Rivalling London's historic 'City', where new development has challenged citizens' comfort zone when it comes to density and tall buildings, Canary Wharf has become an international hub for business. After owning and developing nearly 100 acres of property here and across London, Canary Wharf Group has overseen this dramatic urban renaissance during the past two decades. Having constructed more office space in the city than any other developer, the company's track record is immaculate, and they're not even close to being finished. Looking at the mountain-like skyline from the Thames, it may seem like the area has reached its breaking point, that there simply isn't any room left to build. But aerial shots reveal open lots ready to welcome another round of world-class modern towers. Continuing with the neighbourhood's contemporary aesthetic of gleaming glass buildings, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates is the architect behind the district's latest soaring skyscraper, known as HQ - Five Bank Street.

Rendering of HQ, image via Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates

The state-of-the-art building will offer 700,000 square feet of office space, and has been designed according to the highest technological and environmental standards. The 28-storey scheme will boast three levels of trading floors, retail on the ground floor, a standalone retail kiosk on South Dock Promenade, and extensive landscape and public realm improvements. Paris-based banking and financial services company Société Générale will occupy 280,000 square feet spanning floors one through seven on a 25-year lease.

Rendering of HQ, image via Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates

A wide skirt on the lower floors evolves into a more traditional rectilinear vocabulary as the building rises. A prefabricated unitized cladding system of integrated glazed vision panels and metal architectural detailing will be affixed to the tower. These floor-to-ceiling windows will be penetrated by a generous helping of natural daylight, which is a sought-after commodity in rainy London. 

The building's concrete core is now visible from the Thames, image by Forum contributor Daveography

The project is expected to provide the capacity for 5,837 full-time equivalent jobs, affirming Canary Wharf's global status as a leading commercial and employment hub. With the concrete core, plastered with the development's branding, just now rising above grade, completion can be expected in 2018.

Canary Wharf's density is getting amplified, image by Forum contributor Daveography

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