Abbey Mills Pumping Station

An addition to a Victorian sewerage and pumping complex in east London, this station raises the level of incoming sewage by 12 metres so that it continues its route eastwards out of the city. Operational requirements determine the linear and symmetrical nature of the building, which straddles the direction of the sewage flow. Above ground, the steel structure encloses a soaring space housing mechanical and electrical equipment with full access to pumping chambers deep below ground. If Bazalgette’s original pumping station is the ‘Cathedral to Sewage’, then this zinc-coated aluminium clad building stands fittingly like a shining temple alongside.