Canary Wharf

A segment panoramic view of the three tallest skyscrapers in Canary Wharf, London, as viewed from Cabot Square.

Canary Wharf is a major business district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England. Rivalling London's traditional financial centre, the City of London, Canary Wharf contains many of the United Kingdom's premier office spaces and tallest buildings.^[1]

History

Canary Wharf from Millwall Dock (Pan Peninsula, One Canada Square, South Quay DLR station)

Canary Wharf is built on the site of the West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs. From 1802, the area was one of the busiest docks in the world. By the 1950s, the port industry began to decline, leading to the docks closing by 1980.^[2]

Canary Wharf itself takes its name from No. 32 berth of the West Wood Quay of the Import Dock. This was built in 1936 for Fruit Lines Ltd, a subsidiary of Fred Olsen Lines for the Mediterranean and Canary Island (Insula Canaria (from canis) "Island of Dogs") fruit trade. At their request, the quay and warehouse were given the name Canary Wharf.^[3]

The Canary Wharf of today began when Michael von Clemm, former chairman of Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), came up with the idea to convert Canary Wharf into back office. Further discussions with G Ware Travelstead led to proposals for a new business district. The project was sold to Olympia & York^[4] and construction began in 1988. The first buildings were completed in 1991 which included One Canada Square that became the UK's tallest building and a powerful symbol of the regeneration of Docklands. Upon opening, the London commercial property market had collapsed and Olympia and York Canary Wharf Limited filed for bankruptcy in May 1992.

Local opposition

The idea of a new financial services district was not popular with local residents as the expectation was that the development would provide no local jobs or transport improvements. However, over the course of the development relations with the local community have improved and more than 7,000 local (Tower Hamlets) residents work at Canary Wharf.

In 1997, some residents living on the Isle of Dogs launched a lawsuit against Canary Wharf Ltd for private nuisance because the tower caused interference with television signals. The residents lost the case.^[5]

Rescue and recovery

In December 1995 an international consortium, backed by the former owners of Olympia & York and other investors, bought the scheme. The new company was called Canary Wharf Limited, and later became Canary Wharf Group.

Recovery in the property market generally, coupled with continuing demand for high floor-plate grade A office accommodation, slowly improved the level of interest in the estate. A critical event in the recovery of Canary Wharf was the much-delayed start of work on the Jubilee Line, which the government wanted ready for the Millennium celebrations.

In March 2004 Canary Wharf Group plc was forced to be taken over by a consortium of investors led by Morgan Stanley using a vehicle named Songbird Estates.

Present day

Canary Wharf tenants include major banks, such as Barclays, Credit Suisse, HSBC and Citigroup, law firms such as Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy, Advertising agencies such as Ogilvy & Mather, as well as news media and service firms, including Thomson Reuters, and Trinity Mirror.

Over 100,000 people are employed on the estate, around 25% of whom live in the surrounding five boroughs. With the opening of Jubilee Place shopping centre, Canary Wharf has become a shopping destination.

A panoramic view of Canary Wharf from Stave Hill (2008).

Tallest buildings

Completed buildings

Rank	Image	Name	Height		Floors	year	Notes
			Metres	feet
1		One Canada Square	235	771	50	1991	This is the 14th-tallest building in Europe, and currently the tallest building in the United Kingdom. Tallest building in the United Kingdom since 1991. Tallest structure completed in London in the 1990s.
2=		8 Canada Square	200	655	42	2002	The 22nd-tallest building in Europe, second-tallest building in the United Kingdom. Also known as the HSBC HQ.
2=		25 Canada Square	200	655	42	2001	The 22nd-tallest building in Europe, second-tallest building in the United Kingdom. Also known as the Citigroup Centre, London.
3		One Churchill Place	156	513	32	2005	Seventh-tallest building in the United Kingdom. The building was originally planned to be 50 stories in height, but was scaled down to 31 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and this would have been the tallest building in Canary Wharf.
4=		40 Bank Street	153	502	33	2003	Eighth-tallest building in the United Kingdom.
4=		25 Bank Street	153	502	33	2003	Eighth-tallest building in the United Kingdom.
5		10 Upper Bank Street	151	495	32	2003	Tenth-tallest building in the United Kingdom.
6		Pan Peninsula	147	484	48	2008	Sixth-tallest building in Canary Wharf.
7		33 Canada Square	105	344	18	1999
8		1 Cabot Square	89	292	21	1991	1 Cabot Square also known as Credit Suisse.
9		5 Canada Square	88	288	16	2003	The principal tenant at 5 Canada Square is the European arm and HQ of Banc of America Securities, and features one of Europe's largest trading floors.Credit Suisse has one half of the building but only occupies floors 11-15.
10		25 Cabot Square	81	265	17	1991	The architect on the project was Skidmore Owings & Merrill.
11		25 North Colonnade	80	262	17	1991
12		20 Bank Street	68	223	14	2003	20 Bank Street (Heron Quays 1 (HQ1) or the Morgan Stanley Building). The building was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM).
13		50 Bank Street	63	206	11	2002

Under-construction buildings

Approved buildings

Timeline of tallest buildings

Name	Image	Height	Floors	Years as tallest
1 Cabot Square		89	21	earl 1991 - late 1991
One Canada Square		235	50	late 1991 -

Canary Wharf 2005 night view	Canary Wharf 2007 night view	The A1261 road which had just came of the A13 road heading towards Canary Wharf	A street view of One Churchill Place
Canary Wharf in year 2000 with One Canada Square with 8 Canada Square & 25 Canada Square still under construction	The O2 Arena & Canary Wharf in the background	Canary Wharf from Cabot Square	A street view of 25 Bank Street

Transportation

Docklands Light Railway

Brand new Unit 109 calls at Heron Quays DLR station with a southbound service

Heron Quays

One of the first stations to be built in Canary Wharf. The station first opened up in 1987. The station has two platforms in use, is in Travelcard Zone 2, and is on the Lewisham branch of the Docklands Light Railway, between Canary Wharf and South Quay. The station was moved 200 metres south (to fit inside the new buildings) and a longer platform was built at this new site to accommodate three-unit trains planned as part of the DLR Capacity Enhancement; the station re-opened on 18 December 2002.

South Quay

The original South Quay station opened in 1987, and was a standard DLR phase 1 elevated station, subsequently extended to permit the use of 2 car trains.

In 1996, near the station, the Docklands bombing killed 2 people and injured over 30 & than rebuilt the station.

Canary Wharf

Canary Wharf station had been part of the original DLR plans, but when the system opened in August 1987 the station was not ready. It was originally planned that the station would be similar to the original station at Heron Quays, with two small platforms either side of the tracks.The station is located on the DLR between Heron Quays station and the West India Quay station, in Travelcard Zone 2, which are in fact the three closest train stations on the same line in the world.

London Underground

The Canary Wharf tube station is a two platform station which opened in 1999 on the Jubilee Line's extension from Charing Cross to Stratford. Canary Wharf station has increasingly become one of the busiest stations on the network, serving the ever-expanding Canary Wharf business district. The station was used as a location for some scenes of Danny Boyle's 2002 film 28 Days Later and its sequel 28 weeks later which was mostly based in Canary Wharf.

National Rail

Canary Wharf railway station began construction in May 2009 and will be completed in 2017. The station will have two platforms and will be in the Travelcard Zone 2.

Aviation

London City Airport runway with Canary Wharf in the background

London City Airport is linked to London's new financial district at Canary Wharf and to the traditional financial district of the City of London via the Docklands Light Railway, and with an interchange to the London Underground. London City Airport DLR station is situated immediately adjacent to the terminal building, with enclosed access to and from the elevated platforms.

Bus Routes

135

This bus route starts at Old Street Station & ends at Crossharbour. The operator for this bus is Arriva London.

Bus Route D7 heading to Poplar All Saints DLR

277

This bus route starts at Highbury & Islington and ends at Leamouth, the via stops are Dalston, Hackney Central, Mile End & Canary Wharf. The frequency of this bus is about every 7–30 minutes.

N550

This is a night bus route that travels 11 miles & runs about every 30 minutes. This bus route starts at Canning Town & ends at Trafalgar Square.

Bus Route D8 heading towards Stratford Bus Station / DLR Station

Local buses

These are local buses that goes mostly around the London Docklands area. Note: These buses mostly start/end at a Docklands Light Railway Station.
D3
D6
D7
D8

London River Services

The Canary Wharf Pier is a London River Services pier on the River Thames in London, UK. It is located to the west of the Canary Wharf district, close to Narrow Street, Limehouse.

Significance and impact

Canary Wharf aerial view (2009)

The most immediate impact of Canary Wharf has been to substantially increase land values in the surrounding area. This means that the Isle of Dogs, which had previously been seen as suited for low-density light industrial development, has been up-rated. Projects such as South Quay Plaza and West India Quay are a direct consequence of this. At the peak of property prices in 2007, the HSBC building sold for a record £1.1 billion.^[6]

At the metropolitan level, Canary Wharf was, and remains, a direct challenge to the primacy of the City of London as the UK's principal centre for the finance industry. Relations between Canary Wharf and the City of London Corporation have frequently been strained, with the City accusing Canary Wharf of poaching tenants, and Canary Wharf accusing the City of not catering to occupier needs.

Canary Wharf's national significance comes from what it replaces: the former docks were, as recently as 1961, the busiest in the world. They served huge industrial areas of east London and beyond. Both the docks and much of that industrial capacity are gone, with employment shifting to the service industry accommodated in office buildings. In this respect, Canary Wharf could be cited as the strongest single symbol of the changed economic geography of the United Kingdom.

The Radiohead song "Fake Plastic Trees" is about Canary Wharf^[7]. In addition, the Doctor Who episodes "Doomsday" and "Army of Ghosts" both take place within Canary Wharf. The Battle of Canary Wharf is continually mentioned throughout the rest of the series, as well as in the spin-off show Torchwood.

References and notes

See also

• The Canary Wharf of the North
• Canary Wharfs tube station
• Canary Wharf DLR station (Docklands Light Railway station)
• Heron Quays DLR station
• South Quay DLR station
• Canary Wharf railway station (under construction)
• Canary Wharf – Rotherhithe Ferry
• Canary Wharf, London City Airport

External links

• Canary Wharf - what's on
• Canary Wharf Group plc
• Canary Wharf projects on Skyscrapernews