
Apple to create new London HQ at Battersea Power Station - randomname2
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/revealed-apple-to-create-stunning-new-hq-at-battersea-power-station-a3356201.html
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michaelt
There was an interesting bit in Private Eye about the redevelopment a few
months ago.

Apparently a common pattern for listed buildings on valuable land is for the
owners to hire developers who get planning permission to take down the listed
parts, restore them, then put them up again. Then after taking down the listed
parts the developer "unexpectedly" goes bankrupt, leaving the owners with
valuable land no longer encumbered by a listed building.

But in the case of Battersea Power Station, when developers applied to take
down all four towers at the same time, planners only granted permission for
them do to one tower at a time, preventing such an "accident" from happening.
Private Eye considered this a rare and impressive show of wisdom on planners'
part.

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secfirstmd
London has many many planning problems but the architecture around the River
Thames I always find to be pretty awesome...so many amazing buildings to look
at when on a run...Glad to see they were careful with the permission this
time.

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sambeau
Yes, that is the one from the Pink Floyd album "Animals".

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animals_(Pink_Floyd_album)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animals_\(Pink_Floyd_album\))

~~~
RockyMcNuts
In a few movies, often as dystopic backdrop

[https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2016/jun/22/monty...](https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2016/jun/22/monty-
python-children-of-men-battersea-power-station-films)

~~~
mhurron
Apple could make their employee onboarding look like their 1984 commercial.

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ricksplat
This is brilliant news! It's one of those iconic London buildings. You'll see
it on approach to London to Victoria station, it's clearly visible from the
London eye, and as the other commenter noted it's on the cover of that pink
floyd album. It's use and renovation has been mooted for years but presumably
it's always been held up because it's both a listed building and will be very
expensive to renovate due to old hazardous materials and the like. It would
take a company with Apple's cash to do this and I'm delighted to see it
finally happening.

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adwhit
The renovation has been underway for years now. Apple are simply taking out a
lease on some of the new office space.

I love the building but the surrounding area is ground zero for grotesque
property speculation in London. Recently it looked like the developers had
overplayed their hand and wouldn't be able to shift all the £1M+ flats - but
now with a bunch of Apple devs looking to rent them out, who knows?

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mseebach
High London property prices are primarily a function of demand outpacing
supply, and supply having been particularly slow for a couple of decades. If
property developers struggle to shift flats in Battersea, then that's
excellent news, that means that the market for expensive flats appear to have
been saturated, and that developers will begin addressing the market below
this price point now.

Also, important to remember, Apple is _moving_ their HQ, not adding a brand
new location. The majority of the people working in that office already live
in London, so when they moving in to pricey flats in Battersea, they're moving
out of similar priced flats elsewhere. While possibly a windfall for those
particular developers, the overall supply/demand situation in London won't
change much.

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_9MOTHER9HORSE
The only reason anyone is paying £1m+ for pokey two beds in Battersea is
because they think a greater fool will pay more in a few years time.

~~~
mrec
Also, "sales" on these new developments often turn out to mean "off-plan Asian
investor put down a £20k deposit which they can and will walk away from in a
heartbeat if the market looks like turning, because what are you going to do
about it?". In some ways they behave more like options for property
speculation.

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walrus01
Will it have an inflatable pig balloon over it?

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thorin
When this was reported on the bbc radio today Apple was described as iPad and
iPhone manufacture Apple. So desktops and laptops old hat now!

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philwelch
The Battersea Power Station was also once considered for redevelopment into a
football stadium, while maintaining the towers and facade:
[http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/artists-
impressi...](http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/artists-impressions-
show-how-battersea-906467)

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yakster
"Perfection of planning is a symptom of decay. During a period of exciting
discovery or progress, there is no time to plan the perfect headquarters."
C.N. Parkinson

