Vetro – SimpsonHaugh & Rockwell, a high-quality mixed-use development

Transformation

For many years, 82 West India Dock Road has been a derelict and underutilised site. Now, developer Rockwell’s vision to transform the area with a new, high-quality mixed-use development, aims to mark Westferry as a new destination in its own right.

Conveniently located just yards away from Westferry DLR station the building, named Vetro, will establish itself as a gateway to Canary Wharf’s central cluster. The 30-storey development will include a 400-bedroom hotel, and 68 timeless and elegant apartments with uninterrupted views overlooking Canary Wharf, the River Thames, the City and beyond.

Expert design

Designed by world-renowned architects, SimpsonHaugh, Vetro is perfectly positioned to deliver all the rich and diverse experiences of truly rewarding urban-living.

Despite close proximity to Canary Wharf, the immediate context is mid to low rise buildings. The building form consists of interlocking volumes, all of which respond sympathetically to the context in scale and orientation. This approach facilitates the creation of a tall building which maximises the potential of this constrained urban location.

The lower form, containing residential and hotel uses, generates a podium block relating to the height and scale of the surrounding context, and provides active uses at ground floor level. Its materiality takes reference from the existing brickwork buildings and DLR viaduct - brick clad precast panels with deep inset windows and piers reduce as the building increases in height. Together with the inclined window reveals, this provides a lighter appearance against the skyline.

The secondary subservient form sits behind the bookend, it provides further residential apartments and steps down to meet the podium. The upper residential apartments have a unitised façade which is highly glazed to provide exceptional city views which both complements and contrasts with the solidity of the podium’s façade. The fully glazed winter gardens, proposed to the west façade, will animate the exterior and provide each apartment with a generous and high-quality private amenity space.


A new restaurant, café, gym facilities and a landscaped pocket park, alongside communal gardens for new residents, form an integral part of the vision for the development, which was given the green light by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in October 2018. The development has been expertly designed to stand the test of time.

Carefully developed public realm proposals and a complementary active ground floor ensure a positive contribution is made to the surrounding public area, acting as a catalyst for future developments and transformational change in the area.

Mixed Use

The new scheme for London will become the capital’s largest and tallest Premier Inn hotel, providing 400-rooms across 30 storeys.

The residential element of the scheme will comprise 68 modern apartments. Offering an exceptional portfolio of amenities with healthy living at its core, the development is equipped with a state-of-the-art in-house gym, sauna, relaxation area and concierge service. In addition, the impressive and immaculately landscaped podium garden stretching out across the city offers desirable outdoor space with glorious views for all residents to enjoy.

The thoughtfully designed interiors at Vetro offer functional yet luxurious rooms to rest and play. From the plush cosiness of the lobby to the naturally bright apartments, every fine detail has been considered and meticulously applied.

Building for the community

Identifying challenges faced by the local community was key to understanding how the mixed-use development could create tangible benefit to the local area, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. With its location, adjacent to Westferry DLR Station, connectivity is a major asset of this development which will create up to 200 vital jobs for the local community, as well as providing 21 genuinely affordable homes.

Work on site began in January 2020, subsequently providing a vast number of construction jobs, and once complete, Vetro will also generate hundreds of new employment opportunities for local people in the hospitality sector. Recognising a need to provide specific jobs in Tower Hamlets, Rockwell partnered with the London Training Centre and Boundary Community School to deliver skills training and qualifications to local people. Increasing access to jobs in the hotel and hospitality sector will prove vital in securing a strong post-pandemic recovery for an industry which currently employs one in seven Londoners.

The first 30 trainees to complete the intensive two-month training programme, all women from the Westferry area, have now achieved Level 2 qualifications in a range of different skillsets, and the majority subsequently found employment in the hospitality sector. Their aim is to be able to work full time at the hotel once complete in 2022.

Lasting legacy

The high-quality mixed-use development will rejuvenate the previously derelict site and serve Londoners and visitors to the capital with the aim of supporting London’s economic recovery out of the pandemic.

In addition to creating a 400-room hotel, 68 new residential properties, of which 21 will be affordable homes, and approximately 200 new jobs accessible for young people living in the area, Vetro will mark Westferry as a destination which both the local community and surrounding areas can be proud of.