London Trip - Battersea Power Station, LDA

Located on the south side of the River Thames, Battersea Power Station (constructed 1929-1935), was a working coal-fired power station (1933-1983) primarily used to generate electricity for the City of London, and at its peak supplied a fifth of London's power. The power station is positioned because of its proximity to the Thames, with consideration of the vast quantities of water needed for cooling. Decommissioned in 1983, due to combination of factors, the power station stood empty up until 2012 when it was purchased by a consortium of  Malaysian investors. The following figures show how Battersea stood as a working power station. 

The brief for the new development called for a vast 42-acre former brownfield site to become home to a community of homes, shops, bars, restaurants, cafes, offices and over 19 acres of public space. The landscape architects on this projects were LDA Design, taking on a challenge to transform former wasteland into a community, softening the monumental scale of the power station, responding to the new buildings surrounding the area, and designing for wellbeing, sustainability, inclusion, heritage, and biodiversity. Being a part of the 2.5% of Grade II* listed status building by Historic England, the building itself is of exceptional interest. 

The project overall was divided into eight phases, each designed by a range of specialist architects to allow for a phased approach to construction, enabling a more efficient an manageable rollout of the project. 

There is a range of planting surrounding the power station and within the roof gardens. The surrounding planting is designed by LDA and showcases a range of grasses, alongside vinca, euphorbia, Betula varieties including Betula nigra which has incredible brown hues of peeling bark, pairing well with the carex varieties, bordering the power station. When visiting in mid March the foliage had turned brown, against the exterior gold brown pressed bricks (made form Lower Jurassic and Middle Lias clay), evokes a sense of warmth. The composition of carex species which surrounds the perimeter of the building, is monochromatic, by limiting the planting palette here to just a few species draws attention to the presence of the power station building, creating a sense of unity and focus. It clear that this is a deliberate design decision, in my opinion it works very well. The following image expresses this. 

More ornamental planting species use in raised beds and ground level planting plots include Maidenhair-vine, Hebe veronica x andersonii, Pittosporum tenufolium varieties too. 

The roof garden at Battersea Power Station, designed by Andy Sturgeon, as the name implies the garden is built on the roof of the listed power station which requires planting into a relatively shallow, bespoke formulation of lightweight soil. The garden is long and narrow, with long vistas either end to both Westminster Cathedral is included in this. The rood garden is planted with grasses, bulbs, and a dominance of evergreen planting to provide year-round structure. Much of the planting evokes a riverine habitat, yet in reality, a high percentage of the planting requires little water with each species carefully selected to tolerate a fairly harsh environment of wind and heat. The following figures show the roof garden described in greater detail. 

The Prospect Park playground (LDA in collaboration with Duncan and Grove) designed for the local area and general public, is said to be inspired by the power stations iconic chimneys and brickwork patterns. The play area is bespoke, with the timber elements of the main area made from Billinga hardwood with two spiral slides and connecting new bridges. The following image shows these elements.

Eight colours of wet pour surfacing were used with an aliphatic binder to create colourful surfaces around the play equipment area and to ensure no discolouration of the play area over time. The wet pour was installed at various depths and achieved a maximum 3 metre critical fall height around the timber play equipment. 

Alongside the main play area, individual components from Duncan and Grove were used to complete the play area including spinning disc and basket seat swing.

Interesting construction details include:

Finally opening in October 2022, Battersea Power Station today is an incredible transformation for how it once stoof for many years as an empty brownfield site. This 9 billion pound project is radical change, with more than 22 million people having visited since opening in October 2022 Battersea Power Station is not just a shopping destination but it has placed Battersea back on the map. Several events like The Battersea Games, encouraging the public to engage in an array of sports and games across the the riverside neighbourhood, as well as pop-up courts, and a big screen showing summer sports and films during the evenings. 

I believe its fair to say that the impact this development has had on the local and surrounding areas is magnificent, which you would hope with its dear price tag. The space caters for all, and has been marketed to bring in the public from the wider population for its first-class retail, hospitality and relaxation high-quality facilities. 

The following figures show the power station before and after development, expressing the size of the development.