Cross London Rail Links Limited commissioned Mott MacDonald and Ian Ritchie Architects in February 2003 to design a new station for the Isle of Dogs; and again, following a new tender procedure in 2006, working with Halcrow Yolles. The station box is located under the existing body of water east of the existing DLR bridge and extending to the eastern end of the dock, with the platform level 18m below the existing dock bottom and will be 29m below the station entrance at Canary Wharf promenade level.
The station is designed with a single main entry/exit located as an island in the dock to the west of a redesigned Great Wharf Bridge. Connections to the station entrance are provided at street level via the new vehicle bridge and at promenade level with pedestrian bridges to both the north and south sides of the dock. The redesigned Great Wharf Bridge relocates the requirement for an occasional navigation route to the south of the dock. Both street level and promenade level bridges will open.
A large rectangular plane of Corten steel roof canopy floats above the station entrance. It tilts from east to west with a flat top and double curved underbelly. Glazed openings allow natural light to penetrate into the escalator shaft down to the concourse. The openings also provide views to the sky as passengers travel up the escalators to exit the station. To protect from rain, woven metal fabric curtains hang from the north and south sides of the roof canopy and are tensioned down to the island deck.
At concourse level the ticket hall is a large space extending upward to the soffit of the entry/exit island. The west escape/vent shaft is integrated into the station entrance design, while the east escape/vent shaft comes up as an island in the dock with a bridge connection to the north. Large light wells allow natural light down to concourse and platform levels.