Rafael Viñoly’s controversial designs forBattersea Power Station could change substantially before beingsubmitted for planning, the architect has admitted.Speakingat a London Festival of Architecture lecture last week, Viñolydescribed the existing proposals as a “public discussion” and said hewas open to suggestion on how the plans could be changed.Viñolywas branded “a major menace to London” by former RIBA president GeorgeFerguson last month after he unveiled his £4 billion scheme, featuringa 300m-high chimney and eco-dome adjacent to Giles Gilbert Scott’sgrade II listed power station.At the lecture last Wednesday evening, Viñoly described the project as “very preliminary ideas”.Helater told BD: “The shape is compelling for some, disturbing forothers. “It’s very difficult to assume today a project is anythingother than a public discussion. If you don’t appreciate thecontroversy, you’re better off staying in Kazakhstan or Dubai. “We are more than open to suggestion. Some people have made some incredibly interesting contributions.”Fergusonwelcomed Viñoly’s comments but called on him to go further and “scrapthe whole concept”. He added: “I don’t think it’s been well received bypeople who make the decisions. The feedback I’ve had is that they thinkit’s a bit batty. They can’t understand why the developer has gone sooff-beam.”Local architect and member of the Battersea Power Station Community Group, Keith Garner, agreed.“Thewhole quantum of development raises issues of the setting of the listedbuilding,” he said. “It’s famous for its monumentality. What on earthis {Viñoly} doing putting the tower and eco-dome next to it?”EnglishHeritage has refused to comment on the design ahead of a meeting of itsLondon advisory committee this autumn but the Twentieth Century Societyis expected to visit the site on Friday to learn more about the scheme.Speaking beforehand, director Catherine Croft said: “We’ve seenthe photomontage and our initial reaction is that we’re prettyconcerned about the impact it will have on the power station.“You would not expect someone to come up with a scheme which so dominates the power station.”
www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=725&storycode=3118246&c=1