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The Shard

Coordinates: 51°30′16″N 0°5′12″W / 51.50444°N 0.08667°W / 51.50444; -0.08667
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Shard London Bridge
File:Shard London Bridge Complete.jpg
Artist's impression of how the building will appear upon completion
Map
General information
LocationSouthwark, London, UK
Estimated completionMay 2012
Height
Antenna spire1,017 ft (310 m)
Roof1,003 ft (306 m)
Technical details
Floor count87 (Including radiator floors), 72 (habitable)
Floor area1,200,000 sq ft (110,000 m2)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Renzo Piano
DeveloperSellar Property Group
EngineerTurner & Townsend (Project Managers), Arup (Building Services), WSP Cantor Seinuk (Structural Engineers), Robert Bird Group (concrete temporary works) Ischebeck Titan on most floors 40+ for concrete support

Shard London Bridge, previously known as London Bridge Tower,[1][2] and also known as the Shard of Glass,[3][4] 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 tower will stand 1,017 ft (310 m) 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.

The building replaces Southwark Towers, a 24-storey office building of 1976. Renzo Piano, the building's architect, worked together with architectural firm Broadway Malyan during the planning stage of the project.

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 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.[5] He was inspired by the railway lines next to the site, the London spires of Venetian painter Canaletto and the sailing masts of the capital's past.[6]

In July 2002, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott ordered a planning enquiry after the development plans were opposed by local authorities and heritage bodies, including the Royal Parks Foundation and English Heritage.[7][8] The enquiry took place in April and May 2003.[9][10] On 19 November 2003 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister announced that construction had been approved.[11] The Government released a letter stating that:

"Mr Prescott would only approve skyscrapers of exceptional design. For a building of this size to be acceptable, the quality of its design is critical. He [Mr Prescott] is satisfied that the proposed tower is of the highest architectural quality."

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.[12] Vacant possession of the site was secured a year later, after PwC completed the relocation of their operations.

In September 2007, preparations for the demolition of Southwark Towers[13] 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,[14] threatening to render the whole project into 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 along with CLS Holdings and Sellar Property Group) was going to be forced to sell its stake.[15]

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.[16]

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 Barwa Real Estate. The deal involved a buyout of the Halabi and CLS Holdings stakes, and part of the Sellar Property stake.[17] In April 2008, demolition of Southwark Towers was visibly under way, with scaffolding and white sheeting covering the building[18] 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 construction.[citation needed]

In late February 2009, the construction contract with Mace was signed, allowing construction to begin in March.[citation needed]

Architecture

File:Shard London Bridge night and day.jpg
Three superimposed images showing how the Shard may appear at different times during the day

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][19]

Data derived from the World Trade Center (WTC) collapse have 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.[20]

Another feature of the building will be a public viewing gallery at the top, 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 to London Bridge station and the surrounding area. As part of a Section 106 legal agreement (close to £50 million), these will include a new concourse and public piazza, housing and regeneration programmes.[21] A museum will also be built.

Planned configuration

[22]

Floors Space Space designation
Floors 75-87 Spire (Plant Floors)
Floors 68-72 8,159 sq ft (758.0 m2) Viewing gallery and open air observation deck
Floors 53-65 62,129 sq ft (5,772.0 m2) Residential apartments
Floors 52 Spa
Floors 34-50 174,355 sq ft (16,198.1 m2) Shangri-La Hotel[23]
Floors 31-33 63,992 sq ft (5,945.1 m2) Restaurants and viewing gallery
Floors 4-28 586,509 sq ft (54,488.5 m2) Office space
Level 1-3 22,627 sq ft (2,102.1 m2) Lobby

Construction

Shard London Bridge, 1 January 2011

In February 2009, a mobile crane and a small piling rig appeared on site. In early March 2009, 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. 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.

Five cranes are to be used to build the project, with four of them 'jumping' with the tower as it rises. Crane 1 was erected on 20 September 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.

By March 2010, the concrete core was rising steadily at approximately 3 metres a day.[24] After a pause in March–April 2010, it continued rising, reaching approximately the 33rd floor in mid-June, almost level with the top of Guy's Hospital, which stands at 143 m. The first glass panel was installed on 25 May 2010.[25] On 27 July 2010 the core stopped rising as it had reached level 38 and needed to be reconfigured.[26]

By mid-November 2010, the third core had reached level 68 (approx 235 m) with steel reaching level 40 and cladding enveloping a third of the building. In late November, it passed the 235 metres (771 ft) mark, relieving One Canada Square in Canary Wharf of its 18-year reign as Britain's tallest building.[27][28]

The concrete core has now topped out at level 72, standing at 245 metres (804 ft).

Below is a complete list of the dates for when each floor became visible under the core box. Also shown are the "intervals" where the core was reconfigured[29]:

  • Construction in June 2009
    Construction in June 2009
  • Construction in February 2010
    Construction in February 2010
  • Construction in July 2010
    Construction in July 2010
  • Construction in August 2010
    Construction in August 2010
  • Construction in late September 2010
    Construction in late September 2010
  • Construction in early October 2010
    Construction in early October 2010
  • Construction in late October 2010
    Construction in late October 2010
  • Construction in early November 2010
    Construction in early November 2010
  • The Shard in late November 2010
    The Shard in late November 2010
  • Construction in late December 2010
    Construction in late December 2010

Height

The Shard was announced with the hope that it would be the tallest building in Europe, surpassing Frankfurt's Commerzbank Tower, which at 259 m (850 ft) had held the record since 1997. The Commerzbank has since been surpassed in height by two Moscow skyscrapers, Triumph-Palace and Naberezhnaya Tower, both of which will in their 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.[30] 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.

Another London skyscraper under construction, the Bishopsgate Tower, was originally proposed to exceed the height by one metre. However, because of concerns from the Civil Aviation Authority,[citation needed] the height of the Bishopsgate Tower has been reduced to 288 m.

Tallest Building in The United Kingdom

Preceded by Succeeded by
One Canada Square None

Project management

Turner & Townsend is project manager across the entire London Bridge Quarter development. Its involvement covers The Shard and London Bridge Place and includes the infrastructure works around London Bridge rail and bus stations.[citation needed]

Landscape architecture

Townshend Landscape Architects 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 the rail services, bus links and taxi rank in a safe, pedestrian-friendly area.[citation needed]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ London Bridge Tower, London. Design Build Network. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
  2. ^ "Shard funding crisis: Tower finances cast shadow over project". World Architecture News. 10 September 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
  3. ^ Bar-Hillel, Mira (24 February 2009). "£28bn Shard of Glass to start its ascent". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
  4. ^ "Work starts on Shard of Glass". New Civil Engineer. 2 April 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
  5. ^ Bourke, Chris (20 January 2010). Shard Developer Sellar to Seek Highest Office Rents Since 1980s. Bloomberg (New York). Retrieved 2010-07-07.
  6. ^ "Why do tall buildings have such silly names?". BBC News Online. 26 November 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  7. ^ Milmo, Cahal (25 July 2002). "London's 'Shard of Glass' must face public inquiry". The Independent. London. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
  8. ^ 'The Shard' set to change the London skyline. Londonoffices.com. Press release. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
  9. ^ Weaver, Matt (15 April 2003). "Battle begins for London Bridge Tower". The Guardian. London.
  10. ^ Sudjic, Deyan (18 May 2003). "Sold down the river". The Observer. London.
  11. ^ Weaver, Matt (19 November 2003). "'Shard of glass' set to join London skyline". The Guardian. London.
  12. ^ "Shard construction moves closer with £196 million deal". London SE1 Community Website. 19 September 2006. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
  13. ^ Lane, Thomas (2007). "'Imagine that you are on level 80 and you want a sandwich. How long will that take you?'". Building. No. 36. London.
  14. ^ Monaghan, Angela (17 September 2007). "London's tallest skyscraper grounded by global credit crunch". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  15. ^ Fortson, Danny (18 September 2007). "Shard bankers give Halabi 10 days to sell". The Independent. London.
  16. ^ Richardson, Sarah; McMeeken, Roxane (17 October 2008). "Mace's price for Shard rises by almost £85m". Building. London.
  17. ^ Thomas, Daniel (23 January 2008). "Qataris back London's 'Shard'". Financial Times. London.
  18. ^ Rogers, David (2 April 2008). "Cleveland Bridge favourite for Shard of Glass steel prize". Construction News. London.
  19. ^ Kenneth Powell: New London Architecture. Merrel, 2003. ISBN 1 85894 232-2
  20. ^ Getting to the point: The Shard of Glass building
  21. ^ Greater London Authority
  22. ^ http://www.shardlondonbridge.com/downloads/brochure/LBQ_book_final.pdf
  23. ^ London Bridge Quarter Brochure. Page 54 (September 2008). Retrieved 2010-12-13
  24. ^ In Pictures: The Shard Rises Damnably Fast.
  25. ^ Shard / London Bridge Tower | Southwark | 309m | 72 fl | U/C - Page 512. SkyscraperCity (25 May 2010). Retrieved 2010-07-07.
  26. ^ Kennett, Stephen (30 April 2010). "The Shard: Foot of the mountain". Building (London). Retrieved 2010-07-07.
  27. ^ Glancey, Jonathan (23 November 2010). "Shard to become EU's tallest building – but will the market follow it up?". The Guardian. London.
  28. ^ "Shard Overtakes One Canada Square". skyscrapernews.com. 23 November 2010.
  29. ^ Skyscrapercity.com. [1]. Retrieved 27-12-2010.
  30. ^ http://en.mercury-city.com/NEWS/2010/11/16/NEWS_40.html

References

  • Powell, Kenneth; "New London Architecture", (2001, Hugh Merell, London), pp. 218–219.

51°30′16″N 0°5′12″W / 51.50444°N 0.08667°W / 51.50444; -0.08667

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