8 Canada Square facts for kids
Quick facts for kids 8 Canada Square |
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| General information | |
| Location | Canary Wharf London, E14 United Kingdom |
| Construction started | 1999 |
| Completed | 2002 |
| Height | 200 m (656 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 45 |
| Floor area | 164,410 m2 (1,769,700 sq ft) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Foster and Partners |
8 Canada Square is a very tall building, called a skyscraper, in London's Canary Wharf area. It has 45 floors and is the main office for a big bank called HSBC Holdings all around the world.
Contents
Building Design and Construction
Sir Norman Foster, a famous architect, designed this building. He also designed HSBC's main office in Hong Kong!
Building work started in January 1999. Workers began putting up the 4,900 glass panels in the summer of 2000.
On March 7, 2001, they had a 'topping out' ceremony. This is a special event when the last piece of the building's main structure is put in place. The first HSBC employees started working in the building on September 2, 2002. The building was officially opened on April 2, 2003.
Exploring the Floors
This skyscraper has 45 floors above ground and 4 floors underground. Let's see what's on some of them:
| Floor | What's There |
|---|---|
| 43–44 | These floors help light up the top of the building. They also bring fresh air in and let old air out. |
| 40–42 | These floors have special rooms for presentations, videos, and big meetings with people from other places. |
| 9–39 | Most of these floors are offices and meeting rooms. Floors 15, 25, and 34 are "transfer floors" where you can switch between different groups of elevators. |
| 8 | This is the main computer hub for the whole building! It has all the important equipment for the building's operations and phone systems. |
| 7 | Here you'll find equipment that helps with air conditioning and heating water. There are also special power units that keep the lights on if the main power goes out. |
| 6 | Fancy dining rooms for clients. |
| 5 | A gym with about 120 exercise machines! Some parts of this floor are also used for trading. |
| 2–4 | These floors are for trading operations, like buying and selling stocks and other financial things. |
| 1 | A huge restaurant for staff that can seat 850 people. It serves about 2,500 meals every day! |
| Ground | The main lobby and reception area. |
| B1 | A shopping area called Canada Place Mall and an HSBC bank branch. |
| B2–B4 | Parking for cars. |
Who Owns the Building?
The ownership of 8 Canada Square has changed a few times.
In April 2007, HSBC sold the building to a Spanish company called Metrovacesa. It was the first building in Britain to be sold for over £1 billion! HSBC then rented the building back from them for 20 years.
In December 2008, HSBC bought the building back. They said they made a £250 million profit from this deal.
In November 2009, HSBC sold the building again. This time, it was bought by the National Pension Service, which is South Korea's public pension fund. HSBC made about £350 million from this sale.
In December 2014, the Qatar Investment Authority bought the building. The price was not announced, but it was thought to be more than £1.1 billion.
Future Plans for the Building
In September 2022, HSBC was thinking about whether to stay in the building when their lease ends in 2027.
In February 2023, a newspaper reported that about 10 floors were not being used. This was because more people were working from home.
In June 2023, the bank confirmed they plan to move out of the building by 2027. They will move to a different location in the City of London.
Crane Accident
On May 21, 2000, a sad accident happened during construction. Three workers were killed when the top of a large crane broke off.
An investigation later found that a special safety part was missing. There was also no tool to measure wind speed in the crane, even though the weather was calm that day.
The three workers were Michael Whittard (36), Martin Burgess (31), and Peter Clark (33). There is a special plaque under a tree near the building to remember them.
Falling Glass Incidents
After the tower was finished, there were a few times when glass panels fell from the building.
In the summer of 2003, a glass panel fell from the 42nd floor early in the morning. Luckily, no one was hurt.
On June 9, 2004, another window panel fell from the 43rd floor. This was similar to the incident a year before. A security guard almost got hit that afternoon.
Seven years later, in 2011, part of the HSBC sign fell off and crashed to the ground. The glass fell over 150 meters onto the building's entrance. The area was closed off for safety checks. No one was injured in this incident either.
Environmental Protests
On April 22, 2021, which was Earth Day, a group called Extinction Rebellion protested at the building. They used tools to try and break the lobby windows. They were protesting against the bank's support for projects that use fossil fuels.
The people involved were arrested for damaging property. The damage to the building was about £500,000. Similar protests happened at another bank's office in Canary Wharf earlier that month.
Building Renovations
In early 2013, the tower had a big renovation. They installed new signs on all four sides of the building. These new signs replaced the old letters and hexagon shapes in the glass.
The new signs use a special material that makes the LED lights look black during the day and bright white at night. The lights behind the tiles were also changed from old fluorescent tubes to new LED lights.
As of 2018, the HSBC logo on the tower is a bit old-fashioned. It uses an older font and hexagon design. It's thought that the sign won't be updated soon because the bank plans to move out by 2027.
Stephen and Stitt: The HSBC Lions
At the main entrance of 8 Canada Square, you will find two large lion statues named Stephen and Stitt. These lions were made especially for the tower's opening in 2002, when it became HSBC's new main office.
The lions were made nearby by the Bronze Age Sculpture Casting Foundry in Limehouse.
See also
In Spanish: 8 Canada Square para niños
