First images revealed of £1 billion glass landmark building in London's Greenwich Peninsula

Design by acclaimed Spanish-born architect is part of £8 billion regeneration project on land near the O2 Arena

An aerial view of the Peninsula Place building (Greenwich Peninsula)

Architects have released the first images of a £1 billion glass building set to be constructed on the Greenwich Peninsula.

The new landmark building has been commissioned from Spanish-born “visionary” architect Santiago Calatrava and will be his first structure in Britain.

Peninsula Place is part of an £8 billion, 25-year regeneration project that aims to create 15,000 new homes on former gas works and agricultural land in south-east London.

The project, which was originally planned in 2004, has faced allegations of leading to social cleansing and sparked arguments about the allocation of affordable housing.

Mr Calatrava, the Zurich-based designer of the Athens Olympic Park and the new World Trade Centre transport hub in New York, is famous for “neo-futurist” designs, but also notorious for cost overruns on some of his projects.

The images released today show a huge glass galleria and 80-foot high “winter garden” atrium, topped by three towers of more than 30 storeys each above North Greenwich station.

The winter garden (Greenwich Peninsula)

The building is expected to be used by crowds heading to the O2 Arena next door, the world’s busiest venue that sees millions of visitors each year. It will presumably also become the centrepoint of the new residential and leisure district planned for the area around it.

The development will be linked to a new public park on the Thames river bank by a sinuous land bridge.

The scheme includes 800 apartments, of which 200 are classified as “affordable”, as well as 300,000 square feet of offices, around 80 shops, restaurants and bars, a cinema and performance venue and a 500-room hotel.

The bus station will be rebuilt so it is capable of handling 100 bus movements an hour but the Tube station - which is likely to be renamed Greenwich Peninsula - will remain open throughout the three years of construction.

Richard Margree, chief executive of Hong Kong-based developer Richard Margree Knight Dragon, said Mr Calatrava had been inspired by the work of Brunel in creating the great railway stations of London as well as the Crystal Palace built to house the Great Exhibition of 1851.

But he told the Evening Standard the finished design was “unashamedly modern” and passengers travelling to North Greenwich would arrive at “the single most astonishing Tube station in the UK,” adding “this is going to be amazing.”

A sinuous land bridge will connect the building to the Thames river bank (Greenwich Peninsula)

Mr Calatrava said: “It is an honour to be designing such a piece of the fabric of London, a city I love. In designing this scheme, I have been inspired by London’s rich architectural heritage and the very special geography of the Peninsula.

“It will be a project that reflects both this and the ambition of Knight Dragon for Greenwich Peninsula.”

During negotiations over the peninsula project during the last decade, the number of residential properties on the site increased from 10,000 to 15,000, but the number of affordable homes stayed static, meaning in relative terms the allocation fell from 38 per cent to 25 per cent.

There are also concerns among resident groups that the affordable housing will be clustered together, creating “a little ghetto as far away from the luxury homes as possible”.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said in a statement: “Peninsula Place will create a new buzzing, cultural destination in the capital, which I’m confident will attract visitors not only from London, but around the globe.

“The iconic building - designed by world leading architect Santiago Calatrava - will be a truly fitting pathway onto the Peninsula, with the development offering an improved tube and bus station, alongside new shops and homes.

“This investment in key infrastructure in the capital is a vote of confidence post-Brexit and shows that London is open to business, trade and attracting the greatest talent from around the world.”

The Peninsula Place scheme is the third phase of the regeneration of the 150 acres site on the south bank of the Thames opposite Canary Wharf.

Sammy Lee, vice chairman of Knight Dragon, said: “My ambition is for Greenwich Peninsula to be a unique cultural destination for Londoners and visitors to this global city.

“Calatrava’s contribution will help ensure that the UK’s biggest regeneration project fulfils its potential to become just that”.