POWER AT BATTERSEA Understanding Post-Industrial Britain through an Art Deco Monolith by Brandon Sanchez Submitted to the Department of Architecture in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Architecture Studies at the MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY June 2018 C 2018 Brandon Sanchez All Rights Reserved The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly, paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created. Signature redacted Author............................................................. ............. Brandon A. Sanchez Department of Architecture May 24, 2018 Signature redacted- Certified by......................................... .a eb t / 4asser 0. Rabbat, PhD Professor of the History of Architecture Director of the MIT Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture Thesis Advisor Accepted by..............................................Signature redacted MASSACHUSEMTS INSTITUTE Leslie I. Norford, PhD OF TECHNOLOGY Professor of Building Technology Undergraduate Officer JUN 2 2 2018 Department of Architecture LIBRARIES ARCHIVES POWER AT BATTERSEA Understanding Post-Industrial Britain through an Art Deco Monolith by Brandon Sanchez Submitted to the Department of Architecture on May 24, 2018, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Architecture Abstract In the modern age, a building serves a purpose beyond that of its intended architectural function. This is especially true of famous buildings, which become important as icons independent of their physical presence. When a building reaches a certain level of fame, its symbolic significance shifts not only as a result of its programming, but as a result of its political, social, and cultural context. These buildings often long outlive their original purposes. When this occurs, architects strive to find a way to best honor that building's history in their redevelopment. This thesis explores the symbolic history of one building in particular, Battersea Power Station in London. Constructed in a long period from 1929-1955, Battersea entered the cityscape in controversy. In less than a century Battersea has gone from environmental demon to beloved architectural icon, from the symbol of a nation's vulnerabilities to the symbol of a nation's ability to oppress. Its meteoric rise to international visibility in the 1970s led to its depiction in countless works of film, television, and other artistic media, each with their own interpretation of the building's significance. The new millenium has brought with it the opportunity to redevelop Battersea. However, its current redevelopment has brought with it a controversy comparable to that which mired its construction nearly a century ago. In a key period since the early 20th century, Britain has seen its industrially-fuelled empire collapse and its international standing fall. The rise and fall of Battersea can help trace Britain's national anxieties over the course of this post-industrial age. In so doing, Battersea Power Station indicates the power that architecture has not only to signify its socio-political context, but to influence it as well. Thesis Supervisor: Nasser Rabbat, PhD, Professor of the History of Architecture 3 With special acknowledgement to: Professor Rabbat. Thank you for advising me on this thesis, and in life. Mom and Dad, for your support, and for making this all possible. Julian, always. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, for your genius. Natasha, for discussions ranging from flue gas-desulfurization to foreign investment. The couple of strangers with whom I waited in line at the National Theatre, and with whom I discussed London real estate. 4 Table of Contents 1. The Station, As It Stands.......................................................... 7 2. A Proposal by the Thames....................................................... 10 3. The Media Battle.................................................................18 4. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott.......................................................... 29 5. Architectural Overview.......................................................... 37 6. Sabotage........................................................................... 42 7. S m og ............................................................................... 49 8. The Station, Completed.......................................................... 56 9. A n im als............................................................................... 60 10. K ing C oal............................................................................ 65 11. The Station, Decommissioned................................................... 74 12. Redevelopment..................................................................... 86 13. "An Industrial Yet Luxurious Feel".......................................... 97 14. R ule, B ritannia.................................................................... 109 B ibliograp hy ............................................................................... 117 5 6 1. The Station, As It Stands "I sell here, Sir, what all the world desires to have-POWER." -Matthew Boulton, business partner of James Watt, manufacturer of the steam engine, 1776 It is not immediately clear at a glance that Battersea Power Station, in its current form, lacks a roof. From afar, the station looks roughly as it has looked for the past 60 years: a hulking mass of rectangular brick with four fluted chimneys, one erected at each corner. New to the site, however, are several white cranes surrounding the structure. Battersea Power Station is now a bustling construction site and will be for the next eight years at least. Only upon closer inspection is it clear that the station is going through a transformation; the machinery has been entirely removed from the interior, the windows (those that remain) are falling apart, and indeed, the roof is gone. In fact, the structure as it stands is really just the shell of what was once Battersea Power Station, Britain's first coal-burning super-station located in the heart of London. Despite the continued use of its name, it has not produced any power in 35 years. In that time, it has instead stood as a deteriorating symbol, gathered soot and fallen into disrepair. If the current chimneys seem to glisten in their beauty, that is because they are recreations. Little here is original. In January 2018 it was announced that Battersea Power Station was being sold once again, this time for 1.6 billion.' This exchange marked one of the largest sales of a single property in the history of the United Kingdom. The sale was simply between one Malaysian development group and one of its larger investors, a corporate reshuffling of property that aims Patrick Greenfield, "Battersea Power Station to be sold for 1.6bn," The Guardian, January 18, 2018, https://www.theguardian.corn/business/2018/jan/I 8/battersea-power-station-to-be-sold-for- I 6bn. 7 to have minimal impact on the ongoing redevelopment project. With a target deadline of 2020 for the reopening of Battersea Power Station, and standing on the shoulders of 30 years' indecision, the current owners of the property cannot risk further delay. They hope this new sale will provide the necessary funds to complete the project on time. This project, announced in 2012, ensures the redevelopment not only of the station itself, but of the surrounding 42 acres of land as well. The whole endeavor, whose price tag is in excess of f9 billion and rising, is one of the largest of London's many redevelopment projects. The promotional materials promise luxury flats, fine dining establishments, and smiling faces sunning in the green space at the Station's foot. The value of this building, the justification of this exceedingly expensive project, is greater than the value of the vertically-striated brick facade or the new, glistening chimneys. It is greater than the value of the property it sits on. The station is located on the South Bank of the Thames, half a meander upriver of Westminster Palace. While fairly central, this part of the city was not valued particularly highly until recent years. What makes this building so valuable is exactly what kept it from being razed 35 years ago when its service as a generator of British electricity came to an end: a combination of its unique architectural beauty and its deep connection with British history. At the time of Battersea's construction, London was the greatest city in the most powerful empire that the world has ever known. This newly-electrified global capital could not have asked for a more appropriate symbol of its industrial power. In its ninety-year life, Battersea has seen Britain through its most harrowing years, past an inflection point in the nation's history. At the new millennium, for the first time since her birth, Britain ended a 8 century with less global influence than before. Over that time, the relatively subtle changes to Battersea's exterior have been overshadowed by massive changes to Battersea's symbolic relationship with British history. No longer the symbol of industrial might that it once was, Battersea instead has begun to signify the cultural, social, environmental and geopolitical changes that Britain has undergone in the 20th century. The little that does remain of the original building includes the intricate brickwork of the facade, designed by one of Britain's most important 20th century architects.