Canary Wharf Estate, including Westferry Circus, Cabot Square, Canada Square Park, Jubilee Park, Crossrail Place Roof Garden

Canary Wharf gets its name from one of the former wharves in West India Dock, which opened in 1802, named for the trade with the Canary Islands. In 1940-41 much of the Isle of Dogs was flattened by bombing, the docks a prime target as an important trading asset. After the war the docks prospered once more, but from 1965 largely as a result of containerization and increasing focus on the more accessible docks at Tilbury, the old docks in East London declined and by 1980 had ceased to operate. The London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) was set up by the government in 1982 – the notion of setting up an enterprise zone first mooted in 1978 (by Geoffrey Howe).

In the 1980s it was widely anticipated that business growth in Britain was set to double and in London, with limited development opportunities to the west of the centre, the derelict land in the former docklands in East London was an obvious proposition. Canary Wharf became one of the few places built to a masterplan in London. Plans for developing the former docklands as a business district were initially drawn up in 1984 for American developers G Ware Travelstead by architects Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM)/ I M Pei and Yorke Rosenberg Mardall. Their scheme got planning approval in 1985 and in outline it resembled what was later built by Olympia & York: a formal layout of medium rise buildings and skyscrapers. However, in 1987 Travelstead was unable to find the funds to continue and the consortium collapsed. On 17 July 1987 the Canadian property developer Olympic & York completed the deal with the government, the LDDC and previous developers to take over the site. At that time Canary Wharf represented the biggest single business development in Europe. The original plan for the 71-acre estate – 25 acres of which were water - comprised 26 buildings to provide 10million sq ft of office space for c.60,000 workers and also 750,000 sq ft for retail and leisure facilities - shops, restaurants and bars.

Olympia & York, owned by brothers Paul and Albert Reichmann, differed from traditional developers in a number of ways. It was Paul Reichmann’s vision to create a ‘total environment’ – ‘something both huge and human.’ The aim at the outset was to create a whole district, making the decision to build eight buildings as the first phase, with 100 shops, restaurants, a concert hall, squares and gardens, and a transport system. It was an act of faith when the conventional development model was usually to build one building, let it, then raise the money to build the next – ‘by spending more I risk less’ (Paul Reichmann). O&Y had done the same thing in the early 1980s when it developed 8million sq feet landfill site at Battery Park, New York. The Reichmann family had moved to Canada from Europe in the 1950s, and set up a tile importing business before turning to building and property development. In 1975 they made their name when they built First Canadian Space in Toronto and soon became the largest privately-owned property company in the world.

The design process to develop the SOM masterplan took 4 months and changes included repositioning tower blocks to the east end of the artificial island, making two of them lower in response to sensitivity of the site in relation to Greenwich Park. The deck of the site was also lowered in height by two stories so that it was closer to the water, removing separation between pedestrians and roads, and two important decisions were made – to put the infrastructure and car parks underground and to use tall buildings. Three skyscrapers were planned, with the first to be built in phase 1 in the centre of the site (One Canada Square). Paul Reichmann explained the importance of this tower – it would make a statement, express a confidence about London as one of the financial capitals of the world; it would provide a sense of place and identity that would help make Canary Wharf a destination; and by building into the sky it released land at ground level: ‘so much land that the open spaces, the squares and the courts – the places for the people – at Canary Wharf will spread over no fewer than 25 acres of the 71-acre site’. In January 1988 the architects met in New York to discuss guidelines and work started later that year. The first tenant to sign up in 1991 was State Street. Canary Wharf’s success is attributed to the level of control of Canary Wharf Group as landlord, manager, contractor and developer. By 2011 there was a working population of 95,000 in 31 office buildings, the workforce projected to be over 200,000 by 2025.

In developing the masterplan, the design team, led by SOM Director Robert Turner, was directed to make decisions on the basis of excellence at all points – all the street furniture, the lamp posts, litterbins, benches, railings, handrails, street signs and other items, were to be custom-designed. Shirley Fujikawa of the O&Y team was involved in commissioning artists to design bespoke items, such as Bruce McLean who designed railings. O&Y’s company tradition was to go to the best architects and the Argentinean-American Cesar Pelli – who had designed buildings for O&Y at Battery Park – was brought in to design the main tower and station in the first phase, and has since designed a number of other buildings in later phases of building. Laurie Olin designed most of the open spaces. Sir Roy Strong was brought in as consultant to advise on the open spaces and to introduce the design team to new designers and artists; he predicted that ‘in 25 years it will have changed the face of London’. Members of the team walked round London ‘to soak up all the tiny details of the buildings and the spaces between them, to look at benches and railings and flagstones, and to learn as much as they could about the regard Londoners have for their precious open spaces’. Sir Roy took them to squares including Grosvenor and Berkeley Squares (q.q.v.), and around the Bloomsbury estate with its squares – Bedford, Tavistock, Woburn (q.q.v.) – ‘to see how the “villages” of London were linked up in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with large planned developments’.

In 1991 ‘Building’ magazine published a supplement to mark completion of the 8 buildings of phase 1 but in 1992 came the massive slump in the property market, and, with the Tower only partly let, O&Y went into administration. Paul Reichmann put together a new consortium in 1993 and with new investors secured a loan, with the proviso that improved transport would be guaranteed with the extension of the Jubilee line to Canary Wharf. The site was bought back from the banks in 1995, and the project was resurrected, the company renamed Canary Wharf Ltd. From then the buildings were only constructed when a tenant was on board. At that time there was a working population of 7,000 and 15 shops/restaurants. Rents were lower than in the City or Westminster and major tenants signed up, such as HSBC in 1998. Sites outside the original estate were begun, such as North Quay (West India Quay) and Riverside South. The second phase of building was completed in 2003, ‘Building’ magazine publishing another supplement to celebrate what was described as the premium business location in London as well as a major retail and leisure destination.

Phase 1, built from 1988-91, consisted of the western part of the site from One Canada Square and west to Cabot Square, North and South Colonnades. Phase 2, from 1995-2003 included Columbus Courtyard but focused on development east of One Canada Square to Churchill Place, Bank Street, East Wintergarden and Jubilee Place. The environmental performance was important from the start. A full arts and entertainments programme was planned from the outset. O&Y also committed to improvements to the infrastructure, contributing to transport schemes such as the DLR, built in 1988 and later extended, the Jubilee line, which opened in 1999, and the Riverbus service. In 2010 Canary Wharf Group commenced building the new Crossrail station at Canary Wharf, contributing £150million of the £500million cost. Although Crossrail, renamed the Elizabeth Line, did not open until 2021, Crossrail Place itself opened in 2015. Designed by Foster + Partners, the 7-storey structure contains retail and leisure facilities above the new station and is topped by a roof garden located directly beneath a 310-metre-long transparent hood.

The masterplan had identified over 20 acres of landscaped open space. The landscape plan was designed by Hanna/Olin and delineated tree-lined avenues, promenades and a series of distinct public spaces, each designed with a different function, in a different style. What is often forgotten is that Canary Wharf’s public gardens and squares are essentially roof gardens, the landscaping masking the fact that beneath is a roundabout, a station, a shopping mall, extensive car parking or other services. In some cases, such as Jubilee Park and Montgomery Square, the site used to be the water of Middle Dock.

The first batch of c.400 trees, which included English Oak, Horse Chestnut, Hornbeam, Lime, London Plane, Norwegian Maple, Linden, Red Oak, Dogwood and Magnolia, were ordered from Van Ehrens Nursery in Hamburg, the largest tree nursery in Europe, founded in 1865; later Deepdale Nursery in Cambridgeshire became a source. The huge number of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, ground covers, turf and other planting materials were obtained exclusively from UK suppliers; seasonal plants came from a local nursery near Dartford. The policy was to plant mature trees, some over 70 years old, so that by the time the first tenants arrived the landscaped spaces were already established and could be enjoyed immediately. Tree selection depended on the site – those close to buildings needed to be those with narrow crowns. The tree budget was in the region of £1million, and additionally £3-4million was allocated to soils, grass, shrubs and flowers – Cabot Square, for example, was planted with over 30,000 bulbs. A special soil mix and a built-in irrigation system was created to ensure the best growing conditions. Horticultural maintenance remains the responsibility of the in-house team, although certain aspects are contracted out, such as litter picking and night watering, necessary from April – October, and maintenance of the irrigation system. Large-scale tree pruning is also contracted out, the trees on West India Avenue, for example, hard-pruned every 3^rd year. A severe gale on 30 October 1999 left 4 trees split in half. The trees are all planted in concrete pits, and are fed by an irrigation system. By 2012 c.1,000 mature trees of at least 25 different species had been planted, together with 46,000 seasonal bedding plants, 4,000 shrubs of 88 different varieties and 85,000 winter, spring and autumn flowering bulbs; the seasonal plants were changed 5 times a year, with two plantings in winter.

The attention to tree-planting was due in great part to Tony Partington, who as Estates Manager from 1989 was responsible for implementing and maintaining the landscaped areas, personally selecting trees and other plants. The scale of planting and the quantity, variety and size of plants had rarely been attempted. Partington had previous landscaping experience in Canada, his first major project in Calgary requiring selection of plants to withstand extremes of dry, cold and wet weather. A large project in Toronto involved creating a number of roof gardens, and in the World Financial Center in New York he managed the planting of the enclosed winter gardens.

At the west end of the estate, adjacent to the river promenade is Westferry Circus Gardens, completed in 1990. Conceived in the manner of a traditional London square, the central garden has an immaculate lawn with four formal, hedged flower beds of seasonal planting at each corner, is surrounded by mature trees and shrubs. There were 13 different varieties of tree here including English Oak, thousands of shrubs, and plants. The planting has slowly changed over the years as the tree canopy has grown, and trees have been thinned out and flowering planting has been introduced. The garden is enclosed by bespoke decorative railings and gates with a floral theme designed by Guiseppe Lund, a well-known artist in metalwork. From here West India Avenue, shaded with a central double row of large-leafed Limes and London Planes, leads to the heart of the estate.

Near Westferry Circus is Columbus Courtyard, a largely paved area surrounded by tall buildings, with a fountain and formal layout of trees and bronze planters with sculptural works by Igor Mitoraj and Wendy Ramshaw. 

Cabot Square, 1991, provided a formally laid out paved piazza with an impressive central fountain designed by Richard Chaix, surrounded by a lower level of trees, 80 cube-headed Silver Limes, that shade gravel walks reminiscent of Parisian public gardens. A number of important public sculptures are found in Cabot Square, including Henry Moore's 'Draped Seated Woman' (1958), on loan from LB Tower Hamlets since 2017, and due to be relocated at the Council's new Town Hall in Whitechapel in c.2023.

Canada Square Park, created in 2000 to the designs of Olin & Partners, is a semi-formal park with grass, shrub beds and originally had 73 mature trees, the species selected as those found in North America including Chestnut, Lime, Tulip, Oaks and Maples. It is also much-used as a venue for arts and events, able to accommodate 3,000 people. However, the curving paths, the geometric placement of 12 square planters and a large sculptural work on the lawn, The Big Blue by Ron Arad (later removed), were all designed to be viewed from above, the towering buildings that surround it providing a potential audience of 20,000. The uniform use of single colour for the seasonal planting in the planters also took into account the aerial view. 

Another example of catering for the views from the tall buildings was the decision to plant Sedum on the roofs of a number of buildings, providing a changing spectacle of red in spring, flowers in summer and green in winter. The first green roof was planted in 1998 on 10, The South Colonnade, and Canary Wharf reputedly had the largest concentration of green roofs in the UK. Sedum are low maintenance, requiring attention just four times a year to weed and feed but require no watering. In fact they are fuel efficient and help save energy in summer by keeping the building cool, and in winter help to keep the building warmer. Run-off of water is also reduced and the green roofs are good for biodiversity, attracting insects, spiders and birds, with falcons and Black Redstarts known to nest here. 

Reed beds were set up in the remaining docks, the first in North Dock, although this was moved when work on the new Crossrail Station began. Relocated in South Dock, a sunnier spot, it thrived and became home to nesting Great Crested Grebes, Moorhens, Coots, Mallards and Swans, with 5 cygnets hatching in 2013. In fact Mallards have even nested in hanging baskets on the North Promenade, and a pair of Mistle Thrush once nested in one of the trees along Bank Street.

Jubilee Park, completed in 2002 and sitting directly above the Canary Wharf underground station, is more in the style of a classic English country park, and was designed by renowned landscape designers Jacques and Peter Wirtz, father and son. The linear park has a pastoral air, the aim being to create a ‘haven of peace and lushness in the heart of Canary Wharf’. 40,000 tonnes of soil were imported from Kent to create the undulating landscape, the lawns divided into a series of spaces by sinuous raised planters containing Oriental grasses (Pennistum sp) and a serpentine water feature of 22 pools as the spine. Trees specified for the park included Dawn Redwood, a tree only discovered in China in 1944, and these were some of the largest ever shipped to England. Other trees include Japanese Cherry, Swamp Cypress and Turner Oak, with underplanting of Cornus. Although it has an intimate atmosphere, at 10,000 sqm Jubilee Park is the largest open space on the estate, actually larger than Trafalgar Square. The water used in Jubilee Park is filtered in a plant room below the park, then passed through ultraviolet filters to kill off bugs and other harmful elements before flowing back to the water feature.

Montgomery Square, 2003, is a hard-landscaped piazza, and was originally softened by 22 large semi-mature Elm trees, introduced to diversify the type of trees planted on the estate and also servng to re-introduce elms that were lost to Dutch Elm Disease in the 1970s; it represented the first major use of this tree in commercial landscaping in the UK since that time. A disease-resistant variety (Ulmus x.hollandica var. Lobel), the trees were grown in the Van Ehrens Nursery for many years with no sign of the disease before being planted in the square. Montgomery Square has since been reconfigured to accommodate a new roadway leading to the Wood Wharf extension of the estate, but it remains home to a number of permanent sculptures.

Temporary landscapes have been created from time to time pending future development, such as Heron Quays Park (2012) and Wood Wharf, both designed by Townshend Landscape Architects. The latter was informed by the winning entry of a student competition organised by Canary Wharf in collaboration with the Landscape Institute and Townshend Landscape Architects. The theme was based on the Great British Summer with open grass dotted with the iconic British umbrella, surrounded by seasonal planting beds. Townshend also designed Cartier Circle at the east end of the estate. Bank Street Park is a recent addition, largely used for pop up sports and activities.

Crossrail Place Roof Garden (2015) was landscaped by Gillespies. The planting references the maritime history of Canary Wharf, drawing on the area's heritage as a trading hub. Many of the plants are native to countries visited by ships of the West India Company, and are arranged according to which hemisphere they are from: Asian plants such as bamboos to the east, and ferns from the Americas to the west. The garden is located directly beneath a 310-metre-long transparent hood comprising triangular air-filled cushions made from ETFE (a type of plastic used for its resistance to corrosion) set into the timber-latticed awning.

The most recent development of the Canary Wharf estate is Wood Wharf , which contains the company's first residential buildings. There are a number of landscaped areas, including a linear waterside park at Harbour Quay and Harbard Square Park, designed in the spirit of a London garden square.

Throughout Canary Wharf’s public spaces are found over 100 works of art and design by over 40 artists, forming the company’s impressive public art collection. Full details of all the works of art are given in a downloadable illustrated brochure: canary-wharf-whats-on-art-map.pdf (canarywharf.com)