It would be more like, say, Frankfurt or Zurich, cities which are forever trying to grab more of London's financial business, and with only limited success, precisely because they are more boring. As for the argument that preservation can't be afforded in a recession, this is beyond absurd.
A recession, in Battersea? It's hard to spot. But the main reason for resisting the property industry's calls for demolishing the power station, in whole or part, is that the site's dormancy is, above all, a failure of the property industry. Successive owners have proposed fantastical projects — a theme park , a retail-entertainment complex in which Cirque du Soleil would swoop down on unsuspecting shoppers, a thousand-foot "ecodome" — which required unfeasibly large amounts of upfront investment, and failed adequately to address such things as the location's poor public transport.
What's more, these plans, while retaining the old building, would have so thoroughly changed its character that it was hardly worth the effort. Chelsea FC's plans have not yet been revealed, but it is hard to imagine that they will not have similar problems — gigantism, the destruction of the essential qualities of the old building, and rather obvious issues with transport and local residents.
It is hard to see how dropping a stadium on the power station would be anything other than an awkward coupling: a camel with a hippo, say.
Meanwhile it has been plain for years what the site is best for: a great deal of housing, taking advantage of the area's high values and waterside location, to be developed incrementally as the market allows. As a look at Google Earth will tell you, there is plenty of room, as the power station only occupies one-seventh of the site.
The architects Allies and Morrison and Terry Farrell have come up with different ideas for what it could be used for — a relatively simple performance venue in one case, a romantic ruin containing a garden in the other. Neither would be profitable in itself, but could be paid for by the returns on the rest of the site. The last owners were Treasury Holdings, a Dublin-based company, which once bid unsuccessfully for the Millennium Dome and whose finances eventually went the way of the Irish economy.
For the first time in a quarter of a century, Battersea Power Station will be used to generate electricity again but from renewable sources rather than coal. We are determined that Londoners will not be disappointed and this area will be brought back to life in the most spectacular way. It will be a place to live, work and play. The Chimney will also house apartments with panoramic views over London.
The largest solar driven natural ventilation system ever conceived will eliminate the need for air conditioning for the commercial and ground floor retail accommodation. The Chimney will draw air up through a campus of high quality individual office buildings which are covered by the light, transparent Eco-Dome, made of material similar to that used at the Eden Project.
It will be developed to incorporate hotel, residential and retail accommodation. It will once again be used to produce power with a new combined cooling, heat and power plant, but this time using biofuels, waste and other renewable energy sources.
The masterplan, unveiled today by Treasury Holdings UK on behalf of REO, will regenerate an area of London that will provide approximately 8 million square feet , square metres of residential, office and retail space. There will be a six acre public park, a riverside walk and an urban square.
The Battersea Power Station development will be home to around 7, people and up to 20, new jobs will be created. Please read our Privacy Policy. Business News. Published on November 4, Rebuilding the chimneys in View More. Keep up to date Sign up to our e-newsletter to receive latest news, features and events.
0コメント