New York-based firm HWKN will create 18,200 square meters of urban development in the commercial quarter of the new Canada Water regeneration plan. In collaboration with the scheme's master planner, BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, the developer Art-Invest Real Estate UK, and the local community, HWKN makes its UK architectural debut by designing one of the three buildings at the Dockside, London. The building will blend innovative workspaces, commerce, and communal amenities.
The Canada Water Masterplan will transform a total of 215,000 square meters and is expected to deliver up to 3,000 new homes, 280,000 square meters of workspace, and community space in central-south London. The first new town center in London in 50 years would become the UK's most sustainable new urban hub after completion, expected in 2035.
Located on the peninsula of Rotherhithe, on the floodplains of the Thames, the docks have a unique industrial heritage. From Roman roads to being the heart of the World's timber trade during the Industrial Revolution, the area was also a target for bombing during the II World War and has passed through several urban transformations since then. The most recent one was the opening of an ecological park of 140,000 square meters of woodland in the eighties, making it home to several species of birds, an oasis in the middle of the UK Capital.
The building, which will neighbor the Canada Water Library by CZWG, has active frontages on all four sides to respond to the surrounding local context. Biophilic design has been applied inside and outside the building to complement the scheme's new public spaces that draw on the area's abundance of green open spaces. The building draws on the area's unique surroundings. Easy access to a mix of green open spaces with frontage onto the water to deliver a space that will meet the demands of a rebalanced relationship with work enables its occupiers to become 'stewards' of the place and facilitates a connection with the local community.
HWKN's design principles have emerged from the post-pandemic shift in the requirements of workspaces. The scheme will feature 140,000 square meters of grade A, sustainability-certified workspace for up to 10,000 people, including over 10,000 square feet of affordable offices for small businesses, community spaces, and communal amenities across the ground floor. The developer, Art-Invest, has anticipated breaking ground for Spring 2023.
Likewise, the New York firm is working on its first European project – Die Macherei, a mixed-use business district in Munich. In collaboration with local practices MSM Meyer Schmitz-morkramer and OSA Ochs Schmidhuber Architekten, the financial hub will feature 64,000 square meters of rental space, offices, and commerce.
