Last year saw London’s iconic Grade II Battersea Power Station reopen its doors for the first time since it closed in 1983. Now, the Sir Giles Gilbert Scott-designed building has been reimagined as a shopping/leisure hub. Retaining its incredible four chimney structure and Art Deco interiors, we took full advantage of the architectural icon for our HEROINE 19 shoot, Trapped in the Metaverse – transforming the location into a strange, digital landscape. Back in the real world, here’s what you can get up to at the newly-renovated Battersea Power Station.

DNA VR
You’re no longer in Battersea, you’re now defending a fantasy town from an orc invasion, surviving a zombie apocalypse or preventing a nuclear disaster from destroying the whole goddamn world! Head to DNA VR and immerse yourself in their tech-forward VR gaming technology for an escapist trip like no other. There’s even a ‘job simulator’ where, in a future where robots have replaced all human jobs, you can experience what it was like ‘to job’ – you know, like sitting at a desk, typing on a computer, how 2023.

Arcade Food Hall
After all that virtual journeying, you’ll probably be hungry – make a beeline for the brand new Arcade Food Hall. Across a whopping 24,000 sq ft, you can fill your stomach in style. Developed by Arcade Create, a programme that promotes new and exciting food talent, guests can embrace the direct-to-table service and choose from over 13 different cuisines, pull up a seat at two bars, and three restaurants: Manna, a US smash burger and fried chicken haven; Solis, a grilled chicken and steak brand; and BAO, the delicious bao bun eatery. Not only is the food delicious, but the decor is like something out of a Baz Luhrmann movie.

Lift 109
Forget Willy Wonka’s surreal, intergalactic glass elevator (honestly, if you haven’t read the book, do so, it’s nuts), Battersea Power Station’s Lift 109 is a unique experience that climbs to the top of the building’s north west chimney, offering 360 degree views across London. Head to the top and play a game of ‘where’s my house?’

Cinema
We love a cinema you can escape into. You know what we’re talking about: art deco architecture, plush seats and a sound system that rattles your organs (Oppenheimer style). The aptly-named Cinema in the Power Station is a venue you can sink into and separate yourself from the outside world. For mega-bougie cinema-goers, you can hire a private box with its own mini-bars. Or perhaps you prefer a more intimate screening experience, in which case, wander down to The Cinema In The Arches, offering three bespoke screens built into the railway arches nearby. We do like choice.

Control Room bar
After a hard day enjoying yourself, you’ll need a hard drink. Cue the Power Station’s Control Room B bar, located in, you guessed it, the old control room. Surrounded by the original dials, control desks and switchgear racks, the bar offers an incredible drinking location – think Fritz Lang’s Metropolis meets the bar from Morten Tyldum’s Passengers. Here, you can pretend you’re in charge of some wild sci-fi vessel while you down Negroni’s and gradually start to believe it too…