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Real Estate Opportunities purchases site
It is announced that Real Estate Opportunities, led by Irish businessmen Richard Barrett and Johnny Ronan of Treasury Holdings, have purchased Battersea Power Station and the surrounding land for £400 million. -
Competition success
Architect Rafael Viñoly wins the Battersea Power station competition with his pragmatic approach to the redevelopment of the Nine Elms area, along with the restoration and regeneration of Giles Gilbert Scott’s original architecture. -
Building Listing Upgrade
The building is upgraded from grade II to II* status by Architecture minister Margaret Hodge, which aims to speed up the regeneration of the derelict Battersea landmark. The power station’s upgraded status ensures eligibility for English Heritage grants for repair works, unlike grade II buildings. -
Rafael Viñoly's proposal
The £4 billion scheme is presented by architect Rafael Viñoly and developer Real Estate Opportunities. The proposal is branded as the most advanced sustainable development ever built in the UK and aims to reconstruct itself as a functioning power station that utilises renewable energy sources as opposed to the traditional burning of coal. -
Opposition from the former RIBA president
Former president of RIBA- George Ferguson opposes the proposal: “The shell of Battersea Power Station is one of London’s most powerful icons. There have been brave and interesting proposals in the past... that made the most of the existing building while always respecting its supremacy on the site. But Viñoly’s proposal for Battersea Power Station reveals an evident lack of understanding of the vital place Gilbert Scott’s masterpiece holds in the London psyche and landscape.” -
Viñoly's responce to critiques
At the London Festival of Architecture, Viñoly explained that his existing proposal was a “public discussion” and that he was open to suggestions for alterations and developments to the scheme. “It’s very difficult to assume today a project is anything other than a public discussion. If you don’t appreciate the controversy, you’re better off staying in Kazakhstan or Dubai.” -
Opposition from the Battersea Power Station Community Group
Local architect and member of the Battersea Power Station Community Group, Keith Garner, agrees with George Ferguson’s comments: “The whole quantum of development raises issues of the setting of the listed building,” he said. “It’s famous for its monumentality. What on earth is [Viñoly] doing putting the tower and eco-dome next to it?" -
Viñoly defends his design decisions
Rafael Viñoly responds to criticism of his controversial £4 billion scheme in an interview with the Times, where he describes people’s sentimental attachment to the building as incomprehensible. “If I showed you the letters they wrote when the building was being built – they f***ing hated it’… “People are not exactly queuing up to redevelop the place. If this doesn’t happen, nobody saves that building.” -
Opposition from the London mayor
The eco-chimney is reduced from 300 meters high to 250 meters high due to opposition from major politicians and the London mayor. -
Developer Treasury Holdings defends design
Developer highlight frustration at the opposition to Viñoly’s scheme in an interview with the Evening Standard. He claims that blocking the proposed tower could jeopardise the wider Nine Elms area regeneration. “Do the powers that be understand the tower is a significant part of the economic viability of the project?" -
Viñoly forced to scrap 'eco-chimney'
Vinoly’s scheme is no longer allowed to include the controversial 250m high “eco-chimney” due to opposition from London mayor Boris Johnson, who claimed that it would have a negative impact on the Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey world heritage sites. Vinoly’s scheme is therefore scaled down, replacing the eco-chimney with a curving glass roof. -
Criticism from Save Britain's Heritage
The curved glass roof proposal receives criticism from Save Britain's Heritage. Secretary William Palin states: "[the curved roof] looks incongruous – the wonderful thing about the power station is the angularity of it. I don't think it particularly complements the building.” -
Design developments
Additions to the scheme since the announced masterplan in June include a one-acre performing arts amphitheatre for 2,000 people which also creates a naturally ventilated environment for the 1.3 million square feet of office space, a luxury hotel, a primary school, nursery, large health centre and a community centre. The development now also includes extending the Northern line to the power station for easier access- the first to be privately funded on the London underground. -
Redesign presented
Viñoly’s revised plan now ensures that no other buildings on the site will be taller than the shoulders of the power station. -
Design submitted for planning
The revised £5.5 billion plan is submitted for planning. The controversial scheme includes 3,700 homes, 150,000 sq m of offices and 46,500 sq m of retail space. The application is registered with Wandsworth Council. -
Mayor praises architecture
London mayor Boris Johnson announces praise for Rafael Vinoly’s architectural scheme but states that the redevelopment does not yet comply with the greater London Plan. Concerns with the scheme lay in the provision of affordable housing to meet the Capital’s overarching planning document, as well as its impact on local transport and parking provisions. A letter from the Mayor’s office to the local council Wandsworth conveyed appreciation for the revised design. -
Cabe backs scheme
Rafael Viñoly’s design is backed by Comission for Architecture and the Built Environments’s design review panel. The panel supported both the outline planning and listed building applications and praised the “intelligent and well-resolved” design and the fact that the grade II* listed landmark had been made the focus of the entire scheme. -
Heritage row threatens proposal
The Victorian Society opposes architect Rafael Viñoly's proposal to demolish a 19th century Grade II listed structure (one of the oldest surviving water pumping stations in the country) sited on the Eastern edge of the 20-hectare site.
