Archinect - News

First renderings of KPF's major 8 Canada Square overhaul

2024-07-18T16:53:00-04:00

The plan from Kohn Pedersen Fox for a major redevelopment of the 42-story Norman Foster-designed 8 Canada Square tower in London (opened in 2003 and currently leased by HSBC) has gone public for the first time.

The project, which commences in 2027, is expected to be realized at 1.1 million square feet and showcase the most up-to-date workspaces along with a suite of amenities for workers, including leisure, entertainment, education, and cultural attractions.

Image copyright Kiasm, courtesy of KPF

KPF Design Principal Elie Gamburg said her team views this as an opportunity to “reimagine the single-use office building as a blueprint for the highly sustainable, mixed-use building of the future.” Plans are to have it serve as a connection between the nearby Elizabeth Line station and Canada Square Park. Some of the changes proposed (as noted below) are a complete retrofitting of the building envelope, plus the addition of two large setbacks and outdoor terraces leading to a rooftop vie...

Citigroup taps WilkinsonEyre to transform its aging 25 Canada Square headquarters

2022-01-28T05:00:00-05:00

An aging financial relic in London’s Canary Wharf is about to become the capital city’s next high-profile retrofit project thanks to a new plan from WilkinsonEyre.

Architects’ Journal UK is reporting that the firm will lead a massive retrofit of the 21-year-old structure after the financial house has apparently opted away from its original demolition plans.

The need for more adaptive reuse efforts has been much publicized of late, especially in London, where major projects like the Barbican Centre redesign and RIBA’s recently-announced Portland Place overhaul establish high-profile showcases. The decision on Citigroup’s part is being framed as a significant victory for AR proponents across the country.

WilkinsonEyre’s efforts will involve the reuse of over 100,000 tonnes of embodied carbon in the transformation of Cesar Pelli’s original 1.2-million-square-foot structure into a more flexible modern office space that is more in tune with the post-pandemic demands on workers. Offices...

Herzog & de Meuron reveals new images of its first-ever UK residential tower

2021-07-27T08:00:00-04:00

Photos for the new One Park Drive development in London’s Canary Wharf neighborhood have been released this week by Herzog & de Meuron. The project represents the Swiss firm’s second major development in the city following the cancellation of a planned football stadium last year and the completion of the Tate Modern’s Switch House in 2016.

Image courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron/Lee Mawdsley

The 58-story residential tower distinguishes itself from the surrounding neighborhood in a cylindrical form containing 484 apartment units whose function is contrasted by the area’s predominantly commercial spaces. 22 floors of blocky stepped one- and two-bedroom apartments sit atop a rounded base which houses 9 floors of curving balcony-lined apartments and an arrangement of amenities including a built-in library and cinema space. Another 25 floors of larger apartments top out the building with balconies included. Seven duplex apartments will be installed on the top two floors later this year.

Ima...

Knight Architects receives public approval for pedestrian bridge in London's Canary Wharf

2021-07-08T16:39:00-04:00

Bridge specialists, Knight Architects, have received substantial public approval for their South Dock Bridge, a new pedestrian bridge in London’s Docklands. Once completed, it is expected to become one of the busiest pedestrian bridges in London.

Designed by Knight Architects, Arcadis, and Kgal for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets (LBTH), the proposed bridge will support increased volumes of pedestrian traffic, which are predicted with the expansion of the Isle of Dogs, a historic, major trading center in London. The area is surrounded by the River Thames and contains Canary Wharf, one of the UK’s main financial centers. The increased predicted levels of pedestrian traffic in the Isle of Dogs is set to be above levels that can be comfortably accommodated with existing infrastructure. The South Dock Bridge intends to support this expansion.

The bridge will improve walkable connections between existing public spaces with proposed development in the area and local public transit. I...

Has London finally found a Thames bridge that everyone can get behind?

2015-11-25T04:39:00-05:00

You wait years for a new bridge across the Thames then three come along at once. Joining the controversial garden bridge and a plan for a crossing between Nine Elms and Pimlico, both of which have fierce opponents, comes a proposal unveiled today for a new pedestrian and cycle bridge between Rotherhithe and the Isle of Dogs in east London that hasn’t aroused a single objection – yet. There’s a good reason why: of the three plans, it makes by far the most sense.

Canary Wharf may be host to western Europe's tallest residential tower

2015-10-09T04:00:00-04:00

Developer Greenland Group has submitted plans for a 67-storey tower that would provide 869 new homes on West India Quay. If approved, the building will be western Europe’s tallest residential building at 241m.

Designed by HOK, the yet-to-be-approved tower would feature a west wing of affordable units, retail on the ground floor, and according to the rendering below, an incredible amount of sunshine:

London's Canary Wharf spreads east with new towers and 3,000 homes planned

2014-07-22T13:18:00-04:00

More than 3,000 homes are to be built at the eastern edge of Canary Wharf after Tower Hamlets council gave the green light for the project, the first extension to the financial district since the banking crisis struck in 2008. [...] Its centrepiece, at 211m the tallest building, is a 57-storey cylindrical residential skyscraper facing the waters of South Dock, designed by Herzog & de Meuron [...]