14 artists made their way to the Battersea Power Station complex. It was wonderful to see the old landmark cleaned up and embarking on its shiny new existence. We reeled a little under the expensive consumerism on display, and were astonished by the vast number of glassy apartments which have sprouted just around the Power Station. We wondered how many apartments were occupied, and how many had been built to relieve London's housing shortage. For more information on this aspect of the development look here Despite the thousands of tons of concrete poured into the site, the developers have tried to be sustainable, details here The area now has a gas powered district heating system which operates using nearly half the amount of energy a coal-fired conventional system would use, details here (Not clear what the gas comparison would be.) Not sure either if there are any solar panels anywhere. They make much of having retained the black redstarts and peregrine falcons already on the power station, and there are green roof-gardens on top of most of the apartment blocks. We probably did not notice, but some of the retailers are showing a greener aspect look here
We found much of interest artistically both inside and outside. Many people focussed on the power station itself, or the river, but inside there are occasional hunks of old machinery, and vintage cars, as well as shoppers and the enormous internal spaces. There was a lot which we did not tackle, so this is a very useful indoor venue to come to in future winters.
Please enjoy our images!
Our next outing is Saturday April 1st, the orchestral rehearsal. Please see previous post for details.
After that, we will go to Arlington Square, Islington, on Tuesday 18 April, details to follow.
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Image above by Avis Dennis
Image above by Sue Lees
Image above by Janet Payne
Image above by Priscilla Worley
Image above by Peter Colley
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