Metamorphosis of a coal-fired power station

Battersea Power Station is one of London's most famous landmarks. Decommissioned in the 1980s, the coal-fired power station on the south bank of the Thames is being transformed from an industrial wasteland into a dense urban district containing around 4000 apartments, tens of thousands of square metres of office space and a small power station in multiple construction phases.

Complete conversion

The power station was in operation from 1933 to 1983 and provided London's residents with electricity. After being unoccupied for many years, it was time to decide what to do with the iconic landmark designed by British architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. Instead of turbines and boilers, the former power station now houses apartments, offices and shops. With this disruptive approach, the industrial monument brings together a variety of usage types under one roof and is a successful example of a resource-conserving adaptive reuse project. 

Second construction phase: renovation of the power station building

In 2013, the world-renowned firm WilkinsonEyre.Architects was commissioned with the second phase of construction – the renovation of the listed power station building (Grade II*, “a building or structure that is of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve it”). Through a clever combination of preservation and renovation measures, the architects have retained the historic charm of the industrial heritage site, while also adapting it to comply with the latest energy efficiency standards. The new external appearance is emphasised by the so-called “heritage windows”; the 2000 window units were manufactured by seele (UK) Ltd, part of the seele Group based in Gersthofen, according to the historic design from 1930.

Steel – perfect for renovating buildings with heritage protection

“After a thorough search, we found the perfect profile to replicate the single glazed Crittall windows from the 1930s and 1950s in Janisol Arte 2.0,” says Sebastien Ricard, Project Manager at WilkinsonEyre.Architects. “The system enabled us to retain the original window frames and proportions, but also allowed us to use double insulating glass to meet modern energy efficiency standards. Janisol Arte 2.0 is a slim and elegant system that has proven to be perfect in the highly sensitive context of this famous listed building.”