In 2014 the Battersea Power Station Development Company chose the creative production agency Drive Productions to create a powerful visual experience to celebrate the power station in its original form for the final time before redevelopment plans.
The main themes of this project were community, history and the unique charm of the power station. The projection show began with a classic Art Deco visual style, showcasing the unique chimneys and original design features, such as Gilbert Scott’s bronze doors. This projection mapping was also the world’s first silent projection mapping show, as users were given wireless headphones in order to listen to the audio being broadcasted. A specially created soundtrack written and recorded in Drive’s studio, making this projection a 4D spectacle. Throughout the show guests were engrossed in the remarkable history and thrilling future of the Power Station, finding themselves transferred into darkness during the shift away from coal energy, a literal metaphor, and reignited by the likes of fashion shows and extreme sporting events which had previously taken place on location.
The phrase ‘The Power is Back On’ flashed in front of the huddled audience introducing the re-powering phase of the development. Inspiring visuals covered the façade of the power station, showcasing the regeneration and revitalization of the development. Battersea Power Station Development Company and Drive have worked closely together to use large scale projection mapping to convey a real and impactful message to the community in which The Power Station sits about the future of the local environment.
