The Battersea power station is a coal-fired power station in London, which was from 1933 to 1983 in enterprise. It is one of the largest brick buildings of Europe, and is on the south bank of the Themse, in the proximity of the Grosvenor Bridge.

History

At the beginning 20. Century was not standardized the supply of the Londoner industry with electricity. A multiplicity of small power stations produced likewise-large variety of different tensions and frequencies. Electrical machines were usually therefore special preparations, or had at least to the available in each case supply to be adapted. In the twenties the resolution matured to centralize and standardize the power supply. As carrier here private London power company functioned.

1929 were begun with the building of the Battersea power station. The draft Sir Giles Gilbert Scott was assigned, to which also the Waterloo Bridge is to be owed, the Bankside power station (today decaying would do), the cathedral of Liverpool and the famous red telephone boxes. Up to the end of the Second World War the Battersea power station consisted only of the oblong block A with two fire-places. The building consisted of a steel skeleton, which was disguised with bricks only outside. The inside was just as in good taste arranged as the exterior, with a control center in kind the style, a Turbinenhalle lined with Italian marble and forged iron stairs. In the year 1933 the block A went into enterprise. The generators produced finally 400 megawatts with 11,000 V.

Briefly after the end of the Second World War the Battersea power station was extended by (outwardly with the block A to a large extent identical) the block B. The block B was finished 1948, and the power station kept its for the time being final appearance with four powerful, each more than 110 meter high white fire-places. Altogether the two blocks carried the third biggest power station out of Great Britain now over 500 megawatts, in the fifties were the Battersea power station thereby. Each year was converted one million tons of coal into carbon dioxide and energy.

The block A was switched off 1975 after 42 years enterprise, block B went 1983 after 35 operational years of the net. In the year 1988 the turbines and boiler were then removed. For this the roof was taken off, which was about thirty meters over the soil. The roof was not repaired thereafter so that the inside of the building was exposed to the weather.

Cultural influence

The Battersea power station is shown on music albums numerous British Pop and skirt volume. Is most well-known the illustration on the Cover 1977 of the published album Animals of Pink Floyd, which shows the power station with a large plastic pig between the fire-places floating. Further examples are the album Quadrophenia of The Who (1973), Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld of The Orb, live Frogs: Set 2 of Les Claypool's Frog brigade (a Coverversion of Animals) and power Ballads of London Electricity.

The power station was the scenery for the film sabotage of Alfred Hitchcock (1936) and is also in the film the sense of the life of Monty Python to be seen. In the film 1984 it accommodated the Ministry for truth. Lately the power station served as place of event (concerts, Cirque you Soleil). In Ian McKellens filming of the Shakespeare play Richard III. serves the power station as surrealistische interpretation the battle of Bosworth Field.

Future

One was itself in principle united that the Battersea power station received should be used and in any form, however was no conclusive concept. The idea to furnish a leisure or a topic park was rejected, because the environment had not been up to to the expected traffic volume. Plans to create a meeting center with hotels and conference rooms failed likewise. While planning ran in emptiness, the building purged more and more. There were besides plans for structural transformation, which changed the character of the power station strongly.

Meanwhile however the building contractor Parkview began with the conversion 750 million Pound of an expensive transformation project. Are planned two hotels, a theatre, a cinema, dwellings and restaurants on the roof. Besides to improve the railway station Battersea already existing into the concept integrated around the connections to the station Victoria and after Clapham Junction.

Articles in category "Battersea power station"

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