Plans have been submitted to redevelop HSBC’s 8 Canada Sqauare headquarters.
The project includes a 181-room hotel, restaurants, offices and landscaped terraces.
The Cloud would offer public 360-degree views from levels 42 and 43.
Ambitious plans for 8 Canada Square include a hotel, restaurants, landscaped terraces and a sky-high attraction overlooking London.
Canary Wharf has spent the past few years shaking off its reputation as a district dominated by offices and commuters. Restaurants, hotels, public art, green spaces and leisure attractions have increasingly become part of the neighbourhood, and now one of its most recognisable skyscrapers could undergo its biggest transformation yet with the opening of the first viewing platform in Canary Wharf.
Plans have been submitted to transform 8 Canada Square, the 200-metre-tall tower currently occupied by HSBC, into a mixed-use destination featuring offices, hospitality, restaurants and leisure facilities. The proposals have been lodged with Tower Hamlets Council by Canary Wharf Group and the building’s owner, Qatar Investment Authority, with architecture practice Kohn Pedersen Fox leading the design.
At the heart of the scheme is The Cloud, a new public destination planned for levels 42 and 43. Sections of the existing upper floors would be removed to create an elevated venue with panoramic 360-degree views across London. If approved and delivered as planned, it could become Canary Wharf’s first major public viewing platform, giving visitors a new reason to look at the capital from east London rather than the more familiar viewpoints in the City and West End.
The plans go well beyond adding a rooftop attraction. The upper portion of the building is set to include a 181-room hotel, while restaurants and leisure facilities will join what planning documents describe as an ‘experiential leisure destination’. Outdoor terraces and landscaped areas would also be carved into the tower, dramatically altering the appearance of the currently uniform glass building.
Changes are also planned much closer to ground level. A new public route would run through the building, improving pedestrian connections between Canary Wharf’s Elizabeth line station and Canada Square Park. Food and beverage venues are also planned for the lower levels, helping turn a building traditionally associated with a single corporate tenant into somewhere visitors can eat, meet and explore.
The project arrives as Canary Wharf continues its evolution into a destination that extends beyond the working week. Sea Lanes Canary Wharf opened at Eden Dock in June 2026, bringing a 50-metre floating pool, saunas and waterside social spaces to the area. The arrival of The Cloud and its Canary Wharf viewing platform would add another significant leisure attraction to the neighbourhood.
Should the plans receive approval, the transformation will give one of Canary Wharf’s best-known towers an entirely new purpose, bringing hotel stays, dining, greenery and some seriously impressive London views to the former banking headquarters.
Where: 8 Canada Square, Canary Wharf Estate, London E14 5HQ.
Contact: www.kpf.com