WilkinsonEyre's Battersea Power Station is one of the restoration projects that has won the RIBA 2024, assigned every year by the Royal Institute of British Architects to define the standard of architecture in the UK.
This iconic building of the London skyline, shot also by Storm Thorgerson for the cover of Pink Floyd's album Animal, is an historic fabric and a unique space, designed by British architect Giles Gilbert Scott.
It was originally opened in the 1930s before later being expanded to create its distinctive four-chimney-form that sits alongside the River Thames. After it was decommissioned between 1975 and 1983 it remained empty for almost 30 years before being redeveloped by WilkinsonEyre.
The studio, who has also designed the revamp of another industrial site, the Gasholder Park close to the Kings' Cross station, has respected the traditional brick style enhancing the big glass window to modulate the interiors light with points of shimmering hues. High platforms and minimal staircases are conceived in a dynamic way like a sort of pedestrian terraces to connect the different areas and venues.
The location offers a wide range of services, from shops to events, including a cinema and a cultural area that explores and shows the history and the old practices of this memorable place.
The restoration, following the iconic example of a similar building like the Tate Modern by Herzog and De Meuron, intends to revitalize the Battersea district as a new meeting point for people and social communities of all ages along the River Thames, in harmony with the landscape to enjoy from the
360-degree view on top of the chimney lift.
