Scheme designed by KPF

Work has begun on a 23-storey life sciences tower in Canary Wharf.

Developers Canary Wharf Group and Dutch investor Kadans Science Partner say the 823,000 sq ft tower will be Europe’s largest and most technologically advanced life sciences building.

Work at the 3.3ha North Quay site in London’s Docklands, located just north of the area’s Elizabeth line station, is set to complete in 2027.

kadans pic

How the new tower will look when completed

The building has been designed to allow up to 60% lab space, with laboratories on every floor.

Others working on the scheme include QS Turner & Townsend Alinea, M&E consultant Buro Happold, landscape architect Gillespies and planning consultant Quod. Concrete frame contractor is Kilnbridge.

Canary Wharf, which is co-owned by the Qatar Investment Authority and Multiplex owner Brookfield, is looking at moving away from a focus on offices at the Docklands estate and broadening the mix of tenants in the wake of post-pandemic working practices and higher borrowing costs.

Over the summer, Building revealed that KPF had won an architectural competition to reimagine the HSBC tower in Canary Wharf which the banking giant is planning to move out of by 2027.

As part of the plan, four cost consultants have made it onto a cost management framework put together by Canary Wharf Group. A project management framework is due to be put together by the end of the year.