One Canada Square | |
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![]() One Canada Square, Canary Wharf |
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General information | |
Location | ![]() |
Status | Complete |
Constructed | 1988-1991[1][2][3] |
Use | Commercial[4] |
Height | |
Antenna or spire | 770 feet (235 m)[5] AGL / 800 feet (240 m)[6] ASL |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 50[4] |
Floor area | 1,200,000 sq ft (111,000 m2)[7] |
Elevators | 32 + 2 freight + 2 firemen[4] |
Cost | £216 million |
Companies involved | |
Architect(s) | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Structural engineer | ![]() ![]() |
Contractor | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() + approximately 40 sub-contractors |
Developer | ![]() |
Owner | ![]() |
Management | ![]() |
One Canada Square (also known as the Canary Wharf Tower) is a skyscraper in Canary Wharf, London, England. The building is famous for being the tallest building in the United Kingdom since 1991, standing at 770 feet (230 m) above ground level[16] and containing 50 storeys.
The building was designed by principal architect Cesar Pelli, who based the design and shape mainly from the World Financial Centre and Big Ben.
One of the predominant features of the building is the pyramid roof which contains a flashing aircraft warning light, a rare feature for buildings in the United Kingdom. The distinctive pyramid pinnacle is at 800 feet (240 m) above sea level.[6]
The building is primarily used for offices, though some retail units are on the lower ground floor. One Canada Square remains as a prestige office building being 100% let. The building is recognised as a London landmark and it has gained much attention through film, television and other media because of its status as the tallest building in the United Kingdom.
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The original plans for a business district on Canary Wharf came from G Ware Travelstead. He proposed three 260m (850 foot) towers. Travelstead was unable to find the money for his project, so he sold the plans to Olympia & York in 1987[10]. Olympia & York grouped all three towers into an area[10] known as Docklands Square, and the main tower was designated DS7 during planning. Docklands Square was later renamed Winston Square before finally being renamed as Canada Square.
The architects chosen to design One Canada Square were Cesar Pelli & Associates, Adamson Associates, and Frederick Gibberd Coombes & Partners[8][10]. They designed the tower with a similar shape to Three World Financial Center, New York City, which was also developed by Olympia & York and designed by Cesar Pelli too. The shape was also made similar to the Big Ben[17]. Olympia & York wanted to clad One Canada Square in stone, just like the World Financial Center buildings, but the architects first wanted to use aluminium for its low density before insisting on steel[10] to reflect Britain's heritage as an industrial nation[17].
The original Canary Wharf Tower by Cesar Pelli was 864 feet at 55 stories. The Canary Wharf Tower did penetrate the permitted projection height of the flight obstruction area of the airport approach district to London City Airport, but this was extended to a height of 30 feet above curb level considering the Canary Wharf Tower was on the external zone of the airport approach district. To comply with air traffic safety regulations, the architects took off 5 floors[10][17] of the tower. The final height of 824 feet was permitted, otherwise, the developers must dismantle what was necessary to fit the height restriction. After losing 5 floors, Olympia & York insisted the other floors had to make up the lost floor space[10][17].
The design of the tower did gain a fair share of criticism. According to Cesar Pelli, the most damaging criticism came from Prince Charles who said "I personally would go mad if I had to work in a place like that" on national television[18]. Other criticisms came from former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who said the building was "not quite stunning".
Construction on the tower began in 1988[10]. Construction was given to Sir Robert McAlpine & Sons in association with Ellis Don of Toronto[10], but they were slow at building the tower, partly due to building workers going on strike in the Summer of 1989[19], so Lehrer McGovern took over[10]. Lehrer McGovern contracted out most of the work to Balfour Beatty because the Canary Wharf Tower was a difficult building to build. Many problems arose, including that of the steel erection as steel columns were blown down by the wind; there were many incidents of workers being struck a glancing blow. Steel erectors also did not fit stabilising wedges between the columns' base plates and the concrete foundation and two steel columns fell. The steel work design had been calculated using a wind speed of only 25 mph. Bolts failed when the columns began to sway. In total, about 27,500 metric tonnes of British steel and 500,000 bolts were used during construction.[6]
On 8 November 1990, the tower was topped out when the top piece of the pyramid roof was put in place by crane. The celebration was attended by many famous architects, recognised engineers and political leaders. Amongst them were César Pelli, Brian Mulroney, Peter Rice, Man-Chung Tang, and Margaret Thatcher. Paul Reichmann, the owner of Olympia & York gave credit to Pelli for his building design as "this inauguration symbolises the spirit with which buildings can be achieved". Margaret Thatcher told the distinguished audience that the tower can become a "national recognised landmark".
In August 1991, One Canada Square was completed[10] and open for business. His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh officially opened One Canada Square on the morning of 26 August 1991. His Royal Highness unveiled a commemorative plaque at the entrance to the building. Hundreds of construction workers attended the opening ceremony. The Duke of Edinburgh addressed some 800 invited guests, many of whom were involved in the project. He spoke of the "large, airy space and clean, efficient office layout", as he declared the building ready for business. The attendees heard a specially-commissioned piece of music performed by a 30-strong choir. Paul Reichmann, Chairman of Olympia & York said:
"The Canary Wharf Tower marks the start of a new beginning for Canary Wharf, for London and for the United Kingdom. It is by any standard a triumph of ambition, commitment and collaboration. It will breathe life into Canary Wharf, allowing us to continue our transformation of the rest of the wharf and will put Canary Wharf at the leading edge of real estate."
And Cesar Pelli, main architect, gave his speech that included:
"According to Lao Tse, the reality of a hollow object is in the void and not in the walls that define it. He was speaking, of course, of spiritual realities. These are the realities also of the Canary Wharf Tower. The power of the void is increased and... with its supporting structure creates a portal to the sky ... a door to the infinite."
The majority of the tower was empty after opening because most tenants had not moved in yet and there was a global recession. To brighten up the tower, lights and lasers[20] were installed during the Christmas celebrations of 1991. Soon after in May 1992, the original developers, Olympia & York, went into bankruptcy administration. A majority of the tenants who were due to move into One Canada Square refused. (Only a handful of tenants actually believed in the Canary Wharf project and still moved in despite the bankruptcy situation.) Over the next several years, ultimate ownership of the tower changed several times (see Ownership section). By 1999, One Canada Square was completely let for the very first time. It took 11 years to fill up the tower (as tenants were first sought from the date of construction).
The name given to the building by the developers is 'One Canada Square',[4] though '1 Canada Square' (with a numeric number 1) is the official address used by The Post Office.[21][22] The building designation for One Canada Square is DS7[23][24]. It stands for Docklands Square[25] 7.
Officially, the Civil Aviation Authority shows the building at 235 metres (771 ft) above ground level, or 245.8 metres (806 ft) above sea level.
The pyramid roof is an important feature of the building, enclosing a maintenance plant and housing facilities for water supply, window washing and an aircraft warning beacon. The pyramid itself is 40 metres high[26] and 30 metres square at the base.[26] It is made from stainless steel[26] and is held together by 100,000 nuts and bolts,[26] with a weight of over 100 tons.[26] A louvre access door opens to allow a shining beacon to identify the building to passing aircraft.[26]
Water is pumped up to the pyramid roof, and is continuously replenished. A common sound that is heard inside the pyramid roof is water being moved around. The water is used for general water requirements, such as toilets, etc. and for the fire system. If a fire occurs inside the building, the sprinklers can get the water from the roof, as it is easier for water to flow downwards. The tower consumes an average of 200,000 gallons of water per day.
The machines for washing the building windows are stored inside the pyramid roof. There are two types: one is automatic and the other is manual. The automatic window washing machines runs on rails on the sides of the building. This machine can clean a window in 2.6 seconds. It consumes 426,000 gallons of water per run to clean the entire tower. The other machine is a manual window washing cradle. Both of these machines for cleaning the windows are supported by rails that run around the outside of the pyramid roof that are bolted down into the maintenance floor itself.
The aircraft warning light is at the very top of the pyramid. Access is via a ladder with a sign that warns of unauthorised entry will lead to dismissal. The tower uses an OL5000 medium intensity LED obstruction light. It is an omni-directional light usually for marking hazards. It has very long life and requires little maintenance. Light intensity achieved is well in excess of the required 2,000 candelas. It uses low power consumption and the unit can be flashing or steady burning.
There is electrical equipment that regulates the power to the rest of the building on the mezzanine floor. Some of the electrical generators on the mezzanine floor are powered by micro-hydro water turbines, sourced by water pumped up to the roof, making the building one of the most advanced environmentally friendly buildings in the world.
The steel comprises a galvanized steel core, with a multi-layered protective coating and granular finish for with better performance characteristics. The tile is in three satin finishes and a high-gloss silver and can be transported in situ in a building's roof.
The pyramid itself is cleaned by special maintenance personnel who abseil from the light beacon opening at the very top of the roof. Not only do they have to deal with the height, as well as the winds that interfere with their ropes, but they also need to inspect the steel roof.
The pyramid roof lights up in the evenings and can be seen 20 miles away[27]. It is a permanent lighting of the Canary Wharf tower pyramid using a thousand electronically controlled fluorescent tubes capable of sequence programming for special occasions and festive seasons.
One Canada Square uses a traditional roof circuit for its lightning protection system. The roof holds 5 lightning conductor rods. This rooftop network of conductors contain multiple conductive cooper paths from the roof to the ground. The steel clad does not form part of the lightning protection system as it was considered too dangerous.
At the peak cooling times, the HVAC (climate control) system requires cooling equivalent to that provided by 2,000 t of melting ice in one day. The building has a condensate collection system, which uses the hot and humid outside air, combined with the cooling requirements of the building and results in a significant amount of condensation of moisture from the air. The condensed water is collected and drained into a holding tank located in the basement car park.
One Canada Square has 3,960 windows[6] and was one of the first buildings to incorporate metallicised windows and other advanced window technologies, to assist with the building's energy efficiency plans. The tower uses super-insulated windows at triple-pane glazing (with a high solar heat-gain coefficient), low-emissivity (low-e) coatings to pevent heat loss in winter months, UV coatings, scratch resistant outer layers, sealed argon / krypton gas filled inter-pane voids, 'warm edge' insulating glass spacers, air-seals and specially developed thermally designed window frames. The windows were manufactured with exceptionally high R-values [low U-values, 0.90 W/(m².K)], thereby the thermal resistance is one of the highest rated in the world for the entire window including the frame.
The tower uses low energy consumption external lighting through intelligent lighting controls systems. This computer controlled system generates the visually interesting lighting displays on the exterior of the building. The uplighters that are usually seen on the exterior of the building are inductive fluorescent lamps that can be color rendered and dimmed. The floodlights use compact fluorescent lamps used to provide controlled lighting at the base of the tower. The lighting control system has photocells that will automatically switch on the display when it is dark.
In the event of a fire, One Canada Square is not fully evacuated. Only the floor that has the fire and the floor above are evacuated. The fire sprinkler system is activated, air conditioning will work in reverse to extract smoke, and air is blown in from the emergency exits (so that smoke does not enter the emergency exits).
The only time when One Canada Square was fully evacuated was on 30 October 2001[28], during a test drill in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks.
When the fire alarm activates on the floor, digital signage throughout the building displays alert messages followed by instructions tailored to each floor of the building. On certain floors, the instructions ask employees to leave the floor. Exit signs flash. The access control system unlocks doors as necessary. Fire dampers open. The ventilation system in the area of the fire sucks the smoke out of offices. The public address system issues alerts. Throughout the building, cameras turn on and look for problems that intelligent video software applications have been programmed to detect. Within about 15 minutes, the access control system sends a memo to the security director itemising how many people have left the affected floor and how many remain.
One Canada Square has a steel pendulum that serves as a tuned mass damper. The pendulum sways to offset movements in the building caused by strong gusts of wind. The building can sway 13 ¾ inches in the strongest winds.[6]
The lobby is 36 feet (11 metre) high, cladded in 90,000 square feet (8,000 m2) of marble imported from Italy[6], Guatemala[6] and Turkey[10]
The stained glass and the roundel in the foyer were designed by Charles Rennie, and are an original design. The design represents Canary Wharf, Water and Boats, illustrating the signs of London Docklands. The slate used here and in various places around the foyer on site is made from the Welsh slate shelving used in the repositories of the original Banana Warehouse at Canary Wharf.
The tower has thirty two elevators for tenants to use, where approximately 6 elevators serve every ten floors of the building. In addition, there are two freight elevators and two firemen elevators.[6] + 2 freight lifts[6] + 2 firemens lifts[6] The tower uses Gearless Traction Elevators by Otis. These elevators were installed in 1990 using a gearless traction machine. They have woven steel cables called hoisting ropes that are attached to the top of the elevator car and wrapped around the drive sheave in special grooves. The other ends of the cables are attached to a counterweight that moves up and down in the hoistway on its own guiderails. It takes 40 seconds by lift from lobby to top floor[6]
There is currently no public observation floor. However, there was an exception during 12 September 1992 - 15 November 1992, when bankruptcy administrators for Olympia & York Canary Wharf Limited opened the 50th floor to the public, in order to maintain interest in Canary Wharf. The scheme was stopped on 15 November 1992 when the IRA attempted to bomb the tower[29] (see Terrorism section).
The ground floor, foyer area and basement levels of One Canada Square are open to the general public, having an underground shopping area and a transport interchange from Canary Wharf tube and Docklands Light Railway stations. Access from the basement also links to Canada Square shopping mall[30]. The floors above the lobby are not opened to the public as they contain offices.
Canary Wharf Contractors are responsible for the maintenance of the building. There are about 130 in-house and contract staff who maintain, manage, secure and clean the building. There are normally ten maintenance personnel on-site during working hours and three at night to attend to routine repairs and adjustments to the internal environment. Critical spare parts for the electricity, gas and water systems are kept within the building.
One Canada Square was 'named and shamed' for being the top building to leave the lights on unnecessarily[31]. The research carried out by the BBC Inside Out team found that on midnight Sunday, One Canada Square left more lights on than any other building in London[31].
However, Canary Wharf Group did say that some tenants have staff working around the clock[31], and 100% of the energy comes from renewable resources[31].
Perhaps due to superstition, there is no thirteenth floor and instead the floors are numbered 11, 12, 14, 15.[5] Elevators travelling between the ground floor and 16th floor have a blank button for what should be the 13th floor. The fire escape stairs reveals that the floors go straight from the 12th floor to the 14th floor with no space for an extra floor in between.
(This listing differs from Canary Wharf Group's list[7] as it is outdated. This listing also does not match Royal Mail / The Post Office list when searching for companies in One Canada Square[21])
The ownership of One Canada Square has changed since it was constructed. The table below shows who have previously owned One Canada Square, and also who are the current owners.
Any use of a holding company has been excluded from this list, as it is easier to trace the true owner.
Date | Owner |
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1988–1991 | (Building under construction) Olympia & York Canary Wharf Limited (Ultimate parent: Olympia & York Developments Limited) |
1991–1992 | Olympia & York Canary Wharf Limited (Ultimate parent: Olympia & York Developments Limited) |
1992-1992 | None (previous owners were in administration due to bankruptcy) |
1992-1992 | Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited |
1992–1993 | None (Return to administration) |
1993–1995 | Canary Wharf Limited (Parent: Sylvester Investments) (Ultimate parent: a consortium of 11 banks owned by Barclays Bank, CIBC, Chemical Bank, Citibank, Commerzbank, Crédit Lyonnais, Credit Suisse, Kansallis-Osake-Pankki, Lloyds Bank, National Bank of Canada, and Royal Bank of Canada) |
1993–1995 | Canary Wharf Limited (Parent: Tomcat Investments - transitional use to International Property Corporation Limited) (Ultimate parent: a consortium of 5 banks owned by Citibank, Commerzbank, Crédit Lyonnais, Credit Suisse, and Royal Bank of Canada) |
1995–1999 | Canary Wharf Limited (Parent: International Property Corporation Limited) (Ultimate parent: a consortium owned by CNA Financial Corporation, Franklin Mutual Series Fund, HRH Prince Al Waleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud, affiliates of Republic New York Corporation, Paul Reichmann) |
1999–2004 | Canary Wharf Group plc (public company, no majority shareholder) |
2004- | Canary Wharf Group plc (public company, majority shareholder is Songbird Estates plc) |
Title | Rank |
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Tallest building in the world | 204 |
Tallest building in Europe | 14 |
Tallest building in the European Union | 7 |
Tallest building in the UK | 1 |
Tallest building in Canary Wharf | 1 |
Titles such as the 'tallest building in the UK' can be determined by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) criteria of: when a building is complete, clad and at least partially open for business[40]. In accordance to the CTBUH method, One Canada Square achieved the title of tallest skyscraper in the UK in August 1991. It is a record it has held since. However, other skyscrapers may take this title in the next few years, for example Bishopsgate Tower and The Shard. As for the tallest building at Canary Wharf, One Canada Square is currently the tallest building there, but it may be overtaken as the tallest building by Riverside Tower 1. As for the tallest building in the European Union, One Canada Square never achieved the title as tallest skyscraper in the European Union's because in accordance to the CTBUH method, a building has to be completed before its receives its title, so as MesseTurm was completed in 1990[41], and One Canada Square was completed in 1991, it cannot claim that title.
On 15 November 1992, the Provisional Irish Republican Army attempted to place a large improvised explosive device[29] near to the tower. The IRA had already worked out that to cause maximum damage, the bomb had to be placed under the Docklands Light Railway bridge to disrupt infrastructure and near to the Canary Wharf Tower for a devastating effect. The bomb was in a van which was driven to the designated place. As the bombers were about to make their escape, security guards approached the van because it was parked illegally on double yellow lines. Two men got out of the vehicle and pointed guns at the security guards. The security guards tried to calm the situation thus challenged the two men[29], but the men shot the guards and decided to flee the scene having accomplished their mission. Other Canary Wharf Security guards pursued them as far as the boundary of the wharf, but the men escaped. Armed police were on the scene within minutes and the army bomb squad discovered that the vehicle contained a bomb. The detonator failed to ignite the main charge[42], and the bomb did not go off, so there was no bomb damage to Canary Wharf. A few days later, the IRA described it as 'sheer ill luck' as the bomb failed to detonate. There was criticism that the intelligence services did not know about this massive bomb travelling through London. As a result of this attempted bombing, the observation floor was closed (see Public access section) and security was dramatically increased at Canary Wharf.
On 9 February 1996, the IRA did detonate a large bomb at South Quay, south of Canary Wharf (outside of Canary Wharf), which killed two people and devastated several buildings. This explosion is commonly, but erroneously, referred to as the "Canary Wharf bomb"[43][44].
There have been many news articles in recent years stating that the towers at Canary Wharf have been a target for terrorism[45][46][47]. However, some of these plots have been denied by the government.[48] One plot was confirmed on 4 April 2008, when a terror cell appeared at Woolwich Crown Court accused of targeting Canary Wharf. The men denied the charges[49][50], but were found guilty for planning attacks on the Canary Wharf skyscrapers.[51]
As the Canary Wharf Tower is the first skyscraper to be clad in stainless steel with metallised windows, this may have caused television reception interference for local people living in the area. In the case Patricia Hunter and others v. Canary Wharf Ltd.[1997][52][53], the House of Lords concluded there is no legal right to receive good television reception[54]. Patricia Hunter and others lost the case because of a variety of reasons that included:
In Spring 2001, the BBC received some television interference complaints from residents in the Poplar area[55] (north of Canary Wharf). A possible cause for the interference are the other Canary Wharf towers being built[55]. Their advice was to get digital television, satellite or cable.[55]
In March 2004, a window was broken in the lobby of One Canada Square during a protest about wages for cleaners. Cleaners were being paid low wages whilst bankers at Canary Wharf were earning £1 million. Although the protest was relatively peaceful, there was some damage. The shattered glass panel was 12 feet high and 1 inch thick. The window was boarded up and replaced within hours.
One Canada Square has been featured in many films. It was featured many times in the movie 28 Weeks Later[56] where the tower and the Docklands area around it are one of the main settings for the post-apocalyptic horror-thriller. Another high profile film was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, where Harry and some members of the Order of the Phoenix pass next to One Canada Square as they head to Grimmauld Place near the beginning of the movie on their broomsticks.
The tower has also been featured in a few spy films. Exposure was given to the tower in The World Is Not Enough, as James Bond sails past One Canada Square.[56] Another spy film was The Bourne Supremacy[56] where One Canada Square appeared as the CIA's London listening station. In the film Johnny English,[56] One Canada Square had another identical building next to it, where one of the One Canada Square buildings was a hospital and the other was villain Pascal Sauvage's HQ.
Other films featuring the Canary Wharf Tower can be read from a publication called Canary Wharf And Isle Of Dogs Movie Map[56]
One Canada Square has appeared many times on British television. It has appeared in the television series Doctor Who (in the episode Army of Ghosts), as the location of the Torchwood Institute, as the name "Torchwood Tower"[57]. It has appeared in the series The Tomorrow People, as the headquarters for Sam Rees.[58] The tower also made multiple appearances on the television show The Apprentice (UK)[56].
During the 1990s, One Canada Square was home to the television station L!VE TV who broadcasted live from the tower.[56].
A near future sequence in the novel Freezeframes by Katharine Kerr, shows One Canada Square as a free college and youth drop-in centre. It is nicknamed "Major's Last Erection", referring to John Major.
One Canada Square previously appeared in the Virgin Missing Adventures novel Millennial Rites in which the top floor was the headquarters of a yuppie who inadvertently turned London into a "dark fantasy" kingdom in which he was a powerful sorcerer, with the tower as his citadel; and the Past Doctor Adventures novel The Time Travellers, in which it was the headquarters of the British Army in an alternate timeline.
One Canada Square also features prominently in an early issue of the Grant Morrison comic series The Invisibles, in which Dane MacGowan is encouraged to jump from the top by his mentor, Tom O'Bedlam, as an initiation rite that will allow him to see beyond reality and join The Invisibles.
![]() Street view |
![]() Side view |
![]() One Canada Square, London |
![]() A view from the top floor |
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