Apr 12, 2023
Giles Gilbert Scott and J. Theo Halliday, Battersea Power Station, London, UK, 1929 -1955 (redevelopment by WilkinsonEyre) ph. Peter Landers VS Tomb of the Horatii and Curiatii, Albano Laziale, Italy, 1st century BC
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Giles Gilbert Scott and J. Theo Halliday, Battersea Power Station, London, UK, 1929 -1955 (redevelopment by WilkinsonEyre) ph. Peter Landers VS Tomb of the Horatii and Curiatii, Albano Laziale, Italy, 1st century BC
Ceremoniously went to Battersea Power Station today to celebrate Giles Gilbert Scott’s birthday — some in-situ sketches
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I ceremoniously visited the newly opened Battersea Power Station on Giles Gilbert Scott's birthday to see what the fuss is all about.
My original plan was to just pop in for a brief look; that quickly derailed into improvised sketchbook-buying (I practically ran to Paperchase!) and two hours of loitering around drawing details. I was completely entranced by it all — the Scott bits, mind you, not the retail. The moment I stepped in there, it stopped me in my tracks. I haven’t felt this enthralled by a building in a while.
In everything and everywhere, there pulsates a deep rhythm that synchronises the entire building. Each design decision is assured, every step measured. One may think of the old ‘frozen music’ cliche but this is so far beyond that shallow sentiment. Here, Scott tapped to a beat and drilled it into every piece of his building, so that all sings the same tune; steady goes the metronome. The familiar period motifs on the walls, the solidity of the load bearing columns and the reassuring firmness of brick, all these make a unified whole that emanates innate strength.
It is robust, but not brutal; there are marble finishes that give it grace and dignity. The aged surfaces (and, therefore, spilt secrets) only make it more respectable. Even with the worldly shops that juxtapose the decorum of Art Deco to the highest degree, and the slick steel structures of WilkinsonEyre, it’s Scott that you remember.
At the risk of sounding too optimistic, I venture to say that invasive commercialism hasn’t done much to diminish the raw strength of the original structure. The Power Station still impresses and it will continue to. Go see for yourself and, if you can, shut out the din of the shops. Revel in the restored glory of another genius produced by that remarkable family, for it is worth your time.
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Liverpool Anglican Chathedral by Tony
#365daysofbiking Restoring a light in the darkness:
Friday November 6th 2020 – The second lockdown is not so far as bad as I feared: With kids at school, people are going to work and there is life and people around.
I kept up my commitment to fresh air and exercise by riding to Lichfield on an important errand, coming back after darkness fell through the little village of Wall.
Wall phone box is an original Giles Gilbert Scott and had been under refurbishment for some time, but is now thankfully fully and beautifully restored and returned to it’s post-mobile era as a community library.
But the best thing about it? It still has a light. So many lost their illumination when transferred to community ownership, but this one has not. As a cyclist of a certain age, the night-time rural beacons that were isolated phone boxes were almost romantic and welcoming to me, and their disappearance makes me sad. To see one restored is a joy to the heart.
Well done, Wall. Well done.
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Battersea Power Station [Leonard Pearce, Giles Gilbert Scott, ca. 1930?], Londres. René Groebli, 1949
Battersea Power Station by Westlake 72 Via Flickr: Dan Westlake © circa 2006
Rest in peace, Giles Gilbert Scott. An architect from a family a architects, Sir Giles was particularly known for his blending of functionality with enduring design--case in point, the red telephone booth (introduced in 1924), one of the most British icons on the planet. After a successful career designing or improving buildings up and down the British Isles, Scott died on this date in 1960 at the age of 79.
Stamp details: Issued on: January 13, 2009 From: London, England MC #2698