Action man

Few people get the chance to see their achievements really go above and beyond them – either figuratively, or literally. Architect Rafael Viñoly, whose forthcoming works are set to radically transform London, is one of those few who will experience both. The work he is currently undertaking will have an impact not only in the appearance of the capital but in the day-to-day lives of several million people.

With the impact of his work in London imminent, Viñoly visited the city in late June to explain his projects to the public – happily coinciding with the London Festival of Architecture.

Held in “the oldest high rise in the borough” as the Reverend Colin Slee, Dean of the Southwark Cathedral describes his haunt, Viñoly addressed a crowd of architectural enthusiasts and local residents on the subject of his latest works in the capital: 20 Fenchurch Street and the master plan for the Battersea Power Station site.

Viñoly’s rise to prominence in Britain is just the latest highlight in a long and distinguished career. Born in Uruguay in 1944, his architectural career got underway in Argentina, where he formed his first practice and undertook several well-respected projects.

In 1978, Viñoly moved to the United States. Briefly filling in as a guest lecturer at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, he eventually settled in New York where he founded Rafael Viñoly Architects PC in 1983. His first major work in the city, the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, was completed in 1988. An impressive red brick throwback to buildings from the turn of the 20th century, Viñoly’s design captures the power and majesty appropriate for a facility teaching the principles of law and justice.

Viñoly made his name on the international stage in 1996, when he won the competition for the Tokyo International Forum. A venue for cultural and business events, Viñoly’s design proved both challenging – through its use of dominating glass and steel; and practical – in its accommodation of the pedestrian traffic associated with four local subway stations and two major rail termini.

Since then his work has spread to projects around the world. Others have been closer to home. The Curve, for example, is a stunning theatre made of steel and glass located in Leicester, while Viñoly’s designs for a performing arts centre in Colchester were described by Paul Finch of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment as “the biggest piece of construction in that town since the Romans”.

Both of these schemes display grandeur and uncharacteristic scale for the areas that they are situated. Yet, arguably, both will be surpassed by those due to start shortly in the capital.

20 Fenchurch Street
Before building started, Viñoly’s design for Land Securities’ 20 Fenchurch Street (above) had already attracted a great deal of interest. Then again, a new 639,000 sq ft, 177m high building with a larger top floor than base can hardly fail to.

This radical design, to be dominant on the north bank of the Thames, has already attracted criticism and admiration equally. Yet though it will stand as one of the tallest buildings in London, it hardly seems a challenge in comparison to the city where he has spent most of his architectural life: “34 storeys in New York is like a dwarf, right?” As such the shape seems to toy with what is possible in the architecture of tall buildings. The building is, at its very essence, an inverted pyramid.

There is a faint sense of recklessness in such a challenging design. Yet hearing Viñoly’s take on the project, he is clearly very grounded and not undertaking this endeavour lightly. The detailed examination of 20 Fenchurch Street’s designs that he offered during his presentation illustrates that behind the building’s novelty lies real consideration. The design of the east and west façades, for example, act to rise up and curve over the top of the building, cradling it and supporting the radical curve of the upper floors. The understated ground floor lobby, with its rather squat and plain design, enforces functionality and public access over glamour. And the building’s impact on London’s skyline has been considered from every conceivable angle, even taking into account buildings that don’t yet exist.

There is no denying that Viñoly has tapped the British disposition towards eccentricity in his design. The side of the building, for example, mirrors the curve of Fenchurch Street itself; an unnecessary design attribute, but one that personalises the design to the location. The unassuming public spaces planned for the outside of the building also show quirkiness in creating public space as opposed to resorting to overstate the grand building above. And then there is the public indoor garden situated over 30 storeys up, inspired by the elaborate designs of Victorian greenhouses.

Clearly then this will be a very British skyscraper. What it lacks in height – taller plans were scaled back because of its proximity to St Paul’s Cathedral – it makes up in audacity of design. It is yet to be seen if public opinion will declare this a hero or villain of the London skyline. One thing is for sure – it will certainly stand out.

Battersea Power Station
While Fenchurch Street will challenge the London skyline, Viñoly’s Battersea Power Station masterplan is of far greater importance. The iconic building, which ceased its life as a coal power station in 1983, has long been considered the last great development opportunity available in London. The well located site – close to one of London’s wealthiest areas – is currently a desolate space that faces a multitude of architectural and infrastructure challenges to redevelopment. Now Viñoly’s firm and developer Real Estate Opportunities (REO) are hoped to be the key to this areas’s successful renewal.

It is not a task easily accomplished. Viñoly and his team approached the project in the painful knowledge that at least four attempts to address the site have previously failed. And listening to Viñoly talk about the Battersea project, one gets the idea that he is still in awe at the scale of the project; a vast 38 acre post-industrial space, with a building that defies perspective and containing, in the architect’s own words, “the largest piece of brick wall you have ever seen in your life”.

As a result of the scale involved, the process of forming the master plan has not been straight forward. A murmur of horror ran through Viñoly’s audience as he unveiled his initial ideas for the site: scattered skyscraper residential towers, including a variation that appeared to have a tower rising from the centre of the roofless power station itself.

Viñoly holds that some of the designs are still functional. Yet there is collective relief when the more demur, finalised designs are outlined: a series of curved low rise office and residential buildings that frame the power station from key visual angles. These act to channel people and infrastructure to a renewed, glass-topped power station building ringed by a circular moat-like water feature. Creating office and retail space along with around 3,500 homes, this will be the ideal venture to bring life back to the former industrial site.

This plan for the site is more likely to succeed than earlier attempts thanks to wider commitment to the area. Midway through planning, a possible extension to the Northern Line was announced. Departing from Kennington, the line would run through Battersea before heading on to Clapham Junction, and one proposition saw the Battersea tube station be located within power station itself. If this infrastructure is eventually realised it would immensely increase the business potential for the area; so much so that the US Embassy has confirmed that it is to construct its new purpose-built offices nearby. The renovation to bring the power station back to former glory would act as the crown jewel to developments in the area.

The final designs are currently awaiting approval, and Viñoly believes that he and in his team are in “the last 100 yards of this race”. But time is not on their side. Reduced public finances and increased political scrutiny threaten every aspect of the development. Then there are other financial concerns, with mention of REO possibly floating the project on the stock market to help attract a partner to foot half of the £5.5bn investment required on the site. All the while, the power station continues a process of self-destruction that could eventually put it beyond renovation. Failure to get the scheme moving could thus cost the power station itself and one of London’s most treasured icons.

If this panics Viñoly, then he isn’t showing it. He is likely more aware than anyone of the problems that the site faces. Yet somehow in his composed discussions of the plans, he is clearly confident in the viability of the master plan he and his firm have created. There are still a few months of council meetings to take place, yet his  quiet but assured demeanour suggests Viñoly believes that he holds the keys to Battersea’s future.

Perhaps more than any other person in the next ten years, Viñoly will leave his legacy on London. And though the end results are still years away, they’re definitely something for London to look forward to.