The new contemporary insertions within the Grade I listed, 19th-century dock, designed by Howells and HTA Design, creatively engage the public with the waters’ edge, while enriching the ecology and biodiversity of open water spaces, which sit at London’s major financial district, Canary Wharf.
Floating boardwalks create a new accessible public route connecting a series of floating gardens that lead to an open water swimming area, an education pontoon, and terraces for social and cultural use. Below water level, a cantilevered shelf supports aquatic planting, along with a marine monitoring station, including underwater cameras to track biodiversity and offer educational engagement.
Planting features native vegetation specifically chosen to provide valuable habitats for invertebrates, amphibians, fish, waterfowl and birds.
Eden Dock by Howells and HTA Design. Photograph by Greg Holmes.
Project description by Howells and HTA Design
Eden Dock, designed by Howells with landscape design by HTA Design for Canary Wharf Group, is a ground-breaking new public space with floating, interconnected pontoons and aquatic islands, sitting at the heart of Canary Wharf’s evolution. The contemporary insertions within the Grade I listed, 19th-century dock, creatively engage the public with the waters’ edge, while enriching the ecology and biodiversity of Canary Wharf’s open water spaces.
The transformed dock brings the public realm down to the water level for the first time. Howells has introduced ‘shores’ of gradual inclines - timber bleacher seating integrated with generous amphitheatre steps, walkways and dense garden planting.
On the water, floating boardwalks create a new accessible public route connecting a series of floating gardens, an education pontoon, and terraces for social and cultural use. The floating islands lead to an open water swimming area, within a safe and spectacular public setting. Below water level, a cantilevered shelf supports aquatic planting, along with a marine monitoring station, including underwater cameras to track biodiversity, providing a focal point for educational engagement.
The planting for the scheme features native vegetation, selected to provide valuable habitats on the floating islands, for invertebrates, amphibians, fish and waterfowl. In addition, fish refuges hung beneath the islands create safe spawning ground, while bird boxes hung amongst the trees create new nesting sites for a range of garden bird species.
Eden Dock is the latest part of Howells’ wider placemaking masterplan for Canary Wharf, following the recent completion of two new Water Pavilions at Wood Wharf. A pedestrian footbridge across Eden Dock, set to be completed next year, will provide a new north-south link joining together and improving footfall across the neighbourhood.
