London's Battersea Power Station prepares for major launch
The restoration of the Grade II*-listed Power Station in London is nearing completion, with the mixed-use development preparing to open its next phase over the following months.
This will see the first tenants moving into the regenerated Power Station, designed by WilkinsonEyre, followed by residents to the Electric Boulevard – designed by Gehry Partners and Foster + Partners – by the end of the year.
Simon Murphy, CEO of the Battersea Power Station Development Company, said: “We're reaching a pivotal moment in the transformation of the Battersea Power Station development as the long-awaited vision for this iconic building and the surrounding area becomes a reality.
"We'll soon be welcoming our first residents into the Power Station and to The Electric Boulevard later in the year, and the Northern Line Extension will be operational from the Autumn."
Once fully open to the public in 2022, Battersea Power Station will house more than 100 retail outlets, bars and restaurants, as well as unique events, leisure spaces and visitor attractions.
Among the attractions is the Chimney Lift Experience, a glass elevator that will transport visitors 109m up inside one of the Power Station’s iconic chimneys before they emerge at the top to enjoy 360-degree views of the capital’s skyline. The chimneys were rebuilt as part of the restoration work.
There is also a wide range of green and open public spaces, including the six-acre Power Station Park, which sits directly in front of the building on the banks of the river.
Among the major corporate tenants will be US tech giant Apple, which has taken 500,000sq ft of office space to create a UK campus.
Circus West Village, the first phase of the regeneration project, has already opened and is home to more than 1,500 residents and around 20 bars, restaurants, cafés and fitness studios – including The Turbine Theatre, Be Military Fit, DNA VR and Archlight Cinema.
The riverside neighbourhood already welcomes more than three million people a year, thanks to its annual events programme. Last year’s highlights included the Light Festival at Battersea Power Station and Summer Showtime on The Coaling Jetty, London’s first open-air cinema/ theatre experience.
Built in the 1930s and first opened in 1941, the Battersea Power Station was designed by architect Giles Gilbert Scott and is one of the world's largest brick buildings. The building has had a rollercoaster ride since being decommissioned in 1983, changing hands many times and being the subject of a plethora of abandoned plans, including one by Sir John Hall, founder of Alton Towers, to turn it into a theme park.
Others have included an urban park, biomass power station a mixed-use and housing development, an eco dome and a football stadium.
Confirmation that the London Underground extension would run to the site was a turning point that finally made its redevelopment commercially viable.
Battersea Power Station WilkinsonEyre Electric Boulevard Gehry Partners Foster + Partners
'Chimney lift' and large events space planned for Battersea Power Station
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