Published 27 March 2026

Deeply rooted in the rich history of the Surrey Docks, Dock Shed is part of what was once the heart of London’s timber trade, receiving shipments from Canada and the Baltics.

The area was heavily bombed during World War II, leading to significant changes in its landscape, and the entire area was officially closed to commercial shipping in the 1970s, before being redeveloped in the 1980s with low-rise residential and retail.

Creating a new icon

Today, the area is being given a new lease of life by British Land and AustralianSuper through their 53-acre Canda Water development, aimed at transforming the area into a vibrant new town centre. As part of this, the new Dock Shed offers 180,000 sq ft of BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ workspace across six floors, along with a 5,000 sq ft retail unit and 60,000 sq ft leisure centre at basement level. With flexible floorplates ranging from 32,000 to 43,000 sq ft, the facility is designed to meet the needs of occupiers looking for headquarters.

Designed by Allies and Morrison, Dock Shed’s dramatic warehouse-inspired architecture reflects the area’s industrial heritage with its characteristic vaulted roofs mirroring the timber ‘deal’ sheds that once lined Canada Dock. Our structural engineers worked closely with the architects and design team to sympathetically blend historical elements with modern functionality.

Exemplary user experience

With a key focus on wellbeing, this WELL Gold-certified building features extensive dockside terraces on every level which are designed to host outdoor meetings and social events, whilst providing informal breakout areas and relaxation zones. Active travel is championed through the inclusion of 270 indoor cycle spaces, and extensive changing spaces with shower facilities. To further enhance user experience, fresh air circulation is available via openable windows which have been positioned throughout the building, while up to four metre floor-to-ceiling wraparound windows flood the floors with natural light.

In addition, a world class leisure centre featuring two swimming pools, multi-court sports halls, yoga and spin studios and a state-of-the-art gym sits at the basement level. Our design for this space was centred around 24m-long trusses which span over the pool and sports hall, creating large column-free spaces to accommodate an impressive range of facilities.

Unlocking design potential

Our structural specialists developed a low-carbon structure using 700 tonnes of X-Carb steel, which alone resulted in an estimated saving of 1,500 tonnes of embodied carbon. With the building designed around a highly repetitive and efficient structural grid, the repeating structural forms meant material waste was reduced and opportunities for future reuse were maximised. The geometric precision and exposed steelwork enhance the design to reflect the character of the historic dock sheds, whilst the exposed saw-tooth roof and the elegant steel trusses play a central role in both the building’s performance and its visual identity.

With the striking ground floor reception and café area sitting above the leisure centre’s sports hall, our specialists worked with the architects and fabricators to deliver a series of trusses to span the 24m clear span needed to meet Sports England design standards. These trusses were carefully dimensioned to achieve the symmetry of 45-degree angles whilst also being suitable for delivery to site as a single splice-free member. The resulting exposed steelwork design contributes to the clean, industrial aesthetic of the incredible entrance sequence designed by Conran and Partners.

Above the swimming pool, deeper trusses were detailed to be storey-high so that the top chord of the truss supports the first-floor office and the end of the bottom chord supports the gym space at ground floor level. The simplicity of the exposed structural form was achieved through rigorous attention to detail, seeing the depths of the inclined sawtooth roof beams varied to align perfectly with the primary beams supporting them.

The exposed columns on the dock elevation were detailed as an asymmetric ‘H’ to provide space for the hidden rainwater pipes, while the developed junction of the trusses ensured they enhance the clean lines of the 45-degree angles. In the office spaces, beams were detailed with a visual hierarchy, using slightly shallower secondary beams supported by deeper primary beams. This arrangement created visible lines of support that run down the full length of the office floors.