1 West India Quay

1 West India Quay stands on the north edge of Canary Wharf, a glass-and-aluminium skyscraper that rises 111 metres above West India Docks. The tower has 33 floors, the lower twelve occupied by a Marriott Hotel with 47 serviced suites on the top four of those. Above them, floors 13 to 33 contain 158 apartments. The building’s knife-edge profile and boat-like curves were designed by HOK to contrast with the brick warehouses of the Docklands. Completed in 2004, it was one of London’s first post-tensioned concrete-framed towers. The tower’s construction reached full height in April 2003 and was topped out five months later. At that point it became the capital’s twenty-first tallest building. A dispute between developer Manhattan Loft Corporation and contractor Multiplex delayed handover until December 2004. The developer later claimed it was the largest high-rise in London, while the contractor argued it formed the tallest residential block in the UK at the time. The building has appeared in films such as Run Fatboy Run and 28 Weeks Later. Inside, the Marriott Hotel occupies the lower floors with views across the docks. The apartments above have triple-aspect windows and floor-to-ceiling glass. The curved rooftop arch is a landmark on the skyline. The docks below link the Isle of Dogs to the rest of east London, and the Canary Wharf estate is visible from every high floor. The building’s silhouette appears in music videos and television programmes, adding to its presence in the city’s visual story.