Canary Wharf Group and Kadans Science Partner are submitting a detailed planning application for a unique 23-storey commercial health and life sciences building at Canary Wharf, London.
- Joint Venture between Canary Wharf Group and Kadans Science Partner plans to establish a unique 23-storey vertical campus at Canary Wharf, London.
- The site will set a new benchmark in the development of life sciences laboratories and workspace; Europe’s largest and most technologically advanced life sciences facility.
- This stacking arrangement would provide ultimate flexibility in tenant scale, arrangement, and expansion without impacting the collaborative environment.
- The building has also been designed to allow up to 60% of laboratories, with the ability to provide chemistry and high containment facilities.
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The 23- storey 823,000 sq ft tower will set a new benchmark in the development of life sciences laboratories and workspace, creating a first of its kind vertical campus, which will be Europe’s largest and most technologically advanced life sciences facility.
Energy efficiency is at the forefront of the building’s design, adopting the industry leading NABERS (National Australian Built Environment Rating System) UK Design for Performance approach to optimising operational energy use.
Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF), the building will be located at Canary Wharf’s North Quay and represents the first phase of the creation of a centre for health and life sciences. An outline planning consent has already been secured for the wider scheme on the currently undeveloped 3.5 hectare site, which is located adjacent to the new Elizabeth Line, with the capacity to deliver 3.5 million sq ft of laboratory and affiliated space.
The building has been designed to allow up to 60% of laboratories, with the ability to provide chemistry and high containment facilities. The building’s infrastructure employs an innovative stacking programme allowing for a distributed mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering (MEP) strategy, across the stacks. This enables the building to provide laboratory space on every floor.
The building signals a new model in life sciences development and a step change in the way ecosystems for knowledge-intensive businesses are designed and developed. To maximise flexibility across the building, it has been designed with highly efficient floor plates to accommodate a range of tenant sizes and sectors, with space allowing for businesses to expand and grow on the site.
The community-focused design approach set to encourage collaboration and innovation by creating a stack of neighbourhoods with the ability to create interconnecting communal spaces that eliminates barriers. This stacking arrangement would provide ultimate flexibility in tenant scale, arrangement, and expansion without losing the sense of a collaborative environment.
The building also provides community spaces on the ground and first floors with a café and break out areas for conferences and meet ups in order to enhance collaboration within the buildings life science community. By opening the ground floor to the public, the desire is to make life’s sciences more approachable and less closed off.
In comparison to conventional commercial buildings or lab enabled offices, the vertical campus provides enhanced fresh air, power, data and ceiling heights in comparison to a traditional commercial lab building. The building also incorporates dedicated clinical and chemical waste facilities, multiple goods-lifts with oxygen monitors, freezer farms and specialised receiving and storage areas for hazardous, clinical and chemical goods.
In addition to its scale and technology, the building sets a new benchmark in its field for sustainability with key learnings shared with industry working groups. A low-carbon strategy has been implemented across the development, which includes highly insulated and airtight building fabric, with an optimised façade, energy efficient MEP systems and the provision of renewable sources and highly efficient photo voltaic panels. The HVAC design utilising heat pumps and heat recovery systems allows the building to be one of the largest all-electric lab spaces in the world, in line with net zero ambitions.
Embracing an all-electric heating and cooling strategy to minimise greenhouse gas emissions, the building is targeting BREEAM rating Excellent, with an aspiration for Outstanding for the laboratory and office areas. The building will have WELL-certification, targeting the highest platinum level to allow future occupants to certify their areas fully.
Shobi Khan, CEO of Canary Wharf Group, said: “We have been developing our vision for a world-class life sciences hub at Canary Wharf since 2019, and this is a significant milestone in our journey. Canary Wharf offers an unrivalled and exceptional environment with access to great transport, over 80 cafes, bars, and restaurants, 20 acres of green spaces and 5 km of waterside boardwalks, as well as access to a wide range of amenities including open-water swimming, go kart racing and an award-winning arts and events programme. This project will continue the transformation of Canary Wharf, providing a sustainable, mixed-use environment for the next generation of life science offices.”
Michel Leemhuis, CEO of Kadans Science Partner, added: “Kadans prides itself on being a leading contributor to the evolution of the life sciences sector and this impressive new building at North Quay is a great example of how we are driving the development of innovative state-of-the-art lab buildings. By capitalising on our previous experience and using lessons learned, we are able to make a significant step forward in the development of life science buildings. It marks a step change in the way ecosystems for knowledge-intensive businesses are designed and developed.”
Elie Gamburg, design principal, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF), said: “Connection breeds innovation - great discoveries often result from the confluence of ideas among seemingly disparate disciplines. For North Quay, we sought to design a spatial ecosystem to promote interdisciplinary collaboration in a dense urban environment. Traditional lab buildings have been low-rise campuses, but North Quay generates an innovative new paradigm – the vertical campus. Technical areas and social spaces are intermingled in a sustainable development that provides a dynamic place for discovery and invites the public in. An active waterfront, reinterpreting the Quayside docks, is created for an evolving Canary Wharf.”
The development will benefit from Canary Wharf’s exceptional connectivity which was recently improved further with the opening of the Elizabeth Line. Three international airports, Heathrow, Gatwick & City, are all accessible within 10-40 minutes and it is also less than 30 minutes to King’s Cross, White City and three significant funders of life science research in the UK - UKRI, Wellcome Trust and Cancer Research UK.
Several science-led businesses are already located in Canary Wharf, with Genomics England, moving into One Canada Square. Proximity to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) as well as organisations like UCL Management School and the General Pharmaceutical Council make Canary Wharf an attractive location.