NEWFOUNDLAND, CANARY WHARF
On the ground floor, the building is set back underneath the above-ground transfer structure, making for an inviting entrance. This base is three double stories high, with the ground floor occupied by a grand entranceway, lobby, waiting areas, post delivery, lift lobby, and back of house facilities. The lobby has two entrances, one at each end, with open frontage over the dock, and the desk itself continues the diamond concept on the building’s exterior, in characterful marble. Going up, there is a public “world-class” restaurant at level one, and at level two, a varied amenity space, including a lounge, private group dining, meeting spaces, fitness areas, and internal and external children’s play areas.
In the middle is the residential accommodation, located within the diagrid part of the building and covering over 56 floors. This section houses a gross external area of 76,000 m2
which is served by four passenger lifts travelling at 6 metres a second. Lastly, the top of the building houses a screened plant area. Among the many necessities of a building of this size and function is a tuned mass damper to reduce mechanical vibrations across the building.
Framing views of London Discussing the interior design, the architect argues that the external architecture also “significantly benefits the internal environment” of apartments, with the diagonal columns “like sculptures, sometimes framing views.”
“The lean design brought many such benefits to the apartments,” continues Lee, listing among other elements, a reduction in the energy requirements. This meant systems required to heat and cool the apartments “are minimal.”
“The high perimeter ratio means there is lots of frontage, and the radial planning ensures the apartments open out to the light and views,” he adds.
All the apartments are generously sized to include an element of amenity space, and all have openable windows and their own ventilation system with built in heat recovery. With only four internal columns, all being near the building’s core, the clear-span structure allowed for large open plan layouts, with generous areas of uninterrupted glazing. A further benefit introduced here, as the party walls are non structural, is that the building is open to reconfiguration any time in the future.
ADF OCTOBER 2021 An amazing result
Looking back on the process that achieved all this, Lee says “it has been an amazing project to design and deliver,” and was “most grateful to everybody involved, who have given a tremendous amount of enthusiasm.”
He believes the design has achieved the practice’s key aim of making the most of the space, while creating the landmark building the Canary Wharf Group desired. “It was important to all of us to set a high standard for this new icon, with its prominent position on the edge of the estate, and I for one think it sets a fantastic example.” He concludes: “It has not always been easy, but it’s a wonderful project.”
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of apartment space, all of
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