Seminal architects Frank Gehry and Lord Norman Foster will collaborate on a series of building in the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station in a ground-breaking project for British architecture.
This will be Gehryโs first major project in the UK.
The Canadian-American is often described as the worldโs greatest living architect. His most famous buildings include Bilbaoโs Guggenheim and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA.
Foster + Partners will work alongside Gehry Partners to create a shopping street called the High Street as part of the wider ยฃ8bn redevelopment.
The street will connect Battersea Power Station with a new Battersea tube station, and include residential buildings and commercial units, a hotel, a leisure centre and a library.
โI love the power station,โ Gehry told the FT. โEvery time I came to London I kept asking โwhat are they going to do with that?โ Itโs so well positioned it was inevitable that something would happen.โ
โLondon has a great streetscape,โ he said. โTo reflect it we need to break down the scale, so it becomes a place people can feel at home.โ
The FT said that Gehry will create โa strikingly sculptural formโ at the centre of his designs.
Gehry told the paper: โThe developers said the [potential] renters loved the view of the power station, so I said why donโt we put a more sculptural object, we call it a โflowerโ, in the middle, as a secondary sculpture for Battersea โ it gives something for everybody.โ
Grant Brooker, design director, Foster + Partners, said: โWe moved our own office to Wandsworth almost 25 years ago โ the borough is very important to us, so we were absolutely delighted to be chosen to be part of this inspiring regeneration project for the Battersea Power Station redevelopment.
โIt has a vision which will transform this area and create a vibrant new district for South London that we can all be proud of.
โAlong with our colleagues at Gehry Partners, we are joining a great team of designers and we will work closely with them to create a new high street and our part of this exciting new community.โ
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