Electricity Transformer Station

The Electricity Transformer Station, designed by John Darbourne, was built between 1964 and 1967 for Westminster City Council. It features in-situ reinforced concrete construction that has been grit-blasted, with part load-bearing brick walls clad in multi-red hand-made facing bricks, showcasing raked joints. The roof is paved with similar red bricks and serves as a playground and garden. The building has a square plan and is largely situated below the basement level of the Victorian houses that once occupied the site. It contains eight large transformers and coolers, along with switch rooms, batteries, and other auxiliary rooms and staff facilities.

The elevations of the sub-station are designed in a Dudokian style, characterized by powerful massing, vertical bands of bricks, and teak louvres at either end, with a projecting central element supported by exposed concrete beams. The north elevation is similar but more regular. The garden on top is enclosed by a high wall with trellis openings, allowing the planting to overhang, reminiscent of the design approach at Lillington Gardens. Originally, the transformer station featured a football pitch on its roof and was the first part of Lillington Gardens to be constructed, making it one of the most abstract elements of the overall scheme and a striking architectural composition.