Foster + Partners flips the switch on 50 Electric Boulevard

Home to almost 150 shops, bars, restaurants and leisure experiences, and centred around the Grade II* listed landmark, Battersea Power Station’s live, work, play neighbourhood is a centre of activity and innovation. Next to join the area’s Electric Boulevard – a pedestrianised high street complete with new homes, the 164-room art’otel London Battersea Power Station and a host of shops, bars and restaurants – is a Foster + Partners-designed office complex billed as a future-proofed workspace.

Christened 50 Electric Boulevard, the newly unveiled building is billed as a state-of-the-art workspace with sustainability and wellbeing at its core. The first images of the vast 200,000 sq ft project show an impressive, curved glass façade with striking views across the Power Station, River Thames and the London skyline, while inside, the interiors have smart tech innovations weaved throughout in hopes of elevating the employee experience and ensuring longevity for the space.

Achieving both a WELL Platinum and BREEAM Outstanding rating, the building was also informed by the significant benefits of nature within an office environment. One of the most notable biophilic additions to the building is the 240-person ‘Light Box’, an amenity space with a presentation area, indoor trees and giant skylights, creating a bright, green and spacious area to connect colleagues away from their desk. Floor-to-ceiling windows and cantilevered balconies throughout the rest of the building also filter in plenty of natural sunlight, along with a glass-fronted entrance lobby featuring touchdown workspaces and relaxed seating areas. A communal pavilion above is lit by generous roof lights and offers a coffee bar and bleacher seating for larger events.

As well as the Zone 1 Battersea Power Station Underground station mere steps away, 50 Electric Boulevard also boasts an 1,800 sq ft communal roof garden, 319 cycle spaces and 26 dedicated e-car parking spaces, enabling workers to complete their daily commute more sustainably. Staff can even opt to travel by river on the Thames Clippers’ UberBoat service, which docks at the Battersea Power Station pier. Tenants of the new building are also set to be in good company, with prospective neighbours in the dynamic London hub including Apple’s UK headquarters and IWG’s flexible co-working offering, The Engine Room.

“We wanted 50 Electric Boulevard to be flooded with light and, of course, to benefit from natural ventilation,” says Grant Brooker, Head of Studio at Foster + Partners. “Its soft, undulating form creates a varying floorplate, which provides maximum flexibility for its tenants and creates a building that can evolve to meet the future requirements of the workplace.”