I) The Shard : a new way of building skyscrapers
A) The historical context of the project
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| The Shard |
The Shard has a pyramidal shape and it is entirely clad with glass.
2) The Architect and his architectural drawings :
Renzo Piano is a famous Italian architect who was born in an architect family in 1937 in Genoa.
His main constructions are: the Georges Pompidou Center in Paris, the New-York Times building in the USA, the International City in Lyon …
He became really famous thanks to the construction of the Shard.
In 2000, Renzo Piano met Irvine Sellar, a British entrepreneur and businessman, to present him his project. During this meeting, Piano made a first drawing of what was to become The Shard.
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| The first drawing of Renzo Piano |
Drawing the tower, Piano told Sellar : “Here, there will have hotels, offices, restaurants…”.
This architect absolutely wanted his project to have a church steeple form or a ship mast form. He chose the name of the tower by chance.
B) The project site
- Geographical framework
Southwark is one of the oldest boroughs of central London. Its area covers 4,000 sqm and it is located near The Thames (the river that crosses London). It was a very marshy area in the past.
At the end of the 19th century and in the early 20th century, some areas of London, among which Southwark, were hardly inhabitable. But the population got used to the place little by little.
Moreover, the number of people living there has never been so high (more than 250,000 people).
Today, this area plays an important role in London because it is a very influent business borough. Indeed, it is near the economic sector of Canary Wharf. There are many historical monuments and the City Hall there. Therefore, Southwark is a very touristic area, nearly 10 millions tourists visit it every year. It is located in the heart of London and its red brick houses offer one of the most iconic and traditional views on English architecture.
- Story of the project
After a long cooling-off period, the final site for the Shard had to be chosen. It had to correspond to many selection criteria such as visibility and accessibility of the tower. The architect Renzo Piano and his staff of the Broadway Malyan society decided to build the tower in the borough of Southwark and more precisely in London Bridge Street.
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| The London Bridge Station |
The Shard is near:
- London Bridge Station, an underground station and a bus station which are the means of transportation the most used by workers and tourists.
- historical monuments: Southwark Cathedral, Tower Bridge and the Tower of London which attract many tourists.
- The City Hall
- Schools: Guy’s Campus at Kings' College London, and two elementary schools.
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| King's College London |
C) Role of the tower
The Shard was built to minimize journey times, reduce traffic densities, offer people more free time and the city more space and less pollution.
The tower has different functions depending on the floors :
- Floor 1 : There is the reception of the tower.
- Floors 2 to 28 : The Shard is a workplace which offers an exceptional working environment for international societies.
- Floors 31 to 33 : This tower has a diverse range of restaurants. But the world-renowned restaurants and the fantastic view in London create a world-class dining experience. The centerpiece of the three floors offers a beautiful glass atrium.
- Floors 34 to 52 : The Shangri-La Hotel is the hotel in The Shard. It has 5 star service for 200 rooms, with gymnasium, pool and restaurants available.
- Floors 53 to 65 : There are beautiful apartments with a wonderful view.
- Floors 68 to 72 : An observatory offers spectacular 360 degree view on across the capital opened on last 1st of February. It is the highest point in Western Europe. Visitors have the feeling of being in the sky.
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| The different function of floors |
D) Funds of the project
The building of the tower was very costly, so the architect had to find dependable investors. But in 2007, these investors abandoned the project. Everything was cancelled but in 2008, Qatar got interested in saving the project for a tower. This very rich country wants to invest in Europe. To start the construction, Qatar spent £150 millions.
The main banks that financed the building are: the Qatar National Bank, Quinverst, the Qatari Islamic Bank and the Qatari developer Barwa Reel Estate.
This project cost £450 millions (560 millions €).
The Royal Family of the Qatar well intends to harvest many benefits.
It trusts the mayor of London for it, although this plan is a long-term investment.
During an interview, the spokesperson of a Qatari Bank said that his bank was very glad to participate in the realization of this immense building which would give an important impulsion to local economy.
The Qatar remains persuaded of the total success of the tower. 
E) Chronology of work
2009 : After the destruction of the Southwark Tower, the building work could begin. The construction started in March 2009.
At the end of March, beams and concrete were settled. For the first time, a new type of elevator was used during the construction of the Shard. It was à “Jump lift”, a self-climbing elevator.
2010 : One year after the beginning of the construction, the tower grew 3 meters a day !
In July 2010, the 38th floor of the concrete structure - “The Core”- could be seen.
At the end of that year, this structure in concrete measured 235 meters high (68th floor).
2011 : At the beginning of 2011, the core was 72th floor high. Floors in concrete were visible. In July, half of the tower was covered with glasses. In September, the core was finished, it measured 244 meters high. There wasn’t a high enough crane to finish the top of the tower, so a very high-tech common crane was requiered. It was the largest crane never known in the United Kingdom. It was fixed at the top of the core !
The top of the tower had been built entirely on the ground, before being lifted onto the building. Then the two parts were fixed.
2012 : The building of the tower was finished on March 30th 2012. On July 5th 2012, The Shard was inaugurated with the prime minister of the Qatar, M Hamad Ben Jassim Al Than. There were a lot of festivities and a sound and light show.
Now, The Shard is the biggest tower of Europe. It exceeds the Commerzbank Tower of Francfort in Germany which was the biggest until then.
Now, The Shard is the biggest tower of Europe. It exceeds the Commerzbank Tower of Francfort in Germany which was the biggest until then.
2013: Opening of the Observatory on February 1st so as to have an incredible view on London.
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