I love old industrial buildings. Maybe it’s connected to my interest in the industrial revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the UK I live in the heart of the Industrial Revolution near Ironbridge. Now of course things have moved on and we no longer need these huge cavernous brick buildings consuming huge amounts of fossil fuels with their steam pumps, water wheels and blast furnaces. Power stations have also changed. We no longer have the appetite for these huge buildings with their cooling towers spewing plumes of smoke high into the atmosphere to heat us up and kill the polar bears.
So what do we do with our old power stations? Battersea Power Station is one of the best loved landmark on London ‘s skyline and after many years of debate about its future use, it has now been turned into a multi-function retail and hospitality hub. Today I overheard a couple of lauwai talking about going down to PowerStation of Art and curious, I hopped on the metro to South XiZang Lu and walked the short distance to this beautiful building. Standing proudly against the backdrop of the Huangpu river its chimney thrust upward towards a rare clear blue sky.
What a fantastic space these old power stations offer and what a great use to put them to, to turn them into a space for contemporary art. Cai GuoQiang’s The Ninth Wave exhibition was the main draw but even though it was a holiday the place was not overrun with people. The fishing boat was brought up t he Huangpu river by barge from the artist’s home town and was filled with dead stuffed animals – a striking installation. His other works include pictures made with gunpowder and were impressive, especially as you watch the video of how he made them by lighting a fuse and standing back.
To use an old industrial building for a new purpose can be very successful, demonstrated not only by this power station but also by my favourite building in Shanghai – an Art Deco slaughter house called ‘1993’. If you haven’t been there then don’t delay.
