The development will include a total of 247 apartments with each floor including two clusters of nine and 10 apartments, each around a communal kitchen. The kitchens will be located on opposite corners of the building with full height glazing to express the activity within the building along the two main approaches to the building.
The two communal and co-working floors, which will sit directly above the power station, will include traditional and flexible office space with conferencing and presentation rooms as well as a series of shared leisure facilities that could include a cinema room, gym and spaces to accommodate community events.
The development will also include a second floor terrace and a roof terrace that will offer residents the use of a communal vegetable and herb garden, a games and activities space as well as a series of relaxation and reading areas.
Externally the façade consists of vertical aluminium fins that that allow for ventilation of the energy centre while a less dense expression of these fins continues up the façade as the building rises, creating a depth of reveal on the highly engineered elevation.
The industrial aesthetic of the building is celebrated through the use of bold colours to accentuate the power station’s flues which are held within a steel framework of high quality detailing that is repeated across the scheme to unify the different uses areas.
Mark Rolt, chief operating officer at Thameswey Group, said the Power House proposals was a response to people’s changing lifestyles as well reflecting an aspiration within Woking to create exciting environments were innovation and creativity can thrive.
He said: “This is a stunning design for a building that will serve a number of important uses. The Power House places low carbon energy at the heart of the town’s economic development while the upper floors will bring contemporary co-working and co-living to the area for the first time.
“Having modern, affordable accommodation and workspaces in the same place will be a huge draw for creative, entrepreneurial young people at a time of huge transformation and opportunity in Woking.”