Shard London Bridge
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This article contains information about expected future buildings or structures. Some or all of this information may be speculative, and the content may change as building construction begins. |
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| The Shard / London Bridge Tower | |
|---|---|
| Preceded by | Southwark Towers |
| Information | |
| Location | 32 London Bridge Street, London, UK |
| Status | Under Construction |
| Height | |
| Antenna/Spire | 310 m (1,017 ft) |
| Roof | 306 m (1,004 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 87 (Including Radiator floors) |
| Floor area | 111,400 m2 (1,199,000 sq ft) |
| Companies | |
| Architect | Renzo Piano |
| Structural Engineer | Arup (up to Planning Approval Stage, also building services), WSP Cantor Seinuk (from Planning Approval Stage) |
| Contractor | Mace |
| Developer | Sellar Property Group |
Shard London Bridge, also known as London Bridge Tower, the Shard of Glass, 32 London Bridge and The Shard is a supertall skyscraper under construction in Southwark, London. When completed in 2012 it will be the tallest building in the United Kingdom and one of the tallest buildings in Europe.
It would replace Southwark Towers, a 24-storey office building which was completed in 1976. The tower would stand at 310 m (1,017 ft) tall and have 72 floors, plus 15 further radiator floors in the roof, making it the tallest building in the country. Renzo Piano, the building's architect, worked together with architectural firm Broadway Malyan during the planning stage of the project. After a lengthy public inquiry, the collaboration successfully achieved its objective, and the developers were granted full planning permission in November 2003.
The Shard was announced with the hope that it would be the tallest building in Europe on completion, surpassing Frankfurt's Commerzbank Tower, which at 259 m (850 ft) had been the tallest building in Europe since 1997. The Commerzbank has since been surpassed in height by two Moscow skyscrapers, Triumph-Palace and Naberezhnaya Tower, both of which the Shard tower would, in turn, surpass. However, since 2000, construction has started on three skyscrapers in Moscow that will rise higher than the Shard tower, including the 612 m (2,008 ft) Russia Tower that is now on hold. Even though the Russia Tower is on hold the other two, the Federation Tower East and the Mercury City Tower are still scheduled to be completed before the Shard. Still, if completed on schedule, the Shard London Bridge may become the tallest building in the European Union.
Another London skyscraper, the Bishopsgate Tower, was submitted for planning permission in London and was originally proposed to exceed the height by one metre. However, the scheduled height of the Bishopsgate Tower has now been reduced, so Shard London Bridge could once again become London's tallest occupied building if construction goes ahead. By way of comparison, Britain's tallest free-standing structure is the Emley Moor tower at 330.4 m (1,084 ft), and the tallest man-made structure of any kind in Britain (and the EU) is the Belmont mast at 385 m (1,260 ft).
Renzo Piano, the project's architect, has compared his design to "a shard of glass" – he considers the slender, spire-like form of the tower a positive addition to the London skyline and believes that its presence will be far more delicate than opponents of the scheme allege. He proposes a sophisticated use of glazing, with expressive facades of angled panes intended to reflect light and the changing patterns of the sky, so that the form of the building will change according to the weather and seasons.[citation needed][1]
In addition to the tower, there would be major improvements to London Bridge station and the surrounding area. As part of a Section 106 legal agreement, these would include a new concourse and public piazza, affordable housing and regeneration programmes.[2] A new museum would also be built.
A hotel, to be operated by Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts as their first European location, would be expected to take up around a fifth of the available space in the tower. A large pre-let for office space in the tower has been agreed in principle by Transport for London.
Data derived from the World Trade Center (WTC) collapse has resulted in a re-evaluation of the design of tall structures now being built globally. 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 will be designed to maintain its stability under the most onerous conditions.[3]
Another notable feature of the building would be a public viewing gallery at the top. This would be 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.
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[edit] Financing and site preparation
Work was expected to begin in 2005. However, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the firm who held a long-term lease on Southwark Towers, was not willing to vacate for some time and remained in the building until August 2007.
In September 2007, preparations for the demolition of Southwark Towers[4] had begun, but later in the month, turbulence in the financial markets was reported to have put the construction phase of the project into jeopardy.[5]
In late September 2007, it was reported that the Halabi Family Trust (one of the main backers of the project along with CLS Holdings and Sellar Property Group) was going to be forced to sell its stake.[6]
In November 2007, building contractor Mace won the deal to build the Shard at a fixed price of no more than £350m. Their price increased by almost £85m in October 2008.[7]
In January 2008, it was announced that a consortium of Qatari 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, meaning construction of the tower could begin. The consortium included Qatar National Bank, QInvest, Qatari Islamic Bank and the Qatari developer, one of the largest in the region, Barwa Real Estate. The deal involved a buyout of the Halabi and CLS Holdings stakes, and part of the Sellar Property stake.[8]
In April 2008, demolition of Southwark Towers was visibly underway, with scaffolding and white sheeting covering the building.[9]
By October 2008, Southwark Towers had been substantially reduced in height, and was no longer visible on the skyline.
In early 2009, demolition of Southwark Towers was complete, and site preparation began for construction.
In late February 2009, the construction contract with Mace was signed, allowing construction to commence in March.
[edit] Construction
In February 2009, a mobile crane and a small piling rig appeared on site. In early March the small 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, with the first piling rig on site. Piles have already been sunk 60m below street level. Demolition work on the New London Bridge House site commenced in May 2009. The latter is an adjacent project to accompany the Shard London Bridge. The first steel work went into the piles on 27 April.
5 Cranes are to be used to build the project, with 3 of them 'jumping' with the tower as it rises. The first crane is expected to be erected in September 2009. The concrete core is expected to begin rising towards the end of the year, and completion is planned for May 2012.
[edit] See also
- 30 St Mary Axe
- Beetham Tower
- Southwark
- Tall buildings in London
- List of tallest buildings and structures in the United Kingdom
[edit] Notes
- ^ Kenneth Powell: New London Architecture. Merrel, 2003. ISBN: 1 85894 232-2
- ^ Greater London Authority
- ^ Getting to the point: The Shard of Glass building
- ^ ‘Imagine that you are on level 80 and you want a sandwich. How long will that take you?’ - Building
- ^ London's tallest skyscraper grounded by global credit crunch - Telegraph
- ^ Shard bankers give Halabi 10 days to sell - Business News, Business - Independent.co.uk
- ^ Mace's price for Shard rises by almost £85m Building, 17 October 2008
- ^ FT.com / Companies / UK - Qataris back London's 'Shard'
- ^ Cleveland Bridge favourite for Shard of Glass steel prize
[edit] References
- Powell, Kenneth; "New London Architecture", (2001, Hugh Merell, London), pp. 218–219.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Overview of London Bridge Tower Project-Cliff L'Aimable
- Discussions on the tower, with regular news updates
- Skyscrapernews.com page on the Shard
- 'Shard of glass' set to join London skyline (The Guardian, 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 Group's dedicated page. WSP Group provides structural engineering services to the Shard of Glass project.
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