Having seen the iconic Battersea Power Station (BPS) in its derelict form back in 2012, when it was acquired by the Malaysian consortium of S P Setia Bhd, Sime Darby Property Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund, visiting the restored building in all its former glory was gratifying, to say the least.

The Power Station, now transformed into a mixed-use destination, and Electric Boulevard were opened to the public in October 2022. The former houses 254 apartments, more than 100 retail shops, an event space and Lift 109, a chimney lift experience with 360° views of London from a height of 109m. It also has 565,000 sq ft of office space, of which 500,000 sq ft is occupied by Apple. Electric Boulevard, a brand new pedestrianised high street, is part of Phase 3.

Circus West Village, comprising a mix of bars, restaurants, shops, fitness and leisure facilties, a cinema and a theatre, was opened in 2017. It is now home to over 1,800 people.

On Dec 13, BPS recorded another achievement when it received a GreenRE Gold certification for its retail portion. The certification was presented to Battersea Project Holding Co Ltd chairman Tan Sri Jagan Sabapathy by GreenRE chairman Datuk Seri Fateh Iskandar Mansor (F D Iskandar) in a ceremony.

The certification is also a milestone for GreenRE, as it is its first certification for a completed international project. “BPS is an iconic project by two of Malaysia’s biggest property developers. The BPS team wanted a green certification that has a more universal standard. In the UK, when dealing with a Grade II-listed landmark building, a lot more care and consideration needs to be taken into account. Kudos to the GreenRE and BPS teams for working together to find a formula to achieve this,” says F D Iskandar.

Battersea Power Station has been transformed into a mixed-use destination (Photo by Battersea Power Station)

Jagan notes that many good things were carried out at BPS in its pursuit of the green agenda.

He says: “The journey from inception to completion has been challenging but, in the end, immensely rewarding. Today, BPS is almost always associated with Malaysia. I take great pride in it.

“We took a derelict building and restored it. The whole philosophy is changing; you take old buildings and retrofit it, make it more efficient. The certification is a wonderful recognition for everyone associated with the journey. I would like to thank F D Iskandar, GreenRE and Rehda for the recognition.”

Tangible benefits

According to Battersea Power Station Development Company head of communities and sustainability Sarah Banham, the retail element had retained a lot of the original fabric of the building, which was not built to today’s standards.

Banham says: “It was a challenge for GreenRE to certify a Grade II-listed industrial building, which has areas of significance. For example, the control room is a highly significant area, and so are the turbine halls. Anything we do, even putting in the shops, we have to get the consent of Historic England as well as the planning authorities. It is quite complex.” Historic England is an executive non-departmental public body of the British government sponsored by the department for Culture, Media and Sport.

One of the main things done was to create natural ventilation for the mall. “The main circulation space through the two turbine halls is not heated or cooled. It is completely passive and natural, so it becomes sort of an indoor street. It’s very important to get the air flow through and that obviously has become even more important since the Covid-19 pandemic,” says Banham.

Turbine Hall A has two huge windows that were bricked up during WWII, which was opened with the blessing of Historic England, to allow natural daylight to come into the building.

“This means that, during the day, particularly in the summer, we get massive savings on electricity and lighting,” says Banham.

BPS has achieved a 40% improvement in energy savings from the baseline and uses water management and monitoring technology, including monitored water consumption and the use of drought-

tolerant plants. Methods to harmonise indoor comfort and the use of low VOC (volatile organic compound) paint were also introduced, while waste recycling is encouraged, with the provision of recycle bins. Innovative green practices were adopted, including the use of renewable energy during construction, creating work opportunities for the local community and promoting wildlife preservation.

Banham says BPS is home to two Schedule 1 species — a pair of Peregrine Falcons and Black Redstarts. “We worked very hard on the biodiversity net gain of this site. The Peregrine Falcons have been living here since before the Malaysian consortium took over. They nest on the power station because it replicates the cliff faces of their natural habitat that allows them to dive and swoop for birds.

“Because they are Schedule 1 species, we can’t disturb their nests for about nine months out of a year, which was a problem for us during the construction phase. So, we built a temporary tower of the same height as their nest to encourage them to relocate. We placed mannequins on the roofs and the sound of the mannequins’ jackets flapping in the wind eventually pushed the falcons to move to the temporary tower.

“When the station was finished, we put a new falcon nest box in the Northwest watch tower. We could see the female falcon coming over to investigate the space. Eventually, she started dropping dead pigeons that she caught in it. Soon, they moved to their new home and we tore the temporary tower down.”

So far, the peregrines have fledged 22 juveniles. Meanwhile, the Black Redstarts have always been an annual breeder at BPS. Foraging areas have been allocated below the Peregrine Falcon nest and on the brown roofs at Circus West Village.

Banham has been with BPS for 17 years and has a deep understanding of and connection with the local community.

“The local community is really emotionally tied to BPS, even though many had never set foot in the building until October last year. They felt strongly about what they wanted it to be and how it would be repurposed,” she says.

Ultimately, the biggest challenge is the building itself.

“The power station was full of oil, coal and asbestos, all of which had to go. Then there was managing the whole construction process, thinking about the design and sustainability, how to get that segregation of shopping, office and homes. BPS was known as the Everest of property development for one reason — every company before the Malaysian shareholders went bust trying to restore the building,” says Banham.

The GreenRe team has certainly achieved much. As F D Iskandar says, “The team has shown that they can adapt to different conditions, weather, cultures and regulations. We have never dealt with heritage buildings before, and being able to certify an iconic building in London is something we can be proud of.”

Battersea Power Station updates

• Visitors:  More than 11 million people have visited Battersea Power Station (BPS) since the Power Station and Electric Boulevard opened in October 2022
• New jobs: 20,000 new jobs will be created at BPS, and 3,500 new jobs were created with the opening of the Power Station and Electric Boulevard in October 2022
• Affordable homes:  386  affordable homes are being built
• New River Bus service: Uber Boat by Thames Clippers River Bus operates from Battersea Power Station Pier, which was opened to the public in 2017
• New Underground Station: BPS contributed more than £300 million to the Northern Line Extension. This new riverside neighbourhood is less than 15 minutes from the West End and the City. The Battersea Power Station Underground Station is completed and open to the public.
• Public access: With the redevelopment of BPS, a new 450m riverside pathway has been opened up for the first time in almost 100 years. A new six-acre park in front of the power station is now open too.
• Community choir: Launched in 2016, the Battersea Power Station Community Choir now has more than 100 members
• Culture and arts: The Turbine Theatre opened in 2019 and is a venue for generating new ideas and talent, achieving its first West End transfer in October 2022
• Employment: Nearly 1,000 locals have already found jobs or apprenticeships at BPS
• NHS hours: An on-site medical facility for construction workers has saved nearly 20,000 hours of NHS time so far
• NHS: A new £13 million NHS medical facility will be built here
• School programmes:  Yearly engagement with schools from the local community, to learn about the history and future of the power station