New iconic Southwark building emerges
Published 8 November 2010
The topping out of the latest landmark to be built in Southwark, the Canada Water Library has taken place.
This bold development is the latest addition to the huge regeneration programme spreading south and eastwards in Southwark, including Elephant and Castle, Aylesbury Estate, Bermondsey Spa, Peckham and now Canada Water. It highlights Southwark's commitment to investing in the future for its stakeholders.
Designed by Piers Gough (founding partner at CZWG architects), the new £14m library building resembles an inverted pyramid that partly overhangs the Canada Water basin. Its profile is now clear and visible on the landscape.
A dominant feature of the four-storey building is a full height atrium, with a timber-lined central spiral staircase travelling up to the expanding shape above. The building is clad in aluminium sheets that are anodised in a light bronze with sequined perforations, giving it sculptural appeal and striking visual effects.
The library also has excellent green credentials, with a ground source heat pump and a green sedum roof. All this is designed to chime with the buildings position, overlooking an old timber dock.
The library will sit at the edge of a new civic plaza which has been designed to allow for markets, events, festivals and a host of other activities. It also sits directly on top of the Canada Water Jubilee line tube station and incorporates one of the station entrances into its structure.
Councillor Fiona Colley, cabinet member for regeneration at Southwark Council said, "I'm pleased to see this building emerge, its architecture will no doubt become a famous landmark for London. Aside from the building itself, this new civic centre represents just the start for regeneration in this area for residents by providing new well designed homes, open spaces, community facilities, shops, businesses and transport links."
David Taylor, Chairman BL Canada Quays said: "Today's topping out will be a massive milestone in terms of delivering the Canada Water Masterplan. The BL Canada Quays and Southwark Council partnership promised the local community a high quality mixed use scheme with a new community building at the heart which would benefit both existing and new residents. We are on track to deliver the first phase and the library is a major building block in terms of achieving that objective."
Alastair Baird, Regional Managing Director of Barratt London, said:
"We are delighted to be working on the regeneration at Canada Water and are progressing quickly with the construction of high quality new homes for Rotherhithe. In the last two years, we have delivered 232 new homes and work is progressing well on the next phases of the development, with almost 700 more homes due for completion by summer 2013."The library will be open seven days a week delivering a wide programme of learning and cultural activities for the whole community. The planned facilities on offer will help our local people to both develop and flourish.
Further information
Canada Water is located in London's historic docklands area. Following the decline of the London Docks in the 1970s, the area fell into disuse and was remodelled as part of the overall Docklands Development Plan by the London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC). The area was largely deprived with high unemployment and high levels of social housing.
Southwark Council received this land back in 1998 with the closure of the LDDC, and with it an opportunity to evolve the LDDC plans. Between 1999 and 2000 the new Jubilee tube line came through the area, making new connections and providing new opportunities to improve the local economy and community.
Southwark Council used an EU procurement process to select and appoint British Land Canada Quays (BLCQ) (a 50:50 joint venture), to bring forward a joint masterplan for a new town centre in July 2004. British Land Canada Quays Ltd (BL Canada Quays Ltd) is a 50:50 joint venture company between The British Land Company plc and Canada Quays Ltd.The new comprehensive masterplan was approved in 2005 and centred on the creation of a new civic heart for a sustainable and integrated, mixed-use, major town centre.
The council and its partners are now delivering the first phase of new development in Canada Water that consists of approximately 900 new homes including affordable housing, new shopping and leisure, along with new public realm and infrastructure.
The Canada Water site will ultimately see 2,500 new homes built in the phases to follow, 35% of which will be affordable.
