The Virtual Globetrotting website [visit
link] has an aerial shot of the power station. The massive area that it
covers can also be seen.
The building is Grade II* listed and the entry at the
English Heritage website [visit
link] tells us:
"Former electricity generating station. Built in 2
principal phases: 1929-35 and 1937-41, completed 1955. Built by the London Power
Company to the design of Leonard Pearce, Engineer in Chief to the LPC, CS Allott
& Son Engineers: the architects were J Theo Halliday and Sir Giles Gilbert
Scott.
MATERIALS: Steel frame clad in brown Blockley bricks
laid mainly in English bond; reinforced concrete roofs; that to the boiler
houses currently (2005) missing; pre-cast concrete chimneys; metal-framed
Crittall windows.
PLAN: approximately square on plan, comprising 2
independently-operating power stations: Station A, the western half and Station
B, the eastern half. Laid out on a symmetrical plan, comprising a pair of long
central boiler houses with large square pavilions - the washing towers - to each
corner, surmounted by chimneys, flanked by a pair of lower, set back, turbine
houses; these in turn are flanked by set back blocks containing switch houses
and other ancillary spaces. Entrances to SW and SE. A vast underground coal
store lies between the building and the river.
EXTERIOR: Symmetrical elevations. A low horizontal
string-course of fluted concrete encircles the entire building denoting its
base. Strongly articulated parapets to all elevations. Low pitched lanterns to
roofs. The central, recessed, bays of the riverside (N) and S elevations have
tall windows which light the boiler houses, and a fluted parapet which continues
around the tower sides. The towers are the key to the composition. Their front
and rear elevations are tripartite with a central projecting bay with vertical
fluting, diminishing at the top. The upper parts are stepped back in a ziggurat
formation as bases for the chimneys. The upper side elevations of the boiler
houses are blind with lesenes demarcating the bays, and have set-back fluted
parapets. The side elevations have small vertical windows and rows of
transformer bays below. The S elevation of Station B is heavily fenestrated and
does not match its counterpart. The chimneys are designed as fluted Doric
columns and have 2 shaft rings at the top. Entrance to Station A has splendid
bronze doors designed by Halliday depicting Energy personified; these are
currently (2005) in storage.
INTERIOR: Internally, the principal interest lies in the
functional plan form and the spaces outlined below. The central boiler houses
are currently (2005) a roofless shell and await refurbishment. Station A:
Directors' entrance hall and staircase faced in grey Napoleon and Black Belgian
marble and staircase; lift enclosure with steel-framed glazing and bronze doors.
Marble Directors' tablet of 1933. The central boiler houses have no features of
note. Machinery and floors removed from the boiler and turbine houses. Turbine
House A has elaborate Art Deco finishes of biscuit-coloured faience with a blue
mottled effect and darker blue string courses. The wall bays are defined by
giant fluted pilasters with black faience bases; above these a steel crane
gantry runner acts visually as the architrave, with faience relief panels above.
The W side has 6 steel-framed oriel windows and 2 balconies at the upper levels
to enable overlooking from the control room at the upper level of the adjacent
switch house. Control Room A overlooks the turbine hall and has sumptuous Art
Deco interior; the walls are lined with grey Ribbon Napoleon marble with fluting
around the windows in Belgian Black marble. The ceiling is divided into 8 bays,
each coffered and glazed with cellulose-coated decorative lights set in a steel
frame, with original Holophane light fittings; and has a Vitruvian scroll frieze
along the cornice soffit. It retains its original L-shaped control panel and
walnut-veneer furniture. Station B: The layout follows that of Station A with
certain modifications. The turbine house is clad in blue-grey faience and
follows the same bay rhythm as Turbine House A, but in a much more austere,
stripped classical manner. Control Room B opens directly onto the turbine house;
it is faience clad and retains its original stainless-steel control panels
arranged in an arc. Ceiling supported by 2 pillars with octagonal faces on
square, tapering bases. The upper control room, added in the 1950s, overlooks
the turbine hall and retains control desks and panels. The switch-gear room also
retains equipment.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: To the N on a jetty parallel to the
river wall there are 2 cranes which were used to unload coal from collier boats.
While of lesser significance, they were integral parts of the original complex
and are now rare riverside features.
HISTORY: Battersea was designed to be constructed in 2
stages, planning permission being granted subject to the efficacy of the
proposed 'gas washing' system. This linked the boilers to the towers, using
water and alkaline sprays to remove sulphur from the gases. Station A was built
1929-35 and Station B 1937-41, the fourth (SE) chimney was added in 1955. Sir
Giles Gilbert Scott was commissioned as consulting architect in 1929, after
construction had begun, to refashion the exterior to appease adverse public
reaction. Battersea was the first British power station to rationalise
large-scale electricity distribution under the National Grid (established
1927-33), supplying almost a fifth of London's electricity on completion. It was
also a masterpiece of industrial design with a major architectural quality, over
and above that seen in contemporary national grid stations: 'a harmonising of
engineering structure with architectural expression' (Architect and Building
News, 13 January 1933). Although Scott's role was to remodel a preconceived
design - he did not regard Battersea as one of his best works - his brickwork
envelope is one of the building's triumphs. The bold but subtle design, with
detail concentrated at the upper levels, embodies Scott's advocacy of 'contrast
between plain surfaces and sparse well-placed ornament just where it is needed
and nowhere else'. For the first time, a contemporary architectural character
was stamped on the power station as a building type, setting the standard for
the next generation of 'brick cathedrals' of the 1940s and '50s. Halliday's Art
Deco interiors are a remarkable translation of the jazz-age cinema aesthetic to
serve a functional, industrial space and were a visitor attraction in their
time. Since first built, Battersea has held iconic status as one of London's
most prominent riverside landmarks and has remained in popular culture ever
since, appearing on the cover of Pink Floyd 1977 album 'Animals' and in
countless images of London. Station A was decommissioned in 1975 and Station B
in 1983 and the building has stood derelict ever since. It is due (2005) to be
converted for a range of new uses.
SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE: Battersea Power Station is of
outstanding interest on architectural grounds as a monumental example of an
inter-war utilities building, designed by a leading architect of his day. The
interior retains elements of high importance but has undergone considerable
alteration, including the removal of all machinery. The upgrading takes into
account the degree of loss, and recognises the building's powerful architectural
and historic significance."
The Scottish Architects website [visit
link] tells us about Sir Giles Gilbert Scott:
"Giles Gilbert Scott was born on 9
November 1880 at Church Row, Hampstead, the son of George Gilbert Scott II and
his wife Ellen King Sampson. Because of his father's mental illness, and because
he was sent as a boarder to Beaumont College, his acquaintance with his father
was only slight. Along with his younger brother, Adrian Gilbert Scott, he was
articled to his father's pupil and successor Temple Lushinton Moore, thereafter
moving as assistant to the Catholic architect Thomas Garner prior to winning the
Liverpool Anglican Cathedral Competition in 1903; because of his inexperience he
worked initially in association with one of the assessors, Garner's former
partner George Frederick Bodley. While their lady chapel, the first part built,
was outstanding in every respect, relations with the more conservative Bodley
became strained and were on the point of breakdown when Bodley died in 1907.
Scott became sole architect thereafter, completely redesigning the scheme for
the cathedral itself in 1910.
Scott's success at Liverpool brought many
Roman Catholic and High Church Anglican commissions from 1905, two of which were
in Scotland. From 1930 he was extensively commissioned to design university
buildings in both Oxford and Cambridge, power stations and the architectural
aspects of bridges; these showed Scandinavian classical modern
influences.
Scott was admitted FRIBA in 1912, and elected ARA in 1918 and
RA in 1922. He was knighted in 1924 and received the Royal Gold Medal in 1925
and the Order of Merit in 1944. He died in University College Hospital, London
on 8 February 1960."
The site is restricted so the co-ordinates given are for one
of the access gates where it is possible to park for a few minutes and see this
monster!