There will be over 850 new homes within our residential scheme at the heart of the first phase of the transformation of Battersea Power Station. We realised early in the design process that this was equivalent to creating a whole village within a single building – a concept which became an important design driver for the evolution of Circus West.
The very idea of a village evokes a sense of place and community, of shared public space, such as the village green or square, and a modest amount of supporting amenities for the community to use – perhaps a high street with small shops, restaurants, workspace and even a village pub. It also suggests richness and variety in terms of the types and sizes of homes, which have often evolved organically over time to suit local needs.
We took these key ingredients and used them to develop our architectural response to the site, producing an ‘urban village’ that provides not only new homes, but a real sense of place, connected into the surrounding city context, and celebrating the unique character and setting of the iconic Power Station.
The themes of place and community are embedded in every aspect of the design. We carefully considered what makes a successful home, creating well proportioned living spaces with full height windows, stunning views, and generous storage, together with spacious communal areas that support informal social interaction and the possibility of getting to know the neighbours. Almost every home has a winter garden; a contemporary take on the traditional garden conservatory providing a flexible enclosed balcony that can be used all year round. If you unwrapped all of the building’s winter gardens, they would stretch for over 5.5 miles, from Battersea to Canary Wharf.