Planning Consent Secured for Europe’s Largest and Most Technologically Advanced Life Sciences Building at Canary Wharf

Posted by Construction Industry News Magazine on 31st July 2023 -

Canary Wharf Group and Kadans Science Partner have secured planning approval from Tower Hamlets Council for the development of a state-of-the-art commercial health and life sciences building at the North Quay site, adjacent to the Crossrail Station and new Elizabeth Line at Canary Wharf, London.

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. 

Enabling works on the 3.3 hectare site are already well underway and the building, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, is anticipated to complete in 2027 and will be a world-leading centre for health and life sciences.

A low-carbon strategy has been implemented across the development, which includes highly insulated and airtight building fabric, with an optimized façade, energy efficient MEP systems and the provision of renewable sources and highly efficient photo voltaic panels. 

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. 

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.

This significant milestone for the North Quay development has been secured as CWG and Kadans have accelerated the growth of the existing health and life sciences community across Canary Wharf. This includes the recent completion of a wet lab innovation and flexible workspace centre at 20 Water Street, delivering 40,000 sq ft of fully fitted, flexible, wet-labs geared towards early-stage life science companies to collaborate and innovate. In addition to the Innovation Centre at 20 Water Street, the building’s office accommodation is attracting considerable interest from life sciences companies, with CWG expected to announce new leases imminently.

Elsewhere across Canary Wharf, a host of life sciences and healthcare organisations are already well established, including government-owned genomic health pioneer, Genomics England, Barts Health NHS Trust, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Medical Defence Union, General Pharmaceutical Council and NHS Transformation. Level39, Canary Wharf’s world-leading tech hub, has a vibrant community of 180 start-up and scaleup companies including an increasing number of life sciences focused businesses.

Shobi Khan, CEO of Canary Wharf Group, said: “This is a significant milestone in our development  of a world-class life sciences hub at Canary Wharf.  While the North Quay development is an integral focal point, we have been working in tandem to nurture and grow our current life sciences community and we have built real momentum this year through leasing success and working with our partners Kadans to develop bespoke and innovative new facilities.  The next chapter in the evolution of Canary Wharf is well underway with the next generation of health and life science companies set to become a significant presence in our sustainable, mixed-use environment.”

Michel Leemhuis, CEO of Kadans Science Partner, added: “In addition to its scale, location and technology, this building sets a new benchmark in its field for sustainability, capitalizing on our previous experience and lessons learned, while engaging industry working groups to ensuring we are delivering a facility tailor-made to industry requirements.  With planning consent secured, we are looking forward to continuing the extraordinary progress we are making with the Canary Wharf Group.”

The development will benefit from Canary Wharf’s exceptional connectivity which was recently improved further with the opening of the Elizabeth Line.  Heathrow and London City Airport are accessible within 10-45 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.

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