The Power House was designed by the architects William Curtis Green and J. Clifton Robinson;[2][3] the building engineer was a Mr. Parshall.[1] It is described in Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner's The Buildings of England as a "monumental free Baroque brick and stone composition".[1] The building is rectangular, with five bays on one pair of faces, and three bays on the other pair. There is a large cornice with brackets above enormous arches which have long voussoirs in stone.[1] The façade above the front entrance is adorned with two large carved female figures that represent 'Electricity' and 'Locomotion'.[1][2] As built, it had a 260-foot high steel smoke-stack.[4]
Cherry and Pevsner call the Power House "by far the most exciting building"[1] of Chiswick High Road and Turnham Green, and "the best surviving example in London from the early, heroic era of generating stations whose bulky intrusion in residential areas was tempered by thoughtful architectural treatment".[1]
Usage
The building had a short working life as a generating station; in 1917 power generation was taken over by the generating station at Lots Road, Chelsea.[2] The Power House however continued to be used as a substation until 1962, when the trolley bus service was closed. In 1966 the building's chimney was demolished.[2]London Transport decided to redevelop the site. This led to an outcry, and the Victorian Society campaigned for the protection of the building from the developers. This resulted in a Grade II listing for the building in 1975;[5] it was one of the first Victorian buildings to be so nominated, and the first for one built in the 20th century.[6]
In 1985, the upper part of the building was converted into residential accommodation, including a penthouse which is split over three levels,[6] and flats "ingeniously tucked into the roof".[1] The architects were David Clarke Associates.[1]
power, house, chiswick, former, electricity, generating, station, chiswick, high, road, grade, listed, building, completed, 1901, provided, power, london, united, electrical, tramway, company, until, 1917, upper, part, building, converted, residential, 1985, l. The Power House Chiswick is a former electricity generating station on Chiswick High Road and a Grade II listed building completed in 1901 It provided power for the London United Electrical Tramway Company until 1917 The upper part of the building was converted for residential use in 1985 and the lower part for use as a recording studio in 1989 The Power House Chiswick High Road from southwest cornerArchitecture EditFurther information British industrial architecture The Power House was built as an electricity generating station for the London United Electrical Tramway Company between 1899 and 1901 1 The Power House was designed by the architects William Curtis Green and J Clifton Robinson 2 3 the building engineer was a Mr Parshall 1 It is described in Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner s The Buildings of England as a monumental free Baroque brick and stone composition 1 The building is rectangular with five bays on one pair of faces and three bays on the other pair There is a large cornice with brackets above enormous arches which have long voussoirs in stone 1 The facade above the front entrance is adorned with two large carved female figures that represent Electricity and Locomotion 1 2 As built it had a 260 foot high steel smoke stack 4 Cherry and Pevsner call the Power House by far the most exciting building 1 of Chiswick High Road and Turnham Green and the best surviving example in London from the early heroic era of generating stations whose bulky intrusion in residential areas was tempered by thoughtful architectural treatment 1 Usage EditThe building had a short working life as a generating station in 1917 power generation was taken over by the generating station at Lots Road Chelsea 2 The Power House however continued to be used as a substation until 1962 when the trolley bus service was closed In 1966 the building s chimney was demolished 2 London Transport decided to redevelop the site This led to an outcry and the Victorian Society campaigned for the protection of the building from the developers This resulted in a Grade II listing for the building in 1975 5 it was one of the first Victorian buildings to be so nominated and the first for one built in the 20th century 6 In 1985 the upper part of the building was converted into residential accommodation including a penthouse which is split over three levels 6 and flats ingeniously tucked into the roof 1 The architects were David Clarke Associates 1 In 1989 the four lower floors of the building were converted by Powell Tuck Connor amp Orefelt into recording studios including an elaborate original iron staircase 1 3 The studios are used by Metropolis Group 7 Artists whose music has been variously recorded mixed or mastered in the building include Adele Amy Winehouse George Michael Jay Z Justin Bieber Lady Gaga Mark Ronson Prince Queen Rihanna and The Rolling Stones 8 West side Electricity and Locomotion above south doorway Northwest corner cornice detail North entrance North doorway South doorway Southwest corner detail Babcock amp Wilcox boilers inside 1902References Edit a b c d e f g h i j Cherry Bridget Pevsner Nikolaus 1991 The Buildings of England London 3 North West London Penguin Books p 405 ISBN 978 0 14 071048 9 OCLC 24722942 a b c d Clegg Gillian Chiswick History Travel Brentford and Chiswick Local History Society Retrieved 27 July 2021 a b Green Oliver 2016 Rails in the Road A History of Tramways in Britain and Ireland Pen and Sword p 111 ISBN 978 1 4738 6941 7 Chiswick Economic history British History Online Retrieved 27 July 2021 Former Tramways Sub Station at Rear of Number 72 Chiswick High Road britishlistedbuildings co uk Retrieved 17 March 2018 a b The Power House Chiswick High Road Chiswick London W4 1SY savills com Retrieved 16 March 2018 Metropolis Studios Metropolis Group Retrieved 27 July 2021 Portfolio Helical Retrieved 27 July 2021 51 29 38 N 0 14 58 W 51 4939 N 0 2495 W 51 4939 0 2495 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Power House Chiswick amp oldid 1104394521, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
