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Canary Wharf is trying to reinvent itself as a place to work and play after the pandemic. But the numbers don’t add up https://www.wired.co.uk/article/canary-wharf-pandemic-return-work
When Canary Wharf’s offices are fully occupied, they are home to 120,000 people. Right now, just over 1,000 people are tapping through the gates of Canary Wharf station every weekday. Once all restriction lift, the area is still expected to be missing 22,000 people each day
It could to take 12 to 18 months before passenger numbers across London's transport network return to 80 per cent of normal capacity. So what do you do with all that empty space in Canary Wharf? And who pays for it?
What's bad for big skyscrapers designed to be filled with busy workers is just as bad for the bars, cafes and restaurants that support them. The Canary Wharf Group, which runs the estate, is banking on a fledgling local community filling the void office workers leave behind.
Part of the solution could be to turn offices into apartments and try and transform Canary Wharf from a place where people work to a place where people live. Plans for a new office high-rise at 1 Park Place could be ditched in favour of a 60-storey apartment block.
The problem? Each new apartment built would have to accommodate 19 people to make up for the expected shortfall in workers. So how can Canary Wharf transform itself to thrive in a post-pandemic world? https://www.wired.co.uk/article/canary-wharf-pandemic-return-work
