Iconic HSBC tower to have huge chunks carved out of it as part of revamp
One of the biggest skyscrapers overlooking London’s Canary Wharf is set for a futuristic makeover featuring open-air gardens dozens of storeys high.
Large chunks of the HSBC tower will be carved out when it gets turned into a multi-use complex in a few years’ time, developers say.
The 42-storey, £1.1 billion building will be divided into separate sections leased out for different purposes, which will likely include entertainment facilities and residential units as well as smaller office spaces.
The most striking feature is a cut-out spanning several storeys near the top of the building, opening space for a large tree-lined terrace.
Several similar but smaller terraces will be built further down the tower, acting as dividers for the different sections.
HSBC will move out of the tower in 2027 as part of a wider post-pandemic exodus from the capital’s financial districts.
Big businesses have lost interest in old-fashioned office blocks of this size, forcing developers into radical rethinks.
HSBC’s new HQ, near St Paul’s Cathedral, will reportedly only take up half as much office space.
Canary Wharf Group, which is managing the tower on behalf of its owners, the Qatar Investment Group, expect the revamp to be finished by 2030.
Led by US architects Kohn Pedersen Fox, it would be biggest ever conversion of its kind, the managers say.
The tower’s owners bought it for £1.1 billion in 2014 from South Korea’s national pension service.
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Shobi Khan, the chief executive of CWG, said: ‘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.’
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