Isle of Dogs Pumping Station

Image: © Rod Allday Taken: 16 Oct 2010

Designed by the architect John Outram in his own unmistakeable style (see also Image). The brief was to design a building to last 100 years. It was to house control and supply maintenance room for the electric pumps in their chambers under the floor of the Station. Storm water from the Isle of Dogs is raised automatically whenever it flows into the underfloor chamber, to a great concrete surge tank, high above ground level, from which it drains by gravity into the Thames, The building has also to be vandal and terrorist-proof, so far as is reasonable. It has no windows. The control room is surrounded by concrete which has been designed to withstand the collapse of the structure onto it, should it experience an earthquake or explosion. http://www.johnoutram.com/projectsmenu.html When completed in 1988 the building received several awards and was much lauded. Today it's let down by its setting, with the surrounding paving overrun with weeds, as can be seen in the foreground in the photo.

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