American studio Kohn Pedersen Fox will redesign the Norman Foster-designed skyscraper in London. The refreshed 8 Canada Square is to be transformed from the glass headquarters of Chinese bank HSBC into a self-sustaining public space. The studio plans to ‘cut out’ sections of office floors in the skyscraper and turn them into green terraces. The development is part of a battle between the City of London and Canary Wharf for the title of London’s business centre.
The current owner of the building is Qatar Investment Fund and the changes to the building’s design are linked to the previous tenant, HSBC Bank, moving out. The relocation of the bank’s headquarters in three years’ time will open up new development opportunities for 8 Canada Square. Despite the changes, part of the floors of the 200-metre-high skyscraper will house offices.
Cutouts in the block
The studio wants to completely change the character of the skyscraper designed by Norman Foster in 2002. The uniform glass façade will be varied with public terraces. New indentations in the façade will be based on metal columns to give lightness. In turn, the ubiquitous greenery will bring more nature into the crowded glass business centre.
In addition to offices, the new 8 Canada Square will offer entertainment, leisure, recreation and education zones. This also means the obligatory presence of cafés, bars and restaurants with great views of the city skyline. In the visualisations, one can see a basketball court located on the roof of the lower building of the complex, as well as greened canals. It should be noted that these are preliminary visualisations, so the type of services offered by the new 8 Canada Square is uncertain. It is worth mentioning further that the architects’ main objective is to create a project that is self-sustaining and environmentally friendly.
Once the bank moves out, the lion sculptures are also likely to disappear from in front of the skyscraper. The ‘Stephen’ and ‘Stitt’ figures are a kind of HSBC tradition. Since 1923, lions have adorned the entrance to the bank’s Shanghai headquarters, and since 1935. they also “protect” the Hong Kong office. The lions depict the characters of two of the company’s famous bankers of the time – Alexander Stephens and Gordon Holmes Stitt. In 2002, similar lions were set up in front of the London headquarters, but the English copies have no World War II damage. The fate of the sculptures has not yet been decided, although it is possible to guess that they will ‘follow’ the bank to its new London headquarters.
Problems of the predecessor
The original skyscraper block is not a bad design at all, but the building stands in the shadow of the more famous and taller One Canada Square with its distinctive pyramidal roof. It is worth noting that 8 Canada Square has had a somewhat problematic history. During construction, one of the cranes broke and killed three workers. Moreover, the skyscraper also posed a danger to passers-by. Just one year after construction was completed, glass began to fall off the building. The accident was repeated several more times, but there were no casualties.
The HSBC headquarters had a rather vivid sales history. The building was first sold back in 2007, with a record £1bn deal. What’s more, the Chinese bank retained its offices in the building under a 20-year lease. A year after signing the deal with Spain’s Metrovaseca, the Chinese bank bought back the building. Several more such processes took place, and in 2014 the skyscraper became the property of Qatar Investment Fund. HSBC is now planning to move out due to the outdated office standard of the skyscraper.
KPF asserts that the project is the world’s largest redevelopment of its headquarters into a mixed-use complex. A new, greener skyscraper in London’s Canary Wharf will make the area more attractive not only to office workers, but also to tourists. The business character of the area guarantees a good view of the city and attracts more visitors every year. On the other hand, one also has to wonder about the sustainability of the early 21st century structure. 8 Canada Square will be rebuilt after only 25 years since its original construction was completed. All indications are that a similar fate awaits a large proportion of skyscrapers from this period due to their ageing architectural and office solutions.
Photo source: KPF
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