Sited very close to the Prime Meridian, the garden is arranged as a microcosm of the world, with Asian plants to the east, North, Central and South American plants to the west, and – of course – lots of fynbos and other African plants to the south. Many of these plants, such as sugar, spices, tea, coffee, cocoa, hemp, cotton and rubber, would have formed the bulk of the imports unloaded at these very docks 200 years ago. And that brings us to the history of this site – the rise and fall of the Isle of Dogs.
The Isle of Dogs and the London Docklands were once one of the busiest parts of the city, as they handled the shipping that launched Britain as a global imperial power – the trading in sugar, steel, slaves, opium, tea, spices, ceramics, gold, diamonds, silks, cottons, and British wool. But by the 1970s, the world had changed. Britannia no longer ruled the waves, and the cargo vessels of yore had been replaced by unromantic but efficient container vessels and bulk tankers that needed deeper access and bigger docks. By the 1980s, almost all the shipping business had moved, industries followed, and largescale unemployment, urban decay and crime filled the gap.
Despite remaining derelict, the land was extremely valuable, and was owned by many different companies who were reluctant to either sell or gentrify. This was until, in 1987, Canadian company Olympia & York, under the auspices of Paul Reichmann, took over the mammoth task of instilling life and money in the area.
In 1988, construction began on One Canada Square, which is now the second tallest building in England. This iconic skyscraper rapidly became a magnet for commercial business looking to expand out of the city centre, and Barclays Bank moved its entire staff complement of 7000 to a new 93 000-square-metre tower on the estate. Today, the 33-storey Barclays building sits very well on the site, in the middle of the dock and surrounded by water on two sides and five large atria on the south elevation.
“ Barclays had been in the City of London for close on 300 years, so the move to Canary Wharf was a brave leap, but a highly successful one,” says Brian Teale, of Barclays Bank.“ Canary Wharf was selected for economic and operational benefits, enabling the bank to consolidate its entire London operations in one single location,” he explains. Summing up, he concludes“ Canary Wharf is a great place to work. It’ s safe, clean and exciting, with great facilities, restaurants, bars and shopping – and all on the water. It has excellent communication links, and 100 000 people go there every day. It is a second financial district supporting the City of London.”
Canary Wharf is more than just a great place to live, work and relax. A key success of the development is its ability to increase workforce productivity and keep retention rates high. When Clifford Chance, the world’ s largest law firm, moved its offices out of the city of London and into Canary Wharf in
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