Canary Wharf
I thought I’d share a little bit about the place I spend my days…I think it’s obvious that no matter who you are, where you are, or what you do, those of us who work spend most of our waking hours in some sort of a work environment. The space can be defined by an office, a cubicle, a shipyard, a department store, a lecture hall, an art studio, etc., etc., but the amount of time we spend in this “space” influences, if not defines, our general disposition.
I work in Canary Wharf, one of the three major central business districts of London (the other two being “The City” and the West End). Canary Wharf is the most recent of these and is pretty much the home of the major world banks (or what used to be the major world banks…those that haven’t disappeared, become nationalized or acquired are still there I think). Interesting enough, Lehman was in the building adjacent to mine, but that’s a different topic altogether.
I don’t intend to write an essay on the development of Canary Wharf. I think that my wife and wikipedia can speak to that better than I can.
Generally, it’s an interesting place. Beneath the surface of the grandiose scale of modern highrises is a massive underground shopping mall, which comes in handy in these parts since I have yet to discover the conveniences in Isle of Dogs that populate all other neighborhoods I’ve explored in London.
I’ve also attached some photographs from my walk to work this morning and some views from my office. I’m staying nearby for the timebeing until I get my permanent living situation squared away. I’ll write about that in another post. For now read a little bit about Canary Wharf. It’s really only one small part of a massive redevelopment campaign going on in east London, prior to the 2012 Olympics. I imagine these parts will look completely different four years from now.
