The kids and I decided on our usual half term pilgrimage to London this past October.
A couple of photographic exhibitions took our fancy, namely the excellent Chris Kilip retrospective at The Photographer's Gallery and also the Bill Brandt inside the mirror at Tate Britain.
The former being a very modest £8 and the latter being free admission. Highly recommended.
Top on my list was having sight of the recently opened Battersea Power Station developemrnt.
I have always been mesmerised by this structure, since seeing the Pink Floyd Animals album cover when I was a little boy.
Back in 2012 - when I started to take my photography a little more seriously,or more than the impromptu family photos - I stumbled across Battersea Power Station, whilst walking around the side and back streets of central London.
I had my much missed and underrated Fuji X100 setup, allowing me to take street photos and long exposures. Light & nimble.
I took the below photo, which (at the time) I was indifferent about. It happens to be my best seller on my Etsy store.
Here are some stats about this magnificent structure.
From the 1930s to 1980s, Battersea Power Station was a working Power Station. At its peak, it was producing a fifth of London’s power, supplying electricity to some of London’s most recognisable landmarks, such as the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace
1929 - Works begin on site. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, one of the most prominent architects of the day, who was responsible for Britain’s red telephone boxes, joins the project. Original proposals were for the chimneys to be square rather than circular.
1935 - The first stage of the Power Station, Battersea A, is completed. The top of the western pair of chimneys are 101m from the ground. The chimneys themselves are 50m each, while the wash towers they sit on are 51m.
1940 - RAF pilots use the plumes of white vapour from the chimneys to guide them home in the mist. The Luftwaffe also used the plumes for navigation, which explains why the Power Station avoided extensive bombing.
1944 - Battersea B, the second stage of the Power Station, starts to generate electricity. The station goes on to pioneer a gas washing process to reduce sulphur emissions, with excess generated heat ducted under the Thames in a district heating scheme for 1,600 homes in Pimlico.
1955 - The fourth chimney, and second stage of the Power Station is complete, with the Power Station at peak capacity. The space within the main Boiler House is so vast that it would be possible to fit St. Pauls Cathedral within the space.
1964 - On 20 April, an electrical failure at Battersea Power Station caused power failures throughout London, including at the BBC Television centre, which was due to launch BBC Two that night. The launch was delayed to 11am the following day.
1977 - An inflatable pink pig floating between the two southern chimneys appears on the front cover of Pink Floyd’s album, Animals. The inflatable pig was tethered to one of the southern chimneys but lost its moorings and rose to the flight path of Heathrow Airport. Police helicopters tracked its course until it finally landed off the coast of Kent.
Album artwork, Animals, 1977. Design by Roger Waters. Graphics by Nick Mason. Production and art direction by Storm Thorgerson / Aubrey Powell at Hipgnosis.
1980 - The Power Station is awarded Grade II listed status. Awarded by Historic England, listed buildings mark and celebrate the building’s special architectural and historic interest. They’re also brought under the consideration of the planning system, so they can be protected for future generations.
1983 - The Power Station closes and ceases to generate electricity. It goes on to be purchased in 1987 by Battersea Leisure (theme park scheme) and again in 1993 by Parkview.
2007 - The Power Station is upgraded to Grade II* listed status. Less than 6% of listed buildings fall into this category as particularly important buildings of more than special interest.
2012 - The Power Station is purchased by the current shareholders, SP Setia, Sime Darby Property and the Employers Provident Fund, bringing an end to decades of disuse. Works begin the following year to redevelop the 42-acre site surrounding the Power Station to create a new community of homes, shops, cafes, restaurants, cultural venues and open space for London.
Above taken from: https://batterseapowerstation.co.uk/
The most mind boggling stat is that: About 6 million bricks were used in the construction of the original building. Different makes were used throughout including Accrington engineering bricks, which were also used in the Empire State Building.
Architecture studio Wilkinson Eyre has unveiled the redeveloped Battersea Power Station in London ahead of its opening next week, almost 40 years after the building was decommissioned.
The former power station, which now contains over 100 shops, 46,000 square metres of office space for technology brand Apple and 254 apartments is set to officially open to the public on 14 October.
The £9bn development project has studio flats starting at £865,000 and the penthouse flat £8.0m.
Until next time, keep snapping.