruction of historic interior details.
- Contemporary reporting put the power station building's refurbishment at more than £1.15 billion, while the often-cited £9 billion estimate covered the wider 42-acre regeneration; these are reported estimates with different scopes, not one final audited cost.
- The restored power station building opened to the public on October 14, 2022 as a mixed-use destination with shops, offices and homes.
- The October 2022 opening completed the power station conversion, while construction across the wider master plan continued afterward.
Why it changed
The building's near-30-year vacancy and roof removal trace to an earlier, unrelated 1980s theme park redevelopment scheme that stalled before completion, exposing the structure to the elements for decades before Vinoly's 2008 master plan and WilkinsonEyre's restoration work began. The cost increase on the power station restoration itself is documented but the specific public breakdown of what drove the rise from 750 million to over 1.15 billion pounds was not found in the sources reviewed.
Details
- Status
- Built, with documented differences from the rendering.
- Where
- London, United Kingdom
- Neighborhood
- Nine Elms
- Developer
- Battersea Power Station Development Company (SP Setia and Sime Darby Property, later joined by the Employees Provident Fund of Malaysia)
- Architect
- Rafael Vinoly Architects (2008 master plan); WilkinsonEyre (power station building restoration and conversion)
- Rendering credit
- Rafael Vinoly Architects
- The built result
- Photographed by Alberto Pascual, 2012-08-31
Sources
- Rafael Vinoly Architects: Battersea Power Station Master Plan rvapc.com
- Building Design: Battersea power station, the remarkable journey from ruin to rejuvenation bdonline.co.uk
- Dezeen: Before and after photos reveal extent of Battersea Power Station redevelopment dezeen.com
- Battersea Power Station: official site and current operation batterseapowerstation.co.uk
- WilkinsonEyre: Battersea Power Station restoration wilkinsoneyre.com
Research checked . Status and figures are updated when a source changes.
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