Battersea Power Station

Former Electricity Generating Station

Battersea Power Station is a former electricity generating station built in two principal phases between 1929 and 1935, and 1937 and 1941, with completion in 1955. It was built by the London Power Company to the design of Leonard Pearce, Engineer in Chief to the London Power Company, with CS Allott & Son as engineers. The architects were J Theo Halliday and Sir Giles Gilbert Scott.

Materials and Construction

The building has a steel frame clad in brown Blockley bricks laid mainly in English bond, with reinforced concrete roofs. As of 2005, the roofs to the boiler houses were missing. The chimneys are of pre-cast concrete, and the windows are metal-framed Crittall units.

Layout

The power station is approximately square on plan and comprises two independently-operating power stations: Station A forming the western half and Station B the eastern half. The layout is symmetrical, with a pair of long central boiler houses flanked by large square pavilions at each corner—the washing towers—surmounted by chimneys. These are in turn flanked by a pair of lower, set-back turbine houses, which are themselves flanked by further set-back blocks containing switch houses and other ancillary spaces. Entrances are located to the south-west and south-east. A vast underground coal store lies between the building and the River Thames.

Exterior

The elevations are symmetrical throughout. A low horizontal string-course of fluted concrete encircles the entire building, denoting its base, and strongly articulated parapets finish all elevations. Low pitched lanterns crown the roofs. The central, recessed bays of the riverside (north) and south elevations feature tall windows lighting the boiler houses and a fluted parapet that 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 featuring vertical fluting that diminishes at the top. The upper parts are stepped back in a ziggurat formation to form 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 incorporate small vertical windows and rows of transformer bays below. The south elevation of Station B is heavily fenestrated and does not match its counterpart in Station A.

The chimneys are designed as fluted Doric columns with two shaft rings at the top. The entrance to Station A features splendid bronze doors designed by Halliday depicting Energy personified; as of 2005, these were in storage.

Interior

Internally, the principal interest lies in the functional plan form and the significant spaces described below. As of 2005, the central boiler houses were a roofless shell awaiting refurbishment.

Station A

The directors' entrance hall and staircase are faced in grey Napoleon and Black Belgian marble. The lift enclosure has steel-framed glazing and bronze doors. A marble directors' tablet from 1933 is present. The central boiler houses have no features of note, and machinery and floors have been removed from both the boiler and turbine houses.

Turbine House A retains 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 west side has six steel-framed oriel windows and two 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 a 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 eight bays, each coffered and glazed with cellulose-coated decorative lights set in a steel frame, with original Holophane light fittings. A Vitruvian scroll frieze runs along the cornice soffit. The room 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. The ceiling is supported by two 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 north, on a jetty parallel to the river wall, there are two cranes that 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.

Historical Context

Battersea was designed to be constructed in two stages, with planning permission granted subject to the efficacy of the proposed 'gas washing' system. This system linked the boilers to the towers, using water and alkaline sprays to remove sulphur from the gases. Station A was built between 1929 and 1935, and Station B between 1937 and 1941. The fourth (south-east) 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 1950s.

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's 1977 album 'Animals' and in countless images of London.

Station A was decommissioned in 1975 and Station B in 1983, and the building stood derelict thereafter. As of 2005, it was due to be converted for a range of new uses.

Summary of Significance

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 building's powerful architectural and historic significance is recognised.