8 Canada Square, Office skyscraper in Canary Wharf, England
8 Canada Square is an office tower in Canary Wharf, London, rising nearly 200 meters (656 feet) with 45 floors above ground and 4 floors below ground. The glass facade reflects the changing London light and marks the tower as headquarters for an international financial institution.
Foster and Partners completed the tower in 2002 as headquarters for HSBC Holdings. Spanish property company Metrovacesa acquired it in 2007 for over one billion pounds, making it the first British building to reach that price threshold.
Two bronze lion sculptures named Stephen and Stitt stand at the main entrance, following a Chinese banking tradition for protection and prosperity. These guardians greet thousands of banking employees who enter the trading floors each day.
The tower contains 36 elevators moving employees and visitors through its floors, with the first three levels reserved for trading activities. Access is limited to business hours and authorized personnel, so exterior views from the surrounding plaza offer the best perspective.
The 2007 sale established a new benchmark for British commercial property, making this tower the most expensive single building in the country at that time. The transaction signaled the peak of the property boom before the financial crisis.
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