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Battersea Power Station in London unveils the newly restored Control Room A

batterseapowerstation.co.uk

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Re: Battersea Power Station in London unveils the newly restored Control Room A

#51

Post by camtarn »

samizdis wrote: post #10
camtarn wrote: post #2

With the beautiful art deco ceiling and walls, it almost feels more like a palatial monument to the power of electricity, rather than a mere control room. Imagine if we strove to make our industrial spaces as attractive nowadays! Modern control rooms are still breathtaking, but more through the sheer volume of stuff - blinking lights, giant monitors, diagrams, and so on - than through decoration.

The Victorians had a similarly grand take on public utility buildings, especially pump houses for water/sewage works. Probably the best example is Crossness Pumping Station [1]. The interior is stunning; this [2] is one image from the Wikipedia page/ [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossness_Pumping_Station [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Crossness_Pumping_Station...

Wow! Absolutely gorgeous.

I wonder what the motivation was for such over-the-top decoration? Lots of money sloshing around and a desire to make things beautiful for beauty's sake? Individual or governmental prestige?

Re: Battersea Power Station in London unveils the newly restored Control Room A

#52

Post by mmarq »

jonwinstanley wrote: post #15
detritus wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems to be the case across much of London, sadly. 'Synthetic' is the word that comes to mind whenever I see these developments. Frankly, as much as the effort impresses me from a technical point, I'm content enough only ever seeing it from afar when I pass vaguely nearby on a train going south. I suspect I'll never actually walk through it. Having 'argued' with people on HN about this sort of thing beforehand,…

Unfortunately this is the way of the world. This is a major redevelopment and has cost hundreds of millions of pounds. To do it they take on huge investment, the investors expect a return so obviously they’ve built fancy shops, restaurants etc. I understand that there are places where redevelopment has been handled more sensitivity but this area in particular has needed an enormous outlay to convert it such a primate…

> Unfortunately this is the way of the world. This is a major redevelopment and has cost hundreds of millions of pounds. To do it they take on huge investment, the investors expect a return so obviously they’ve built fancy shops, restaurants etc.

I always wonder what’s the alternative to fancy shops. Is it the usual English high street with store signs made of rotten wood? Cheap minicab companies?

> I understand that there are places where redevelopment has been handled more sensitivity but this area in particular has needed an enormous outlay to convert it such a primate area.

There’s nothing to preserve in that area. It was an industrial wasteland surrounded by council flats and dodgy pubs.

> Hopefully within a few years it will start to gain its own identity and start again.

Hopefully not, hopefully it will develop a new and better identity.

Re: Battersea Power Station in London unveils the newly restored Control Room A

#53

Post by [deleted] »

TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #47
easytiger wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't understand this view. For a start clearing up the area to make it buildable cost somewhere in the region of £1bn. If you are harking back to a time when it was an undesirable wasteland I can't agree that that constitutes a better world. Much of London complaining about gentrification is complaining that the postwar desolation of London was a good thing; because that's what they are "benefitting" from.

The displaced people still have to live somewhere, even if the bougies like to pretend otherwise.

[deleted]

Re: Battersea Power Station in London unveils the newly restored Control Room A

#54

Post by ChrisKnott »

KptMarchewa wrote: post #48
TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The displaced people still have to live somewhere, even if the bougies like to pretend otherwise.

There's no "displaced" people if the space was unused for 40 years.

It wasn't even residential it was an industrial area

Re: Battersea Power Station in London unveils the newly restored Control Room A

#56

Post by WalterBright »

dtgriscom wrote: post #43

Here's the image used as a header on that page; there's a lot more than what the web designer decided to show. https://cdn.batterseapowerstation.co.uk/_default_upload_buck...

Saved for wallpaper! My favorite is the Apollo mission control room, with all the custom made consoles in it covered with knobs, switches, lamps, and weird displays.

Re: Battersea Power Station in London unveils the newly restored Control Room A

#58

Post by belter »

dtgriscom wrote: post #43

Here's the image used as a header on that page; there's a lot more than what the web designer decided to show. https://cdn.batterseapowerstation.co.uk/_default_upload_buck...

It's a thing of beauty. I hope they play Pink Floyd during the visits...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animals_%28Pink_Floyd_album%29

Re: Battersea Power Station in London unveils the newly restored Control Room A

#59

Post by mmarq »

ccity88 wrote: post #6

I grew up and live a short 5 minute walk from Battersea Power Station - I have some fond memories of playing in the (admittedly quite unsafe) industrial estate around that area. It's quite sad to see what it's become now; as much as I support the development of the local area, they had to add a bunch of shopping outlets, restaurants, and very expensive boutique outlets. It's completely antithetical to the local ident…

I’m not sympathetic at all with this idea.

They shouldn’t have built shops and restaurants because there’s a council estate?

On gentrification, if you own your flat then you have won the lottery, for its price is 8 times what it was 20 years ago. Similarly if you can use the so-called “right to buy”. If you are renting privately, you should get you MP to vote the abolition of section 21, which is an uncivilised law. That should sort out all issues related to people being priced out of the area.

Re: Battersea Power Station in London unveils the newly restored Control Room A

#60

Post by FabHK »

recursivedoubts wrote: post #9

"Art Deco style was of the moment with Control Room A boasting teak parquet flooring laid in a herringbone pattern and walls tiled in grey Italian marble offset by black Belgian marble detailing through the room, matched by a gold painted coffered glass ceiling." this was a power station what happened

Zeche Zollverein is an industrial complex in Essen, Germany. Shaft 12, built in the 1930s in the Bauhaus style, has been called the "most beautiful coal mine in the world":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zollverein_Coal_Mine_Industria...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zollverein_Coal_Mine_Industria...

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