Shard London Bridge
Encyclopedia
Shard London Bridge is a skyscraper under construction in Southwark
, London
. When completed in May 2012, it will be the tallest building in the European Union
and the 45th-tallest building in the world, standing 310 m (1,017 ft) tall. It will also be the second-tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, after the 330 m (1,083 ft) Emley Moor transmitting station
.
Shard London Bridge replaced Southwark Towers
, a 24-storey office building constructed on the site in 1976. Renzo Piano
, the building's architect, worked together with the architectural firm Broadway Malyan
during the planning stage of the project. The tower will have 72 habitable floors, plus 15 further radiator floors in the roof. The building has been designed with an irregular triangular shape from the base to the top, and will be clad entirely in glass. A viewing gallery and open-air observation deck – the UK's highest – will be located on the 72nd floor.
, an Italian
architect best known for creating Paris’ Pompidou Centre in collaboration with Britain’s Richard Rogers
.
That year, the London-based entrepreneur Irvine Sellar decided to redevelop Southwark Towers
, a 1970s-era office block located next to London Bridge station
, and flew to Berlin in March 2000 to meet Piano for lunch. According to Sellar, the architect spoke of his contempt for tall buildings during the meal, before flipping over the restaurant’s menu and sketching an iceberg
-like sculpture emerging from the River Thames. He was inspired by the railway lines next to the site, the London spires depicted by the Venetian
painter Canaletto
, and the masts of bygone sailing ships.
In July 2002, then-Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott
ordered a planning inquiry after the Shard development plans were opposed by local authorities and heritage bodies, including the Royal Parks Foundation
and English Heritage
. The inquiry took place in April and May 2003, and on 19 November, 2003, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister announced that construction had been approved. The government released a letter stating that:
The developers – CLS Holdings
plc, Sellar Property Group, and CN Ltd (acting for the Halabi Family Trust) – secured an interim funding package of £196 million in September 2006 from the Nationwide Building Society
and Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander
. This enabled them to pay off costs incurred to date, and to buy out the Southwark Towers occupational lease from the tenants, PricewaterhouseCoopers
. Vacant possession of the site was secured a year later, after PricewaterhouseCoopers completed the relocation of their operations.
In September 2007, preparations for the demolition of Southwark Towers began. However, later in the month, turbulence in the financial markets reportedly put the construction phase of the project in jeopardy, threatening to render the whole project an example of the Skyscraper Index
. Later that month, it was reported that the Halabi Family Trust, one of the main backers of the project, had been forced to sell its stake.
In November 2007, building contractor Mace
won the deal to build the Shard at a fixed price of no more than £350m. However, this price increased to almost £435m in October 2008.
In January 2008, it was announced that a consortium of Qatar
i investors had paid £150m to secure an 80% stake and take control of the project. The new owners promised to provide the first tranche of finance, allowing construction of the tower to begin. The consortium included Qatar National Bank
, QInvest, Qatari Islamic Bank and the Qatari developer Barwa Real Estate. The deal involved a buyout of the Halabi and CLS Holdings stakes, and part of the Sellar Property stake. In April 2008, demolition of Southwark Towers was visibly under way, with scaffolding and white sheeting covering the building and by October, Southwark Towers had been substantially reduced in height, and was no longer visible on the skyline. The demolition of Southwark Towers was completed in early 2009, and site preparation began for the construction of the Shard.
In late February 2009, the construction contract with Mace was signed, allowing construction to begin in March.
". He considered the slender, spire-like form of the tower a positive addition to the London skyline, believing that its presence would be far more delicate than opponents of the project alleged. He proposed a sophisticated use of glazing
, with expressive façades of angled glass panes intended to reflect sunlight and the sky above, so that the appearance of the building will change according to the weather and seasons.
Following the collapse of the World Trade Center
(WTC) in 2001, architects and structural engineers worldwide began re-evaluating the design of tall structures. The Shard’s early conceptual designs were among the first in the UK to be progressed following the publication of the US National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) report into the WTC collapse. The building was designed to maintain its stability under the most onerous conditions.
The completed Shard will contain premium office space, a hotel, luxury residences, retail space, restaurants, a 15-storey public viewing gallery, and a spa. A public viewing gallery will be located at the top of the tower, and is expected to draw over two million visitors a year. In addition, a shorter building, known as London Bridge Place, will be built nearby. This will replace the current London Bridge House, and the combined sites will create what will be known as the London Bridge Quarter.
In addition to the tower, there will be major improvements made to London Bridge Tube station
and the surrounding area. As part of a Section 106 legal agreement, these improvements will include a new public concourse, as well as a public piazza
, a museum
, and local housing and regeneration programmes.
Source:
Five cranes were used to build the Shard, with four of them 'jumping' with the tower as it rose. Crane 1 was erected on 20 September 2009 and Crane 2 was erected at the beginning of October. By 20 October 2009, steel beams began appearing on site, with concrete being poured at the northern part of the site, ready for Crane 3.
, which stands at 143 metres (469.2 ft). The first glass panel was installed on 25 May 2010. On 27 July 2010, the core stopped rising, having reached the 38th floor, and was reconfigured for further construction.
By mid-November 2010, the third core had reached the 68th floor (rising approximately 235 metres), with the tower's steel reaching the 40th floor and cladding enveloping a third of the building. In late November, it passed the 235 metres (771 ft) mark, ending One Canada Square
's 18-year reign as Britain's tallest building.
August 2011 saw steady progress in construction, with cladding enveloping more than half the building's exterior. Pouring of the concrete floors reached the 67th floor, and progression on the tower's cladding reached the 58th floor. By mid-August, the core box had been removed. By September 19, 2011, the tower's steel was approaching the height of the completed core, reaching almost 244 metres (800.5 ft). On September 24, a final crane – the tallest ever built in Britain – was erected to install the skyscraper's upper spire. The spire was pre-fabricated and pre-assembled based upon 3D models, and underwent a "test run" in Yorkshire
before being lifted onto the building itself.
- >
- >Timeline of construction
-
- >
-
- >
- > Core level Date Core level Date Core level Date
-
- > Floor 1
28 Jan 2010
Floor 26
19 May 2010
Floor 50
22 Sep 2010
-
- > Floor 2
30 Jan 2010
Floor 27
21 May 2010
Floor 51
22 Sep 2010
-
- > Floor 3
2 Feb 2010
Floor 28
22 May 2010
Floor 52
24 Sep 2010
-
- > Floor 4
3 Feb 2010
Floor 29
28 May 2010
Core split 2
-
- > Floor 5
4 Feb 2010
Floor 30
7 Jun 2010
Floor 53
18 Oct 2010
-
- > Floor 6
6 Feb 2010
Floor 31
18 Jun 2010
Floor 54
19 Oct 2010
-
- > Floor 7
9 Feb 2010
Floor 32
19 Jun 2010
Floor 55
22 Oct 2010
-
- > Floor 8
12 Feb 2010
Floor 33
2 Jul 2010
Floor 56
27 Oct 2010
-
- > Floor 9
13 Feb 2010
Floor 34
8 Jul 2010
Floor 57
29 Oct 2010
-
- > Floor 10
17 Feb 2010
Floor 35
14 Jul 2010
Floor 58
4 Nov 2010
-
- > Floor 11
19 Feb 2010
Floor 36
17 Jul 2010
Floor 59
5 Nov 2010
-
- > Floor 12
20 Feb 2010
Floor 37
27 Jul 2010
Floor 60
6 Nov 2010
-
- > Floor 13
24 Feb 2010
Floor 38
7 Sep 2010
Floor 61
9 Nov 2010
-
- > Floor 14
24 Feb 2010
Core split 1
Floor 62
13 Nov 2010
-
- > Floor 15
25 Feb 2010
Floor 39
8 Sep 2010
Floor 63
15 Nov 2010
-
- > Floor 16
26 Feb 2010
Floor 40
9 Sep 2010
Floor 64
17 Nov 2010
-
- > Floor 17
2 Mar 2010
Floor 41
10. Sep 2010
Floor 65
18 Nov 2010
-
- > Floor 18
3 Mar 2010
Floor 42
11 Sep 2010
Floor 66
19 Nov 2010
-
- > Floor 19
6 Mar 2010
Floor 43
11 Sep 2010
Floor 67
23 Nov 2010
-
- > Floor 20
15 Mar 2010
Floor 44
14 Sep 2010
Floor 68
24 Nov 2010
-
- > Floor 21
11 May 2010
Floor 45
15 Sep 2010
Floor 69
26 Nov 2010
-
- > Floor 22
13 May 2010
Floor 46
16 Sep 2010
Floor 70
13 Dec 2010
-
- > Floor 23
14 May 2010
Floor 47
17 Sep 2010
Floor 71
Jan 2011
-
- > Floor 24
15 May 2010
Floor 48
18 Sep 2010
Floor 72
Jan 2011
-
- > Floor 25
18 May 2010
Floor 49
21 Sep 2010
-
-
's Commerzbank Tower
, which at 259 m (850 ft) had held the record since 1997. The Commerzbank has since been surpassed in height by three Moscow skyscrapers, Triumph-Palace
, Naberezhnaya Tower
, and The City of Capitals
, all of which will in turn be surpassed by the Shard tower. However, in 2005, construction started on a skyscraper in Moscow that will rise higher than the Shard, the Mercury City Tower
. The Federation Tower East
, under construction, was intended to be higher than the Shard but has now been put on hold. Nevertheless, if it is completed on schedule the Shard London Bridge will become the tallest building in the European Union. It may eventually be surpassed by the Hermitage Plaza building (323 metres) planned for La Défense
in Paris
.
Another London skyscraper under construction, the Bishopsgate Tower
, was originally proposed to exceed the height of the Shard by one metre. However, because of concerns from the Civil Aviation Authority
, the height of the Bishopsgate Tower
was later reduced to 288 m.
Ltd has been contracted to landscape the entire site of London Bridge quarter. The design hopes to marry the multi-level site into a usable and functional area incorporating rail services, bus links and a taxi rank in a safe, pedestrian-friendly area.
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. When completed in May 2012, it will be the tallest building in the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and the 45th-tallest building in the world, standing 310 m (1,017 ft) tall. It will also be the second-tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, after the 330 m (1,083 ft) Emley Moor transmitting station
Emley Moor transmitting station
The Emley Moor transmitting station is a telecommunications and broadcasting facility on 'Emley Moor' to the west of the village of Emley, in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England . The station's most visible feature is its concrete tower, which is a Grade II listed building...
.
Shard London Bridge replaced Southwark Towers
Southwark Towers
Southwark Towers was a high rise building at 32 London Bridge Street, designed by tp bennett architects, overlooking London Bridge station, in Southwark, London. It was 100 metres tall and had 25 floors in three wings...
, a 24-storey office building constructed on the site in 1976. Renzo Piano
Renzo Piano
Renzo Piano is an Italian architect. He is the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, AIA Gold Medal, Kyoto Prize and the Sonning Prize...
, the building's architect, worked together with the architectural firm Broadway Malyan
Broadway Malyan
Broadway Malyan is an international architecture, urbanism and design practice with fifteen offices worldwide. Established in 1958, the company has been ranked as one of the top 25 architectural practices in the world....
during the planning stage of the project. The tower will have 72 habitable floors, plus 15 further radiator floors in the roof. The building has been designed with an irregular triangular shape from the base to the top, and will be clad entirely in glass. A viewing gallery and open-air observation deck – the UK's highest – will be located on the 72nd floor.
Planning
The Shard was designed in 2000 by Renzo PianoRenzo Piano
Renzo Piano is an Italian architect. He is the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, AIA Gold Medal, Kyoto Prize and the Sonning Prize...
, an Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
architect best known for creating Paris’ Pompidou Centre in collaboration with Britain’s Richard Rogers
Richard Rogers
Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside CH Kt FRIBA FCSD is a British architect noted for his modernist and functionalist designs....
.
That year, the London-based entrepreneur Irvine Sellar decided to redevelop Southwark Towers
Southwark Towers
Southwark Towers was a high rise building at 32 London Bridge Street, designed by tp bennett architects, overlooking London Bridge station, in Southwark, London. It was 100 metres tall and had 25 floors in three wings...
, a 1970s-era office block located next to London Bridge station
London Bridge station
London Bridge railway station is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex in the London Borough of Southwark, occupying a large area on two levels immediately south-east of London Bridge and 1.6 miles east of Charing Cross. It is one of the oldest railway stations in the...
, and flew to Berlin in March 2000 to meet Piano for lunch. According to Sellar, the architect spoke of his contempt for tall buildings during the meal, before flipping over the restaurant’s menu and sketching an iceberg
Iceberg
An iceberg is a large piece of ice from freshwater that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice...
-like sculpture emerging from the River Thames. He was inspired by the railway lines next to the site, the London spires depicted by the Venetian
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
painter Canaletto
Canaletto
Giovanni Antonio Canal better known as Canaletto , was a Venetian painter famous for his landscapes, or vedute, of Venice. He was also an important printmaker in etching.- Early career :...
, and the masts of bygone sailing ships.
In July 2002, then-Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott
John Prescott
John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott is a British politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. Born in Prestatyn, Wales, he represented Hull East as the Labour Member of Parliament from 1970 to 2010...
ordered a planning inquiry after the Shard development plans were opposed by local authorities and heritage bodies, including the Royal Parks Foundation
Royal Parks Foundation
The Royal Parks Foundation is a registered charity established in 1993 whose purpose is the protection and preservation of London’s Royal Parks. The charity’s patron is Charles, Prince of Wales.-Deckchair Dreams:...
and English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
. The inquiry took place in April and May 2003, and on 19 November, 2003, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister announced that construction had been approved. The government released a letter stating that:
The developers – CLS Holdings
CLS Holdings
CLS Holdings plc is a large British property business. The Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a former constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
plc, Sellar Property Group, and CN Ltd (acting for the Halabi Family Trust) – secured an interim funding package of £196 million in September 2006 from the Nationwide Building Society
Nationwide Building Society
Nationwide Building Society is a British building society, and is the largest in the world. It has its headquarters in Swindon, England, and maintains significant administration centres in Bournemouth and Northampton...
and Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander
Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander
Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander is a financial services provider offering corporate and investment banking services to small and medium-sized companies, as well as wealth management services for high net worth clients. Primary areas of activity are treasury, investment management, capital markets...
. This enabled them to pay off costs incurred to date, and to buy out the Southwark Towers occupational lease from the tenants, PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest professional services firm measured by revenues and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms....
. Vacant possession of the site was secured a year later, after PricewaterhouseCoopers completed the relocation of their operations.
In September 2007, preparations for the demolition of Southwark Towers began. However, later in the month, turbulence in the financial markets reportedly put the construction phase of the project in jeopardy, threatening to render the whole project an example of the Skyscraper Index
Skyscraper Index
The Skyscraper Index is a concept put forward in January 1999 by Andrew Lawrence, research director at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, which showed that the world's tallest buildings have risen on the eve of economic downturns...
. Later that month, it was reported that the Halabi Family Trust, one of the main backers of the project, had been forced to sell its stake.
In November 2007, building contractor Mace
Mace (company)
Mace Group Ltd, commonly known as Mace, is a global consultancy and construction firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It has operations across 49 countries, offering a variety of services that span the entire property life cycle, from fund monitoring, cost consultancy, design management,...
won the deal to build the Shard at a fixed price of no more than £350m. However, this price increased to almost £435m in October 2008.
In January 2008, it was announced that a consortium of Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
i investors had paid £150m to secure an 80% stake and take control of the project. The new owners promised to provide the first tranche of finance, allowing construction of the tower to begin. The consortium included Qatar National Bank
QNB Group
- External links :* *...
, QInvest, Qatari Islamic Bank and the Qatari developer Barwa Real Estate. The deal involved a buyout of the Halabi and CLS Holdings stakes, and part of the Sellar Property stake. In April 2008, demolition of Southwark Towers was visibly under way, with scaffolding and white sheeting covering the building and by October, Southwark Towers had been substantially reduced in height, and was no longer visible on the skyline. The demolition of Southwark Towers was completed in early 2009, and site preparation began for the construction of the Shard.
In late February 2009, the construction contract with Mace was signed, allowing construction to begin in March.
Architecture
Renzo Piano, the project's architect, compared his design to "a shard of glassGlass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
". He considered the slender, spire-like form of the tower a positive addition to the London skyline, believing that its presence would be far more delicate than opponents of the project alleged. He proposed a sophisticated use of glazing
Glazing
Glazing, which derives from the Middle English for 'glass', is a part of a wall or window, made of glass. Glazing also describes the work done by a professional "glazier"...
, with expressive façades of angled glass panes intended to reflect sunlight and the sky above, so that the appearance of the building will change according to the weather and seasons.
Following the collapse of the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
(WTC) in 2001, architects and structural engineers worldwide began re-evaluating the design of tall structures. The Shard’s early conceptual designs were among the first in the UK to be progressed following the publication of the US National Institute of Standards and Technology
National Institute of Standards and Technology
The National Institute of Standards and Technology , known between 1901 and 1988 as the National Bureau of Standards , is a measurement standards laboratory, otherwise known as a National Metrological Institute , which is a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce...
(NIST) report into the WTC collapse. The building was designed to maintain its stability under the most onerous conditions.
The completed Shard will contain premium office space, a hotel, luxury residences, retail space, restaurants, a 15-storey public viewing gallery, and a spa. A public viewing gallery will be located at the top of the tower, and is expected to draw over two million visitors a year. In addition, a shorter building, known as London Bridge Place, will be built nearby. This will replace the current London Bridge House, and the combined sites will create what will be known as the London Bridge Quarter.
In addition to the tower, there will be major improvements made to London Bridge Tube station
London Bridge station
London Bridge railway station is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex in the London Borough of Southwark, occupying a large area on two levels immediately south-east of London Bridge and 1.6 miles east of Charing Cross. It is one of the oldest railway stations in the...
and the surrounding area. As part of a Section 106 legal agreement, these improvements will include a new public concourse, as well as a public piazza
Piazza
A piazza is a city square in Italy, Malta, along the Dalmatian coast and in surrounding regions. The term is roughly equivalent to the Spanish plaza...
, a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
, and local housing and regeneration programmes.
Planned floor configuration
| Floors | Floor area | Space designation |
|---|---|---|
| 75–87 | Spire | |
| 68–72 | 8159 sq ft (758 m²) | Observatory |
| 53–65 | 62129 sq ft (5,772 m²) | Residential apartments |
| 52 | Spa | |
| 34–52 | 174355 sq ft (16,198 m²) | Shangri-La Hotel Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts runs the Shangri-La, Kerry and Traders brands of hotels.-Companies:*Shangri-La Asia Limited is incorporated in Bermuda with limited liability... |
| 31–33 | 63992 sq ft (5,945 m²) | Restaurants |
| 2–28 | 586509 sq ft (54,488 m²) | Offices |
| 0-1 | 22627 sq ft (2,102 m²) | Lobby |
Source:
2009
In February 2009, a mobile crane and a small piling rig appeared on site. In early March 2009, the crane began putting steel beams into the ground, as part of preparations for the core of the building. Full construction began on 16 March 2009. Demolition work on New London Bridge House started in May 2009, as part of the adjacent London Bridge Place project, which will accompany the Shard. The first steel work went into the Shard's piles on 27 April.Five cranes were used to build the Shard, with four of them 'jumping' with the tower as it rose. Crane 1 was erected on 20 September 2009 and Crane 2 was erected at the beginning of October. By 20 October 2009, steel beams began appearing on site, with concrete being poured at the northern part of the site, ready for Crane 3.
2010
By March 2010, the concrete core was rising steadily at approximately 3 metres (9.8 ft) a day. After a pause in March–April 2010, it continued rising, reaching the 33rd floor in mid-June, almost level with the top of Guy's HospitalGuy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital is a large NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in south east London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It is a large teaching hospital and is home to the King's College London School of Medicine...
, which stands at 143 metres (469.2 ft). The first glass panel was installed on 25 May 2010. On 27 July 2010, the core stopped rising, having reached the 38th floor, and was reconfigured for further construction.
By mid-November 2010, the third core had reached the 68th floor (rising approximately 235 metres), with the tower's steel reaching the 40th floor and cladding enveloping a third of the building. In late November, it passed the 235 metres (771 ft) mark, ending One Canada Square
One Canada Square
One Canada Square is a skyscraper in Canary Wharf in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is the tallest completed building in the United Kingdom since 1991, standing at above ground level and containing 50 storeys...
's 18-year reign as Britain's tallest building.
2011
The Shard's concrete core topped out at the 72nd floor in early 2011, standing at 245 metres (803.8 ft). The early part of January 2011 saw the installation of hydraulic screens, which were used to form the concrete floors of the hotel and apartment section of the tower, and rose with the floors up to the 69th floor. On 25 January 2011, the concrete pumps began pouring the first concrete floor at the 41st floor. By the end of February 2011, concrete flooring had risen to the 46th floor, with a new floor being poured on average every week. The cladding of the structure also progressed, mainly on the tower's "backpack".August 2011 saw steady progress in construction, with cladding enveloping more than half the building's exterior. Pouring of the concrete floors reached the 67th floor, and progression on the tower's cladding reached the 58th floor. By mid-August, the core box had been removed. By September 19, 2011, the tower's steel was approaching the height of the completed core, reaching almost 244 metres (800.5 ft). On September 24, a final crane – the tallest ever built in Britain – was erected to install the skyscraper's upper spire. The spire was pre-fabricated and pre-assembled based upon 3D models, and underwent a "test run" in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
before being lifted onto the building itself.
Timeline of floor construction
Below is a complete list of the dates for when each floor became visible under the concrete core box. Also listed are the intervals during which the core was reconfigured.- >
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Height
The Shard was announced with the hope that it would be the tallest building in Europe, surpassing FrankfurtFrankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
's Commerzbank Tower
Commerzbank Tower
Commerzbank Tower, located in the city centre of Frankfurt, Germany, is the tallest completed skyscraper in the European Union. After it was completed in 1997 it ranked as the tallest skyscraper in Europe until 2005 when it was surpassed by the Triumph-Palace in Moscow...
, which at 259 m (850 ft) had held the record since 1997. The Commerzbank has since been surpassed in height by three Moscow skyscrapers, Triumph-Palace
Triumph-Palace
Triumph-Palace is the name of an apartment building in Moscow. It is sometimes called the Eighth Sister because it is similar in appearance to the Seven Sisters skyscrapers built in Moscow by Joseph Stalin through the 1950s...
, Naberezhnaya Tower
Naberezhnaya Tower
Naberezhnaya Tower, Quay Tower is an office complex consisting of 3 individual office buildings underconnected to each other via a common basement totalling approximately 150,000 square meters of rentable area of office and retail space and located on plot 10 in the International Business Center...
, and The City of Capitals
City of Capitals
The City of Capitals is a multifunctional complex, including two skyscrapers, located on plot 9 in the International Business Center Moscow City in Moscow. The City of Capitals, symbolising Moscow and St. Petersburg, was completed in 2009...
, all of which will in turn be surpassed by the Shard tower. However, in 2005, construction started on a skyscraper in Moscow that will rise higher than the Shard, the Mercury City Tower
Mercury City Tower
Mercury City Tower is a skyscraper currently under construction in Moscow, Russia, located in Moscow International Business Center. Construction started in late 2005, and is planned to be completed by the end of 2011. Upon completion, it will become the tallest building in Europe, standing at ...
. The Federation Tower East
Federation Tower
The Federation Tower is a skyscraper currently under construction as part of the Moscow International Business Center in Moscow, Russia. Construction of the towers began in 2003. When completed it will be the tallest building in Europe. However, the construction stopped for a long while...
, under construction, was intended to be higher than the Shard but has now been put on hold. Nevertheless, if it is completed on schedule the Shard London Bridge will become the tallest building in the European Union. It may eventually be surpassed by the Hermitage Plaza building (323 metres) planned for La Défense
La Défense
La Défense is a major business district of the Paris aire urbaine. With a population of 20,000, it is centered in an orbital motorway straddling the Hauts-de-Seine département municipalities of Nanterre, Courbevoie and Puteaux...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Another London skyscraper under construction, the Bishopsgate Tower
Bishopsgate Tower
The Pinnacle, also known as The Bishopsgate Tower and The Helter-Skelter, is a , 63-storey skyscraper under construction in the centre of London's main financial district, the City of London. It is one of four major towers under construction in London, others being Shard London Bridge, 122...
, was originally proposed to exceed the height of the Shard by one metre. However, because of concerns from the Civil Aviation Authority
Civil Aviation Authority
This is a list of national and supra-national civil aviation authorities.-See also:* Air route authority between the United States and the People's Republic of China* National Transportation Safety Board -External links:****...
, the height of the Bishopsgate Tower
Bishopsgate Tower
The Pinnacle, also known as The Bishopsgate Tower and The Helter-Skelter, is a , 63-storey skyscraper under construction in the centre of London's main financial district, the City of London. It is one of four major towers under construction in London, others being Shard London Bridge, 122...
was later reduced to 288 m.
Records
Project management
Turner & Townsend was designated the project manager for the London Bridge Quarter development. Its involvement covers the Shard and London Bridge Place, and also includes the infrastructure works around London Bridge rail and bus stations.Landscape architecture
Townshend Landscape ArchitectsTownshend Landscape Architects
Townshend Landscape Architects are a London-based Landscape Architecture practice established in 1988 by Robert Townshend. The practice specialises in landscape architecture, masterplanning and urban design in the UK, Europe, Middle East, Far East and South America.Projects of note include More...
Ltd has been contracted to landscape the entire site of London Bridge quarter. The design hopes to marry the multi-level site into a usable and functional area incorporating rail services, bus links and a taxi rank in a safe, pedestrian-friendly area.
See also
- 30 St Mary Axe30 St Mary Axe30 St Mary Axe, the Swiss Re Building , is a skyscraper in London's main financial district, the City of London, completed in December 2003 and opened at the end of May 2004...
- Beetham Tower
- List of tallest buildings and structures in London
- List of tallest buildings and structures in the United Kingdom
- List of tallest buildings in the European Union
- List of tallest buildings in Europe
External links
- London Bridge Quarter website
- The Place, a concurrent adjacent development
- Overview of London Bridge Tower Project by Cliff L'AimableCliff L'AimableCliff L'Aimable is a Chartered Surveyor specialising in UK Building Regulations currently associated to a building control body as authorising signatory to landmark building developments within the regeneration programme being administered by the London Borough of Southwark, such as the Shard...
- Discussions on the tower, with regular news updates
- 'Shard of glass' set to join London skyline (The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, 19 November 2003) - London Bridge Tower Design concept of the Shard London Bridge Tower.
- Official page on the Shangri-La website, the hotel tenants
- Public comments on the tower
- Article describing the demolition and the tower's construction (Building.co.uk, 7 September 2007)
- The London Bridge BID Company
- WSP UK's dedicated page. WSP provides structural engineering services to the Shard of Glass project.
- James Sellar, CEO of Sellar discusses the The Shard of Glass at New London Architecture, 2010(Video)
- Daily Telegraph article
- General information, blog and a gallery of pictures relating to the Shard
- Shardcam – live webcam image
- Computer generated virtual panorama
- Article on pumping water through the building
