The estate is almost full, but a little thing like that isn't going to stop Canary Wharf Group expanding. This is the future: two developments beyond its original boundary and a major transport project
Construction work is still marching on at Canary Wharf. So far, more than 1.3 million m2 of office and retail space has been completed.

Today, the estate – part of an enterprise zone created by Michael Heseltine in 1982 – is now almost fully developed so, to maintain its position as London's premier office developer, Canary Wharf Group is looking beyond its borders.

In March, it submitted planning applications for two new schemes – North Quay and Riverside South – that will add 400,000 m2 of office and retail space.

One Canada Square is my favourite – because of the way it refracts the light

Bob Phelan, project executive in the development group, Canary Wharf Group

Although Canary Wharf Group aims to secure planning permission by the end of the year, North Quay and Riverside South will not start on site when they get the go-ahead. London's office market is depressed – research by property agent Insignia Richard Ellis shows that, in March, there was more vacant space than at any time since mid-1992 – so the group will wait for some improvement before starting work.

Riverside south

Designed by world-renowned architect Richard Rogers Partnership, Canary Riverside has already been hailed by the government’s Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment as “some of the finest architecture yet seen in Canary Wharf”.

Sited by the Thames past the western end of the original estate, the scheme covers 2.5 ha. Its two glass-clad towers are slightly shorter than those at North Quay, standing at 28 and 34 storeys, and are joined by a low-rise link. They will provide 150,000 m2 of office and 6000 m2 of retail space.

Rogers’ scheme makes the most of its riverside location, linking shops and restaurants with existing retail outlets at Canary Riverside to produce the longest length of retail/leisure use on the Thames.

The design team met with Tower Hamlets planning officers several times during design development. Canary Wharf Group hopes to win approval by the end of the year.

North Quay

North Quay is planned for a site to the north of the estate. The office and retail scheme was developed over three years by an architecture super-team of Cesar Pelli and Will Alsop.

In 2000, Canary Wharf Group invited a number of architects to submit designs for a two-tower scheme. They included Kohn Pedersen Fox and SOM – masterplanner for the original estate. The developer wanted the skyscrapers to be 50 storeys high and provide a total of 200,000 m2 of office and retail space. However, it was soon apparent that the high rises would loom over the neighbouring community of Poplar.

To ensure that the development did not blight the skyline, in 2002, Cesar Pelli was commissioned to design a three-tower scheme, where the tallest building would stand 41 storeys high. Bob Phelan, project executive at Canary Wharf Group’s development group, explains: “It’s the same floor area we were looking at before but spreading it among three buildings meant we could bring the height of the buildings down a bit.”

The buildings were still too dense, however, and, says Phelan, “looked massive on the horizon”. So Pelli reoriented the buildings and altered the proportions of glass and solid materials to help dilute their mass.

Later, British architect Will Alsop was brought on board to integrate the scheme into the existing urban fabric and to help resolve concerns that the modified scheme still alienated the Poplar community from Canary Wharf. In response, Alsop has designed the Great Hall, a space comparable in size to the Great Court at the British Museum, providing space for public events.

Alsop has also proposed a 22 m wide pedestrian bridge over the north dock to link the new development to Canada Square. Canary Wharf Group believes that this will shorten travel distances from Poplar DLR to the Jubilee Line station, improving access to the estate for the community.

Phelan says the collaboration of the US skyscraper specialist and the unorthodox Brit has been a success, and hints that the pair may work together again. “I think they have found a new friend in each other and learned a few things from each other,” he says.

The next stage for the team was to make presentations to interested groups such as Docklands Light Railway, the local community and English Heritage. Phelan is confident: “This is not just three buildings, this is an opportunity for some publicly accessible space that is different from any other that Canary Wharf has.”

Crossrail

Crossrail – the proposed railway line running east-west across the capital – is vital to the expansion plans of Canary Wharf Group. It will increase capacity for the estate’s public transport systems and create access to the Thames Gateway, the area east of the capital that deputy prime minister John Prescott has earmarked for development.

Although the government has yet to approve Crossrail, it is likely to do so to kick-start Prescott’s plan. A decision is expected in July. If it goes ahead, the first phase will be due for completion in 2012.

Canary Wharf Group will be contributing to the construction cost from the day work starts in 2005, subject to other beneficiaries contributing as well. Canary Wharf Group adviser Robert John, who was involved in the Jubilee Line extension to Canary Wharf and in improvements to the Docklands Light Railway, says: “I spent the first 10 years of my career here fighting to improve access from the west. I will spend the next 10 fighting to improve access to the east.”

Crossrail and improvements to the DLR and Jubilee Line will push up Canary Wharf’s public transport capacity from 110,000 people a day to 240,000.

Better links and more office space will also mean greater opportunities for people living near Canary Wharf, a point that is not lost on John: “This is the next step change. For Canary Wharf it is important; for east London it is crucial.”

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