Peninsula Place will have a theatre, shops and bars, as well as workspace, hotels and apartments inside an 80ft (24m) high glass building.
Architect Santiago Calatrava designed the scheme, part of the Greenwich Peninsula regeneration, saying it is a homage... to London's rich heritage.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said it would be a "new landmark for London".
North Greenwich Tube and the bus station will be redeveloped while a land bridge will be built to link the winter garden to the Thames.
The project will also see the creation of 800 new homes, 200 of which are classed as "affordable".
Santiago Calatrava's previous work has included the Alameda Bridge and the Metro Station in Valencia, and the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro.
He said his design would "pay homage... to London's rich architectural heritage, to the great works of Paxton and Brunel".
More than 15,700 new homes are being built as part of the regeneration of the peninsula as well as a film studio and a new design district.
The first images of a £1bn winter garden beside the O2 Arena in east London have been unveiled.