Page 180 - Beyond Decommissioning

Experience and lessons learned 161

6.2.1.11 GES2 Power Plant, Moscow, Russian Federation

Italian architect Renzo Piano was contracted in 2015 by Russian arts group V-A-C
Foundation to turn the 2-ha Moscow’s power stations into a center for contemporary
arts and culture. GES2 Power Plant was built between 1904 and 1908.
Mr. Piano is renowned for his work on several famous art museums. Like Piano’s
previous works, the redeveloped GES2 power station will be using sustainable tech-
nologies, for example, solar and geothermal energy sources. Mr. Piano will restructure
the site into a 150 m x 150 m square and retain the industrial identity of the original
building. By using the power station’s tall ceilings and large size, the contemporary
art center will be lit by natural light. A series of exhibition galleries are set around a
100-m-long and 23-m high Central Nave.
The site will be split into three main sections: a visitor orientation area, exhibition
spaces, and education facilities. Visitors access the site through an entrance plaza with
a sculpture garden; for temporary art exhibitions indoors there are a library, lecture
halls, cafe, auditorium, and additional space. GES2 will retain its metal framework
and chimneys for natural ventilation. The educational facilities include an artist res-
idency block, classrooms, and outdoor amphitheater, and will also permanently host
Moscow Curatorial Summer School. Birch groves will be planted around the building
creating a green, calm and sustainable space. In short, the venue will be an artistic hub
that will cultivate Russian art and provide a bridge between artwork and the public.
Construction is expected to be complete by 2019 (Inhabitat, 2015)

6.2.1.12 Battersea Power Station, London, United Kingdom

Battersea was once a fossil-fired power station, situated on the River Thames, London
(Fig.6.9).Itincludestwopowerunitsinonebuilding.UnitAwasbuiltinthe1930s,Unit
B in the 1950s, with an almost identical design. The station was shut down in 1983, but
over time Battersea four-chimney layout became a London icon and is Grade II* listed
(see Glossary, Listed Building). The station’s fame is much due to a number of popular
culture events, e.g., the album art of Pink Floyd’s Animals and of Beatles’ movie Help!
Battersea is a huge brick building renowned for its rich internal Art Deco. Follow-
ing shutdown, the structure remained a long time abandoned and its conditions dete-
riorated to such extent that English Heritage listed it in the Heritage at Risk Register.
SinceBattersea’sclosure,anumberofredevelopmentconceptswereproposedbycon-
secutive owners with poor outcomes. For example, one buyer had to withdraw due to its
financial status being found unsustainable for the renovation works. The combination of
existingdebts,theneedtomakeasubstantialparticipationintheplannedexpansionofthe
London Subway, requirements to preserve the structural shell, and the interference of a
waste transfer plant and a cement plant rendered redevelopment a real challenge.
In 2012, the plant administrators stipulated an exclusive agreement with a Malay-
sian company to redevelop the site. The sale was completed in September 2012.
In January 2013, the first group of apartments were available for people to buy.