Shard London Bridge

Shard London Bridge, previously known as London Bridge Tower, and also known as the Shard of Glass, 32 London Bridge and The Shard, is a skyscraper under construction in Southwark, London. When completed in 2012, it will be the tallest building in the European Union and the 45th tallest building in the world. It is the second tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom after the 1,084 ft (330.4m) Emley Moor transmitting station.

The building replaces Southwark Towers, a 24-storey office building constructed in 1976. Renzo Piano, the building's architect, worked together with architectural firm Broadway Malyan during the planning stage of the project. The tower will stand tall and have 72 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. It will be clad entirely in glass. The viewing gallery and open-air observation deck will be on the top (72nd) floor.

History

The Shard was designed in 2000 by Renzo Piano, the Italian architect best known for creating Paris’s Pompidou Centre of modern art with Britain’s Richard Rogers.The London entrepreneur Irvine Sellar had decided to redevelop Southwark Towers, a 1970s office block next to London Bridge station, and flew to Berlin in March 2000 to meet Piano for lunch. According to...
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