A series of visionary landscapes on floors 27 and 75 of a new residential tower bring green space and amenity to high rise living in London’s Canary Wharf.

  
    Type 
    Housing, Landscape Management
  
    Location 
    Canary Wharf, London Borough of Tower Hamlets
  
    Scale
    0.5 ha (5,000 sqm)
    
Landscape and amenity spaces on the 27th and 75th floors of a new residential tower comprising 822 units in London’s Canary Wharf

  
Client 
    Chalegrove Properties Limited
  
    Partners
    Squire & Partners
  
    Status
    On-site
  
    Riba Stages
    1-7

CGI courtesy of CPL.

Ambition

Green Space in the Sky

The 75-storey residential block presented a technical challenge: how to provide a range of landscapes which would deliver green amenity space and all its benefits.

The vision has been to recreate parks and open spaces in this vertical context so that residents have doorstep amenity to exercise, play, socialise and contemplate.

CGI courtesy of CPL.

Impact

New Solutions for Green Space in the Urban Context

Residents will benefit from landscapes which meet their community and open space needs, promoting healthy, active and sociable living. To maximise available space and create a publicly accessible landscape the new first floor pavilion roof tilts to down to ground level.

The floors where open spaces have been imagined are double height and visible from afar. The landscapes will therefore provide a focus not only for the residents but for all.

The scheme provides an exemplar for bringing much needed green space to urban areas. The research and development carried out contributes to thinking on the future provision of parks and shared spaces in our densely packed cities.

CGI courtesy of CPL.

Approach

Technical Research and Development

The technical constraints of realising successful spaces in the tallest residential tower in Europe are myriad. The team have collectively addressed all components of how to make an outdoor environment function inside. Light, wind, humidity, temperature and pollination are just few of the factors which needed to be considered to ensure that plants would thrive in these high-rise gardens.