The Shard, also known as the Shard London Bridge and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a 95-storey mixed-use supertall pyramid-shaped skyscraper in Southwark, London, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano. Standing 309.6 metres high, it is the tallest building in the United Kingdom and Western Europe and the seventh-tallest building in Europe; construction began in March 2009 and it was inaugurated on 5 July 2012, replacing the 24-storey Southwark Towers office block that had stood on the site since 1975.
Facts
Year Created LocationSouthwark, London, England (The Shard Quarter development) 1 Architectural StylePyramidal supertall skyscraper with an angled glass facade, likened to a shard of glass rising from the Thames 1 Structural SystemPost-tensioned concrete core and composite floors with load-bearing pillars, built by top-down construction 1 Primary MaterialGlass-clad pyramidal tower with 11,000 panes of glass over a concrete core 1 Building TypeMixed-use supertall skyscraper 1 Commissioned BySellar Property Group, developed on behalf of LBQ Ltd 1 Construction Height (metres) Storey Count Current UseMixed-use tower incorporating a 26-floor office complex, restaurants, a hotel and residential apartments 1 Visitor AccessPublic viewing gallery and open-air observation deck (The View from The Shard) on the 72nd floor, opened 1 February 2013 1 In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. The Shard (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section, second paragraph, first sentence
The Shard's construction began in March 2009; it was topped out on 30 March 2012 and inaugurated on 5 July 2012.
Lead section, first paragraph, second sentence
Standing 309.6 metres (1,016 feet) high, The Shard is the tallest building in the United Kingdom and Western Europe; and the seventh-tallest building in Europe.
Lead section, first sentence
The Shard, also referred to as the Shard London Bridge and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a 95-storey mixed-use development supertall pyramid-shaped skyscraper, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, in Southwark, London, that forms part of The Shard Quarter development.
Architecture section, first sentence
Renzo Piano, the project's architect, designed The Shard as a spire-like sculpture emerging from the River Thames.
Architecture section, third paragraph
The building features 11,000 panes of glass, with a total surface area of 602,779 square feet (56,000.0 m2) equivalent to the area of almost eight Wembley football pitches.
Architecture section, fourth paragraph
The building is designed to maintain its stability under very onerous conditions, with its post-tensioned concrete and composite floors, load-bearing pillars, and tapering shape giving it a sway tolerance of 400 millimetres (16 in).
Lead section, second paragraph, final sentence
The Shard was developed by Sellar Property Group on behalf of LBQ Ltd and is jointly owned by Sellar Property (5%) and the State of Qatar (95%).
Lead section, second paragraph, third sentence
The tower's privately operated observation deck, The View from The Shard, was opened to the public on 1 February 2013.
Initial tenants section, second paragraph, first sentence
In February 2013, The Sunday Times reported that the developers of The Shard were in negotiations to secure the first tenants of the building's 26 floors of office space.
Genre reference
The Shard, also known as the Shard London Bridge and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a 95-storey mixed-use supertall pyramid-shaped skyscraper in Southwark, London, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano.
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