20 NEWFOUNDLAND, CANARY WHARF
“Everyone was keen to deliver homes in the heart of Canary Wharf to make it a more socially
sustainable community” Billie Lee, HCL architects
building’s aesthetics and the housing of its various functions, the former inherently dominated by the external structural design itself, as well an aim to “make a statement,” given its unprecedented nature in the area. “We wanted to create a sculpture for the
city,” says Lee. “To achieve this, we desired a tall and slender structure that has a clearly defined silhouette, alongside an elegance and grandeur befitting its place as a landmark in the capital.” The architect says that visually, this shape had to work on many scales, with its function and identity needing to be clear at long range, while attention to detail and high quality materials were required to “provide a texture” at close range, and make it “a fine building to move around, enter, touch, and use.”
The aluminium cladding to the exterior diagrid manifests this most prominently; designed to continually catch the sunlight as it moves around the building (allowing each facet by facet to be illuminated as the sun moves). Also, on a smaller scale, it provides a subtle texture “that sometimes sparkles.” Lee says the building’s facade design, as well as its orientation, is a “direct response” to the listed dock setting and riverside location, with a “strong axial arrangement with the water, and to the direct axis of the Canary Wharf Underground Station entrance.” He explains further: “This orientation also reduces directly facing north or south aspects – avoiding undue solar gain or heat loss.” The building’s diamond external language also provides a relationship to the nearby rectilinear office buildings, and the angled facades give the building “elbow room, alongside glimpsed views between its neighbours,” says the architect.
‘Tripartite’ design
In order to further strengthen its recognisability and legibility from a distance, the building uses a “modern but classic tripartite design,” says Lee, with clearly defined zones of a base, a middle and a top, each reflecting their functions.
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK ADF OCTOBER 2021
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