1 West India Quay is a landmark 33-storey mixed use skyscraper situated just north of

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lon ...

business district in east

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Completed in 2004, the development was built by Manhattan Loft Corporation and the now-defunct MWB Group Holdings. The distinctive glass- and aluminium-clad tower was designed by HOK. The building is 111 metres (364 feet) tall and has 33 floors (not including roof). The bottom 12 floors house a

Marriott Hotel Marriott Hotels & Resorts is Marriott International's brand of full-service hotels and resorts based in Bethesda, Maryland. As of June 30, 2020, there were 582 hotels and resorts with 205,053 rooms operating under the brand, in addition to 160 ...

, including 47 serviced suites on floors 9–12. Floors 13-33 house 158 apartments. The tower overlooks

West India Docks The West India Docks are a series of three docks, quaysides and warehouses built to import goods from and export goods and occasionally passengers to the British West Indies on the Isle of Dogs in London the first of which opened in 1802. Follow ...

and the

estate.

History

In 2001, planning permission was gained by

Squire and Partners Squire and Partners is a British architectural firm founded in 1976 known for designing and executing buildings on key sites in London and internationally. Projects Key projects cover a range of sectors, varying from small bespoke fitouts to lar ...

for a slender landmark mixed-use tower conceived to act as a visual counterpoint to the monumental brick form of the adjacent Victorian warehouses in London's Docklands. Designed by HOK, its elliptical form is reminiscent of the curved hull of a boat. The plans were part of the redevelopment of the area. While works had been expected to finish in May 2004, the skyscraper was not handed over until December. A report in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' said that MWB Group Holdings and its partner Manhattan Loft Corporation had "fallen out" with contractor

Multiplex Multiplex may refer to: * Multiplex (automobile), a former American car make * Multiplex (comics), a DC comic book supervillain * Multiplex (company), a global contracting and development company * Multiplex (assay), a biological assay which measu ...

over the delays. Multiplex had been "demanding more than £100m in extra payment from MWB, claiming delays were caused by the changes MWB sought", with MWB refusing to pay. The dispute was escalated to an independent arbitrator for adjudication.

On-screen appearances

In the film ''

Run Fatboy Run ''Run Fatboy Run'' is a 2007 comedy film directed by David Schwimmer, written by Michael Ian Black and Simon Pegg, and starring Pegg, Dylan Moran, Thandiwe Newton, Harish Patel, India de Beaufort and Hank Azaria. It was released in the United ...

'', the character Whit owns an apartment in 1 West India Quay. Early on in the film, he is heard saying "West India Quay please!" to a

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...

driver. Whit proposes to Libby, played by

Thandie Newton Melanie Thandiwe Newton ( ; born 6 November 1972), formerly credited as Thandie Newton, is a British actress. Newton has received various awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for ...

, on the staircase of one of the penthouses with floor-to-ceiling windows. Whilst still a construction site, the building was used as a location in the film ''

Layer Cake A layer cake (US English) or sandwich cake (UK English) is a cake consisting of multiple stacked sheets of cake, held together by frosting or another type of filling, such as jam or other preserves. Most cake recipes can be adapted for lay ...

'' starring

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...

Robert Carlyle Robert Carlyle (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes '' Trainspotting'' (1996), ''The Full Monty'' (1997), ''The World Is Not Enough'' (1999), ''Angela's Ashes'' (1999), '' The Beach'' (2000), ''28 Weeks Later'' (20 ...

's character in ''

28 Weeks Later ''28 Weeks Later'' is a 2007 post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who co-wrote it with Rowan Joffé, Enrique López Lavigne and Jesus Olmo. The sequel to the 2002 film ''28 Days Later'', it stars Robert Carlyle, ...

'' escapes zombie apocalypse with his family by seeking refuge in the building. Much of the music video "Heartbroken" by T2 (a London-based, garage music band) was filmed in or around 1 West India Quay. The introduction of the show '' Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds'' was filmed on the rooftop of 1 West India Quay, with Richard Hammond standing close to the building's signature arched top.

References

External links

Emporis listing
Skyscrapers in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Residential buildings completed in 2004 Skyscraper hotels in London Limehouse HOK (firm) buildings {{London-struct-stub

History

On-screen appearances

See also

References

External links