Nick Warburton, SHP Editor
Pink Floyd is arguably as famous for its album covers as it is for its music. As many ardent fans will know, the band’s longtime collaborators Hipgnosis designed many of the distinctive album jackets, most famously ‘Dark Side of The Moon’ and ‘Wish You Were Here’.
Interestingly, it was Roger Waters, the group’s principal songwriter, who came up with the final concept for the striking cover on ‘Animals’ — Battersea Power Station.
According to the mine of information that is Wikipedia, Waters lived near Clapham Common at the time of the album’s recording and regularly drove past the London landmark, which was coming to the end of its useful life.
But why, you may ask, am I writing about a Pink Floyd album cover and what does that have to do with health and safety? As it turns out, this Friday SHP is visiting Battersea Power Station to meet Lawrence Waterman for a profile in the forthcoming SHP.
For those in the know, Lawrence has been head of health and safety at the Olympic Delivery Authority and London 2012 since autumn 2005.
London was the first Olympics build to be completed without a fatality. It was also notable for having a very low accident rate. As we speak, Lawrence is overseeing the final stage of the site’s development, the retrofit completion of the Olympic Village for affordable and commercial rent and the conversion of the Olympic Park from games mode to legacy.
But if this wasn’t enough to keep him busy, Lawrence is also in the early stages of taking up a new appointment to oversee health and safety at the Battersea Power Station development.
The vast site with the iconic grade 2 listed power station at its heart has been awaiting restoration for 30 years and is already being transformed into one of London’s largest, most visionary and eagerly anticipated new developments. Once complete, the 39-acre site will become a thriving community of homes, shops, cafes, offices and 18 acres of public space.
SHP will be speaking to Lawrence about his work on the iconic site as part of a wider profile piece. It promises to be a fascinating interview that covers major construction projects both in the UK and overseas. Sadly, for the avid Floyd fan, there will be no reference to a giant inflatable pig.
