Battersea Power Station
I always used to think London doesn't change much as a city. Sure you get new skyscrapers all the time, and they're like fresh flowers to an already beautiful blooming plant.The city itself rarely changes beyond recognition.
When I was living in London in my previous life, I used to pass by a big building called the Battersea Power Station very often. The power station was first constructed in 1925, and the second one in 1945. It ended up with four iconic chimneys and is said to be one of the world's largest brick building. In 1983 power production stopped and the Battersea Power Station stood there, lonely and helpless. People didn't know what to do with it, it was such a giant, and a very iconic one that you couldn't just dismantle and kill off. It looked so sad.
After decades of loneliness and darkness, the Battersea Power Station finally lit up again in 2022. It was filled with luxury shops and fancy restaurants, posh apartments and corporate offices. Communal outdoor spaces were added, and odd looking building sprang up around it.
I can't work out if these changes complement or destroys Battersea Power Station's charm. What do you think?
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I think those big apartments blocks look pretty grim and faceless, even in funny shapes, I feel sad that so much of the the Thames is lined with these.
For Battersea Power Station, I'm glad it's brought back into use. It used to be a landmark for me when I started at "big" school: when I saw the Power Station chimneys from the bus, I knew the next stop was mine.
Did you like the galleries inside?
Those two buildings directly opposite were a bit weird, personally I'm not a big fan of lumpy flats!!
There wasn't much to see inside, tbh, just lots of fancy shops, If you didn't know, you really couldn't tell it had a past...
Architects did a great job changing the entire space into a public area and also kept the history intact. I don't think these changes destroyed the Battersea Power Station's charm (my opinion). In fact, these changes saved the building from being destroyed... (a small architect's opinion :D). One might feel it's a concrete jungle but if you think about the future, this huge space has more meaning now...
It's very interesting to hear it from an architect's point of view, thanks @priyanarc appreciate it.
The outside of the building is still very iconic and instantly recognisable by those familiar with it, I just wished they had done more inside to preserve it's history and past, like keeping some of the machinery or even photos to create a little museum. They still have loads of space and there's so much they can do with it. As to the outside, with the city's growth, concrete jungle is unavoidable and we just have to accept it's part of life, I'm so glad they have developed the area rather than let the building fall to pieces
That was exactly my thought as well, they didn't just destroy or abandon the place...
I like the look of the outside of the building anyway. I wouldn't like to see any pollution coming out of those smoke stacks, but at the same time I do like the look. That could just be because I grew up in an era when smoke stacks were more common and so they are a little nostalgic. In my hometown many of the older schools used to have smoke stacks. They stopped using them decades ago but kept them until finally knocking them down recently, claiming that it was because kids would try to climb them and it could be dangerous.
Guess the chimneys were essential back in those days for a power station and it's not like protecting the environment was high on the agenda then!! It's a pity that your hometown had to pull down the chimneys at the old schools, I imagine the buildings would have looked very nice with them intact, health and safety precautions gets a bit too much sometimes
Bello lugar
Thanks
Woah! Those buildings are so big. Buildings here in our place is so small compared to those in there in London.
We have quite a lot of these old ex factories, and warehouses in London, many have been converted to shopping malls or apartments now because land is so expensive in London
Thanks for sharing these photos with us. It seems to me that the architects have done an outstanding job. Renovating such a large old building is a difficult undertaking
It certainly is a massive building, there are still lots of empty space that were unused, you can fit an amusement park in there... in fact that was one of the earlier proposals but that fell through
yeah im definitely gonna be using this post to study more perspective study. Apart from being beautiful i love the angles at which you took the photos, great job
Lot's of lines and curves and shapes there, great for practicing photography
exactly, especially the shapes nd curves, very nice
Nice pics ! I just love the architecture of the building - its awesome (I really like the art deco style), but I've never been near or in it. To be honest I'm glad to hear its now being actively used, as it would be a shame otherwise, and it looks like they've done a great job to me - so I think its a very positive thing.
I think it's great that they finally redeveloped it to save it from derelict, just wished there was more character inside and we could get to know a bit more about its past
Honestly I am beginning to get angry about modern architecure, because everything they do looks the same. They lost their creativity imo.
The charming look of the old outside could have been picked up and transformed into an amazing interior.
Or maybe its the "liketu post stile" with all pictures in one block wich makes it look that way 🤔
Sadly, there's no character inside just a massive space filled with loads of shops. The fourth image you see with two staircases is the main entrance to the apartments (of course they have that!!) 😕
Means from long time it was 🔐 closed! Now it's open in 2022. I think they should open it during that closed time for tourism. But it's good step that there are shopping malls built in.
There have been plans over the years to turn it into different uses but the cost of it was massive so it took a while to get to this stage, finally!!!
Amazing, 39 years of electricity production stopped. it was so long ago that it almost became a power plant museum. I was attracted to the design and the city was very friendly..
It would have been very nice if they did a mini museum in there to show it's history. The place is massive with loads of spare spaces, would have loved to learn a bit about it's past
I agree with your opinion. Even the Power Plant has outlived its lifespan since it was built in 1925 . meaning that the power plant had been lit before the Second World War.
City changes and develops according to the needs of the community. We just have to accept and embrace changes.
Yes, that's very true. It's part of life and we just have to accept it
Yes it is. It is what they say everything changes so do we people... It's up to us for the good or the bad.
I was going to say, that looks more like a mall than a power station. I think it is cool that they repurposed the old building and made it something really unique. The alternative would have probably been tearing it down and building something less charming I am sure.
They stripped out all the machines inside and were just left with a blank canvas, so apart from the chimney you can't tell it used to be a power station. I thought there wasn't much character inside to show its original purpose, just a massive space with lots of modern shops. But then, it's still much better than knocking it down as the building is very iconic and was become a white elephant. Guess we should be grateful someone was willing to invest in it
I think it is pretty cool! We have some old factories around where I live that would be neat to see repurposed like this.
The transformation of Battersea Power Station is truly striking. While modernization brings new life, it's essential to preserve its historic essence. A blend of old and new, a testament to time.
Balancing the old and the new is always a tricky job, and very difficult to please everyone as there's always going to be some who likes the old or new more
Wow! What a way to make photos that attract the eye!.... Excellent! Congratulations and thanks for sharing this!
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Thanks, there were lots of interesting lines and features, great for honing photography skills
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Thanks all!!
Caught an airplane in one pic.
Well spotted!! I wanted to see if anyone noticed that!! I saw the plane flying across and whipped my phone out immediately and caught it just in time
quick hands in catching the plane. 😎
I think it's great that they bring old buildings back to life, but what a pity none of its original character can be seen inside, the shopping area does look very smart though. However, I'm not a big fan of the very artificial looking outdoor area.
Lovely photos @livinguktaiwan, thank you for taking us on these virtual outings and showingusa glimpse of your world!