Canary Wharf Crossrail Station
Canary Wharf, London, UK · 2009–2022 (piling began May 2009, station opened May 2022) · $795 million (station cost, approx. £630 million at current rates, plus Canary Wharf Group plc. committed $240 million to funding)
The judgement call
Account-gated at launch* Innovative top-down construction method used to form the station. * The station was the first Crossrail station to begin construction and was largely completed ahead of other central stations. * The distinctive timber lattice roof and roof garden (Crossrail Place) create a unique public space and landmark. * Use of ETFE plastic cushions in the roof for insulation and natural light.
Key engineering challenges
* Constructing a six-floor-deep station 25 meters below water level within a watertight cofferdam in the North Dock of Canary Wharf. * Piling through challenging ground conditions and dewatering the cofferdam. * Integrating the station with a five-storey mixed-use over-site development (Crossrail Place) and a roof garden. * Designing and constructing a complex 300-meter-long timber lattice roof with 1,418 beams and 564 nodes, many unique.
Project facts
- Client / owner
- Crossrail (now Elizabeth Line), Canary Wharf Group plc.
- Lead contractor
- Canary Wharf Contractors Ltd.
- Lead designers
- Foster + Partners (architect for over-ground elements and retail component); Arup (structural and building services engineer)
- Project type
- new build
- Scale
- Largest Crossrail station; six-floor-deep station; 25 meters below water level; 256m long, 40m wide cofferdam; 4,160m² roof garden; 1,418 timber beams and 564 nodes in roof structure.
- Disciplines
- Architecture; civil; structural; mechanical; electrical; geotechnical; landscape architecture; urban planning
- Standards & frameworks
- Crossrail standards; London Underground standards; CDM Regulations
Sources: * New Civil Engineer (2015), "The Gallery and Video | Construction of Crossrail Place roof garden", https://www.newcivilengineer.com/archive/the-gallery-and-video-construction-of-crossrail-place-roof-garden-01-05-2015/ * Architizer (Undated), "Canary Wharf Crossrail by Foster + Partners", https://architizer.com/projects/canary-wharf-crossrail/ * ENR (2011), "At Canary Wharf, Key Rail Station Takes Shape", https://www.enr.com/articles/4952-at-canary-wharf-key-rail-station-takes-shape * Railway Gazette International (Undated), "Crossrail Ltd | Organisations", https://www.railwaygazette.com/data/crossrail-ltd/51560.article