NOVEMBER | REVIEW
The industrial renovation
L
As rent prices go up, former industrial sites are being turned into
cutting-edge event venues across London. Stuart Wood investigates
Words: Stuart Wood
ondon is changing.
Some 200 years after it was the
site of the first industrial revolution,
the majority of the city’s factories and
warehouses have either been torn down, or
relocated into the suburbs.
With the population of capital cities
around the world continuing to swell, and
the price of rent in city centres increasing,
space is at a premium. What, then, do we do
with the banana factories, power stations
and textile warehouses sitting derelict in our
capital cities?
Access speaks to a selection of
entrepreneurial businesses across London
who are providing an answer to this
question: turn them into ground-breaking
venues for events.
Gigs on the wing
If you stand at any point of central or
West London, the largest of these renovation
projects is easy to spot. A cluster of cranes
criss-cross each other like an upside-down
spider’s web, busily working away on the
South Bank of the River Thames.
This is the ambitious, multi-phase
regeneration of the iconic Battersea Power
Station. The building has a long and storied
history, with its first tower constructed
in 1935, and the fourth and final tower
completed in 1955. It was famously depicted
on the cover of Pink Floyd’s 1977 classic
Animals, where it symbolised the oppressive
nature of industrial capitalism. At its peak,
Battersea Power Station supplied a fifth
of all London’s electricity. In 1983, it was
decommissioned.
The station has been sitting derelict for
over three decades, but in recent years it has
become the site for one of London’s biggest
and most ambitious construction projects. It
is being regenerated into a 42-acre multi-
use space, which will encompass residential
flats, shopping districts, hotels and a 1,400
42
capacity venue for gigs and other events.
One of the station’s chimneys is being
refitted with a glass elevator, which will
lead to a viewing platform on the roof able
to house smaller events with 360-degree
skyline views over the city.
Battersea Power Station Development
Company (BPSDC) is in charge of managing
the project, which has not been without
its challenges. Honor Fishburn, director of
placemaking at BPSDC, says: “When our
shareholders acquired the site back in 2012,
the building was in a terrible condition. The
bricks were crumbling, and the chimneys
were so badly damaged they each needed
to be painstakingly repaired. Each one was
taken down and rebuilt from scratch using
the exact same methods as the originals.
They are a key feature of London’s iconic
skyline.”
Maintaining the building’s heritage
while modernising its interior is a constant
balancing act, but BPSDC has a keen eye for
detail. The same British brickmakers that
made the original bricks for Battersea Power
Station have also produced 1.7 million bricks
for the redevelopment, which are being used
to restore and rebuild parts of the building
that are in disrepair.
BPSDC has a number of initiatives in place
to connect the building to its industrial past.
According to Fishburn, these will include:
“A historic Battersea Power Station heritage
trail app, and an Alumni programme
capturing stories from individuals who
used to work at the Power Station when it
was operational. We will also host regular
talks about the restoration works, for the
community to come and learn about its
historical significance and complexity.”
Good Vibrations
BPSDC has high hopes for the
regeneration of Battersea Power Station,
and the impact it will have not just on the
surrounding area, but also on the people who
live there. If they were looking for an existing
example of how industrial regeneration
can be the catalyst for regeneration of a
community, they need look no further than