At its peak, Battersea Power Station supplied a fifth of London’s electricity.
The coalfired power station’s two control rooms managed the distribution of power from Carnaby Street to Wimbledon – including Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament.
It also featured on the cover of Pink Floyd’s popular 1977 album, Animals.
The building was decommissioned in 1983 and during the years that followed, several failed attempts were made to redevelop the site.
In the intervening years Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 Vietnam movie, Full Metal Jacket, was filmed there and it launched Tim Burton’s1989 movie Batman.
Almost 40 years after Battersea Power Station’s lights were switched off, it is finally set to become one of London’s biggest retail and leisure destinations.
It will open its doors to the public for the first time from Friday 14 October.
• Turbine Hall A is lavish 1930s Art Deco glamour.
• Turbine Hall B, completed 20 years later in the post-War 1950s,
has a brutalist, industrial look and feel.
• Control Room A will be an events space and Control Room B
will be an all-day bar.
Electric Boulevard, a new pedestrianised high street, which runs from the south of the Power Station, between Frank Gehry’s Prospect Place and Foster + Partners’ Battersea Roof Gardens to the new Battersea Power Station Zone 1 Underground station, will open the same day.
The Grade II listed Power Station has been in the hands of Sime Darby Property, S P Setia and the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) since 2012 during which time it has been restored.
In 2019, PNB and EPF became the long-term commercial asset holders .
• LIFT 109 is a glass elevator experience which transports visitors
109 metres up to the top of the building’s north west chimney,
offering views of London’s skyline.
Shops will be housed in the Power Station’s two newly restored Turbine Halls, which although identical when viewed from the building’s exterior, are completely unique in their interior design.
Entertainment venues include The Cinema at the Power Station,
Shops include Hugo Boss, Theory, Lacoste, Ralph Lauren, Aesop, Space NK, Ace + Tate, lululemon, Mulberry, Jo Malone London, Uniqlo, and a new neighbourhood bookstore, Battersea Bookshop, from specialist bookseller Stanfords.
The Boiler House at the heart of the Grade building will be home to the 24,000 sq. ft Arcade Food Hall from JKS Restaurants which will open next year.
Other food and beverage venues inside the Power Station are Le Bab, Where The Pancakes Are, Poke House, Clean Kitchen Club, and Paris Baguette.
Bars and restaurants already open in Circus West Village include Sugen Gopal’s Roti King, Tapas Brindisa, Wright Brothers, Vagabond Wines, Megan’s at the Power Station, Battersea Brewery, Francesco Mazzei’s Fiume and Vivek Singh’s Cinnamon Kitchen.
Electric Boulevard, a new high street for the local community, will offer a mix of bars and restaurants, office space, shops, a park, community hub and a 164 room hotel from art’otel.
Retailers on Electric Boulevard will include ZARA, a M&S Foodhall and a 28,000 sq. ft club from London fitness brand, Third Space.
CEO at Battersea Power Station Development Company (BPSDC) Simon Murphy said: “It has taken a lot of hard work, determination, and the continued commitment of the Malaysian Shareholders over the past ten years to bring Battersea Power Station back to its former glory. We can’t wait to welcome the first visitors, and show the local community, Londoners, and the rest of the world, the historic beauty of the Grade II* listed building, which has been transformed into London’s most unique destination for all to enjoy.”
