Developer Rockwell has submitted plans to Tower Hamlets Council to redevelop Quay House in Canary Wharf into a 400-bedroom hotel and 279 serviced apartments.

The plans would involve demolition of the existing three-storey building on the site, which also extends beneath the Docklands Light Railway.

The tower includes a podium at its base, and has been described by the applicant as having flush windows and polished concrete which ’mimics the smooth finish of a pebble’.


The new proposal comes five years after KPF’s 68-storey scheme, backed by Investin Quay House, was refused, due to the council’s concerns the building failed to integrate into its local area.

According to documents sent to Tower Hamlets planners, the SimpsonHaugh design responds to the ’failures of the previous proposed development of Quay House’.

The scheme also includes improvements to the nearby dockside area, including new leisure spaces and an ‘underline’ access route beneath the Docklands Light Railway and Admirals Way.

Rockwell and Firethorn acquired the site for a reported £26 million last October.

SimpsonHaugh’s 40-storey reworked Quay House scheme in London’s Docklands - submitted July 2019 SimpsonHaugh’s 40-storey reworked Quay House scheme in London’s Docklands - submitted July 2019 [base view]

Project data

Architect SimpsonHaugh

Landscape architect Exterior Architecture

Planning consultant Savills

Structural engineer OCSC

M&E consultant PSH

Gross internal floor area c15,800m²