CAPITAL WATCH

tube station. The Power Station,

by virtue of being essentially a new

town centre means that during a

lunchbreak people can visit the shops,

go to restaurants, browse the galleries

and events space or even take a stroll

along the river to Battersea Park.

— Apart from unique offerings,

what else does BPS offer in terms of

Wellness?

— We’ve tended to use words like

‘place’ and ‘community’ in the past,

but in many ways these things overlap.

Our focus is now firmly upon people.

We’ve worked to build a strong

community ethos right from the

start, beginning by listening to the

local people and going from there.

We’ve always planned to include a

lot of mixed commercial space and,

along with shopping and restaurants

and other amenities, we’ve invested

a huge amount in our cultural

programme. We’ve already opened

The Village Hall in Circus West Village

and there are numerous pop-ups and

events on the riverside walk. Plus

various art installations funded through

the “Powerhouse Commission” which

has been set up to give artists new

platforms for their work throughout

the site. In time, we’ll be adding major

cultural venues capable of welcoming

thousands of people.

We created the masterplan for

Battersea Power Station so that it

includes 18 acres of open space as

well as a roof garden on top of the

Power Station building. There is also

the sky garden on top of the Foster +

Partners designed building, created

by the team behind the High Line in

New York. On the ground, there is a

huge six-acre public riverside park in

front of the Power Station. Berths for

visiting boats will also be available

and in time the full stretch of Thames

pathway to the south of the river will

be opened up.

We also try to help build

wellness and a sense of vibrancy

and community in other ways. For

instance, we have started our own

Battersea Power Station Community

Choir. The power of singing to bring

people together has been known

for a long time: our choir is open

to those living and working in the

neighbourhood.

We have an award-winning health

centre here already looking after

our people. They have awareness

campaigns, and there’s a new NHS

medical facility planned as part of

the development.

— Do you think external factors

such as the river and Battersea Park

have an influence on occupiers who

are pursuing the Wellness agenda?

— Absolutely. The social and

health benefits of public green space

have been well known since Victorian

times; in fact, that’s what led to the

establishment of Battersea Park in

the first place. More recently, there’s

been a flood of research showing

the positive effects of simply looking

at trees or water – Battersea Power

Station has 18 acres of open green

space and overlooks the Thames.

— Are there any specific

plans to use the river next to the

Power Station?

— Yes. Our new pier for the MBNA

Thames Clippers River Bus service is

now open, and that is genuinely life-

improving for people living, visiting

and working here. Thames Clippers

has a phrase ‘the commute with

a view’, and they do have a point.

Travelling up and down the Thames

by boat is one impressive view after

another. It’s quick too, it takes just 15

minutes to get from Battersea Power

Station to the Embankment.

Apart from the River Bus, we’ve

also made good use of the Thames in

our construction work, using it to carry

away excavated material by barge.

This has taken hundreds of lorries off

the roads and cut our transport carbon

emissions by 30 per cent.

We are now working on designs

to create a small urban marina for

visiting boats, perhaps with floating

leisure facilities and a River Garden,

drawing more people closer to the

water. The historic cranes will also

be restored and re-positioned on

the jetty, becoming another visitor

attraction.

The River Thames is very important

to us, quite apart from the wellness

benefits of having it there.

We’ve

worked to

build a strong

community

ethos right

fromthe start,

beginning

by listening

to the local

people and

going from

there

We have

the highest

aspirations for

sustainability

and we’re

targeting a

BREEAM

standard of

‘Excellent’ for

the project

— What gyms/spas are there

on site?

— The residents’ spa and gym at

Circus West, The Spring, has a pool,

gym and treatment room facilities.

The new flagship Boom Cycle, the

high energy spinning studio, is

also open at Circus West Village.

Furthermore, we’ve had lots of

exercise classes on the riverside this

summer and in The Village Hall: yoga,

boxing, dancing and lots more.

As we move forward, each new

phase of the development will include

more health and fitness facilities.

There will also be a stunning rooftop

swimming pool as part of the

Battersea Roof Gardens.

— What do you think were the

main attractors to the major office

pre letting that you have just

successfully agreed?

— I can only talk about the

feedback we get in general from

potential commercial tenants rather

than specific examples, but some of

the things we’ve already discussed

were big draws: the central location,

green space, the river, comprehensive

amenities on site and the strong focus

upon community and people.

I also think the Power Station

itself, a building that’s an instantly

recognisable global icon and stands

out as a key feature of the London

skyline, played a huge part.

We have the highest aspirations

for sustainability and we’re targeting

a BREEAM standard of ‘Excellent’

for the project.

There’s also another unique selling

point of the Power Station, which is

the visually extraordinary nature of

the spaces we’re creating inside it.

Walking into the entrance atrium to

the office space, which uses the full

staggering height of the building and

glass roofs to reveal the scale of the

chimneys, will be a genuine ‘wow’

moment. The shared spaces at the

heart of the offices will also pack a

real punch.

There is still a reasonably large

amount of office space still available

at the Power Station and to date we

have seen considerable interest in this

space from co-working providers and

business members clubs.

CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD

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