Get you up to speed: London’s HSBC tower turned into ‘Swiss Cheese’ complete with holes | News UK
Qatar Investment Authority and Canary Wharf Group submitted proposals to Tower Hamlets Council to transform the HSBC Tower in Canary Wharf into a mixed-use development. The redevelopment is set to include a 181-room hotel, leisure facilities, and restaurants, with an estimated cost between £800 million and £1 billion.
HSBC’s lease on the tower expires in 2024, with renovation plans anticipated to commence in 2028 after the bank vacates the building. The proposed transformation could cost between £800 million and £1 billion, with designs featuring staggered terraces and public access to rooftop views.
Canary Wharf Group (CWG) and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) have submitted proposals to Tower Hamlets Council to redevelop the HSBC Tower into a mixed-use development, which will include a hotel, restaurants, and office space. Following HSBC’s anticipated departure in 2027, demolition of the building’s interiors is set to take place in 2028, with no completion date specified for the redevelopment.
What remains unclear — No official completion date has been shared for the HSBC tower’s redevelopment.
HSBC Tower in Canary Wharf to undergo transformation with new design features
Canary Wharf’s iconic HSBC Tower is the next major London landmark to undergo a massive transformation.
HSBC’s lease on the building expires next year, and the banking giant is expected to move into the City of London, leaving the iconic London tower up for grabs.
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Canary Wharf Group (CWG) submitted the proposals to Tower Hamlets Council, revealing plans to transform the 45-storey tower into a mixed-use development.
It will reportedly include a 181-room hotel, restaurants, leisure facilities, and some office space. Reports also suggest the transformation will cost between £800,000,000 and £1,000,000,000.
Chunks of the tower’s upper floors will be cut away to create terraces throughout the building – creating the appearance of holes and drawing comparisons between the design and Swiss cheese – as well as a publicly accessible rooftop venue that will offer panoramic views of London.
The ground floors of the tower will see the addition of a walkway cutting through the building to link the Elizabeth line station with Canada Square Park.
Office space will make up the middle of the building, designed to house multiple occupants rather than just one.
According to The Banker, asset management company BlackRock is already eyeing up the space.
Meanwhile, the top floors of the tower will feature the staggered terraces as well as a large glass box called ‘The Cloud’ that will function as an event space with restaurants and bars, while also offering panoramic views of the city.
When will the HSBC revamp begin?
The HSBC tower will be stripped of its interiors once the banking giant leaves the building in 2027, and the renovation is expected to begin in 2028.
No official completion date has been shared.
Shobi Khan, CEO of CWG, said in a statement on its website: ‘We look forward to working with QIA on 8 Canada Square to deliver a building of outstanding design, engineering and sustainability standards.
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‘This redevelopment is another step in Canary Wharf’s evolution into a vibrant mixed-use neighbourhood offering workspace, retail, homes, leisure and amenities all in one location – a true 15-minute city.’
Elie Gamburg, of architectural practice Kohn Pedersen Fox – which is leading the revamp – said: ‘We are extremely excited to collaborate with QIA and CWG to reimagine the single-use office building as a blueprint for the highly sustainable, mixed-use building of the future.
‘This transformation embodies the ethos behind much of our work, we see it as an integral part of the evolution of today’s single-use neighbourhoods into vibrant mixed-use neighbourhoods of tomorrow – an evolution of which CWG is already leading the way.’
What other buildings are coming to London?
A lot, actually.
In fact, the HSBC tower isn’t the only London landmark transforming into a hotel.
The iconic BT Tower is also being transformed into a posh hotel with a rooftop swimming pool, a 360-degree revolving observation deck, and lots of new retail space.
Meanwhile, the City of London is about to get a brand-new £1,000,000,000 skyscraper offering panoramic views of the city, as well as the ‘highest bar in London’.
In south London, several new skyscrapers are being built in Vauxhall that will include homes, student accommodation, another hotel, and retail and leisure amenities.