TERRY FARRELL & PARTNERS
The Components of the idea
Retain only the front and back walls and their chimneys
Create an open colonnade screen along the flanks
Retain the existing listed elements
Introduce a generous park in the centre of the site
REINVENTING A LANDMARK
PROJECT: Battersea Power Station LOCATION: South bank of the River Thames, South London PROJECT ARCHITECTS: Terry Farrell & Partners COMPLETION DATE: At proposal stage
Terry Farrell & Partners proposal for Battersea Power Station represents a radical rethink involving an incremental two-step strategy for the building’s future. The decommissioned coal-fired power station has been crumbling away since shutting down more than twenty years ago. Built in 1933, the Grade II listed structure enjoys iconic status, but countless previous attempts to redevelop the much-loved landmark have fallen flat. Taking heed of these failures, Farrell’s proposal offers a fresh
approach. Farrell aims to combat the ‘bigness’, that he suggests has blocked the project in the past, with a plan that doesn’t rely on starting with a £1.5billion new tube station or the refurbishment of an enormous and deteriorating ex industrial building. Farrell’s proposal is to create a simple and beautiful finished
monument at a very early stage by retaining the front and back elements and their chimneys. From most river views this would retain the full convincing form of the building by constructing a grand muscular monument with an open colonnade screen along the two flank walls. From the river, this will appear solid and retain the full grandeur of
the buildings form. From the sides, however, it will be open so that within the site and from the surrounding flats there will be views through the colonnade into a large generous parkland for people to enjoy. Such a unique and stunning park could be used for leisure and occasional events as have already taken place here over the years. As for the transport connections, for now Farrell suggests we
could spend a fraction of the amount it would cost for a new tube station on a surface tram link or a shuttle bus service to Vauxhall station. When the tube line is up and running, which could take many years, the old power station can service the increased people traffic there. A second phase could then involve the reconstruction of the walls and the roof to contain what is considered to be viable and appropriate at that point in time.
ArchitectNews.co.uk | Architects Choice | 33
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