The external structure of the Crossrail station at Canary Wharf has been completed with the final aluminium louvre placed on the final gap in the roof.
There are a total of 56 elliptical louvres 350mm in depth, made of anodised aluminium. A key advantage to this structure is to allow air to flow to the roof garden below, which will be open to the public from next year. There will also be 115,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space including shops, restaurants, bars and a cinema with the first phase due to open in May 2015, three years before the station.
Canary Wharf Group plc’s retail and leisure development above the new Crossrail Station, combined with the recent Jubilee Place extension, represents one of the largest retail expansions currently underway in the UK.
The Group began work on the new Canary Wharf station in May 2009, by creating a 250m long and 30m wide watertight dam in the waters of North Dock, using an innovative new ‘silent’ piling method. The station box was then built ‘top down’, 28 metres below the water surface to create the ticket hall and platform levels.
The external architecture of this innovative building was completed with this final aluminium louvre on Friday.
John Garwood, Canary Wharf Group plc Secretary & Legal Counsel, said: “The project has run smoothly and on schedule. The completion of the roof marks the final stage of construction. It will certainly be a stunning building of architectural significance for the UK, and a world-leading showcase of innovative design.”
The main structural works for Canary Wharf Group’s four-storey retail development above the station are complete – work is now focusing on the services and fit out of the upper levels which are intended to open in a phased approach over the next three years.