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Faraday House, Battersea Power Station
A building with identity and imagination
Status: Completed
Location: London
Faraday House is a building with identity and imagination; a glittering billboard for the first phase of the Battersea Power Station redevelopment that provides homes of exceptional quality on a difficult, linear site.
Collaborators
Cost Consultant Gardiner & TheobaldStructural Engineer Buro Happold
Services Engineer Hoare Lea
Landscape Architect LDA Design
Planning Consultant DP9
We were asked to design a residential building adjacent to one of the main railway lines into London as part of the first phase of the Battersea Power Station redevelopment.
The first phase was considered the catalyst for the regeneration of the area and therefore seen as setting the standard for the aspirations of the masterplan. However, this difficult site was perceived as less attractive and of lower value due to the proximity of the train tracks.
Recognising the flow of trains and the Thames as a quintessentially London experience, Faraday House embraces its position and makes the most of its potential.
A long, slim block, Faraday House is formed from a series of stacked apartments that shift in response to the curve of the tracks. This generates an expressive form of projecting and recessed boxes.
The eight-storey building is clad in gold copper alloy; a bright, folded metal with a hand-finished aesthetic, giving the building a striking identity as well as reflecting warm light into the spaces around the building. The golden façade acts as a playful marker of the regeneration for trains on the way into Victoria station.
The layout allows residents to enjoy direct sunlight on the western side of the building as well as the calm of the landscaped courtyard on the eastern side.
The 113 apartments are arranged in small clusters of three per floor, allowing residents to meet and for neighbourliness to flourish. These clusters are highly efficient and maximise the number of dual aspect apartments. Use of the staircases is encouraged by placing the cores on the glazed long elevations. The locations of the cores switch as the building moves from north to south so that apartments can capture views to the river or the courtyard.
Full height windows frame views of the River Thames and landscaped courtyard, enhancing the feeling of space and light. Private balconies and rooftop terraces provide outdoor space for each apartment as well as fabulous views across London.
In the context of Battersea Power Station, Faraday House is a comparatively small development. But it has brought delight in its form, material use and typological arrangement to this linear plot.
The result is a building with a strong identity that enhances the quality of life for residents. Recognising the strength of our design, the client changed the scheme from buy-to-let to open market sale. Testament to their popularity, the apartments were amongst ‘the fastest selling London property development on record’ and winner of a RIBA London award which recognised that dRMM had created ‘wonderful homes on a less than optimal site’.
dRMM has delivered a superb building of which we and the new local community are immensely proud.
Project Director, Battersea Power Station Development Company
