One of Canary Wharf’s tallest skyscrapers could get the area’s first viewing platform

Canary Wharf is a-changing. The cluster of skyscrapers typically associated with bankers and insurance brokers (AKA, some of the worst Hinge dates you’ve ever had) is becoming more of a leisure destination: this summer E14 saw the arrival of Sea Lanes, a massive outdoor lido, and it could be about to receive the district’s first ever viewing platform. 

Plans have been submitted for the transformation of 8 Canada Square, a 45-storey tower in Canary Wharf. The 200-metre-tall tower is currently home to HSBC, but soon the bank will vacate so the building can be converted into a mixed-use hotel, leisure space and office block.

Under proposals submitted to Tower Hamlets Council by architects Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), part of the 24-year-old building will be demolished while the rest will be retrofitted. Outdoor terraces will be added to the building and the ground floor will be ‘radically reimagined’ as a public realm with food and drink outlets.

While lower levels will remain as offices, the upper floors will become a hotel and an ‘experiential leisure destination’, called The Cloud. It’s thought this could be the area’s first viewing platform, with views across London accessible via a lift from the ground floor. 

Getting around the maze of Canary Wharf can be a right pain, but the redeveloped building will also create new routes at ground level between the nearby Elizabeth line station and Canada Square Park.

8 Canada Square will also get a sustainable makeover, with 85 percent of materials in the building set to be low carbon. Building works are expected to begin after HSBC moves out in 2027. 

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