2. Building work on the 95 storey
Shard started in March 2009.
The Shard was built to replace
Southwark Towers in South
London, a 24-storey office
building built on the site in
1975.
The Shard is a mix of
offices, apartments and a
luxury hotel.
The building of the Shard
finished in July 2012.
http://thehelpfulengineer.com/index.php/2012/0
7/the-tallest-building-in-europe-for-the-
moment-the-shard/
3. The Shard has a striking
appearance as it looks like
a shard of glass and it is
also the tallest building in
Western Europe. It stands
at 310m high on the South
Bank and has become one
of London’s iconic
buildings.
http://www.google.ch/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=london+sky+line+including
+the+Shard&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=cigOLRTvdrcfXM&t
bnid=brv5-
VZV5GAkdM:&ved=0CAQQjB0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theartworldda
ily.com%2F2012%2F01%2F27%2Fthe-london-skyline-gains-a-renzo-
piano%2F&ei=CkIzUbuoJcaEhQehiYGADg&bvm=bv.43148975,d.ZG4&p
sig=AFQjCNFb77rKXTFJUyT_cfWx4SjdvWdmLA&ust=13624001339535
94
4. The first concept of the Shard was
created in a Berlin restaurant in
2000 by Renzo Piano.
Financial problems back in 2007
delayed the building of the Shard at
the start of its development.
Construction on the Shard would not
have been completed, if it were not
for some wealthy financial bankers
3,000 miles away in Doha, Qatar.
5. It has 11,000 glass panels.
Although the tallest building
in Western Europe, it is only
the 66th tallest building in
the world.
English Heritage opposed the
project, claiming the tower
will disrupt views of other
London landmarks such as
St.Pauls Cathedral. English
Heritage once stated that it
would “tear through historic
London like a shard of glass”
coining the now famous
nickname.
http://www.emirates247.com/entertainment/even
ts/europe-s-tallest-skyscraper-the-shard-
launched-in-london-2012-07-06-1.466070
7. The architect who designed The Paris’s
the Shard is called Renzo
Piano. Pompidou Centre
He also designed buildings
such as Paris’s Pompidou
Centre, the NEMO science
museum in Amsterdam and
the New York Times
building in Midtown
Manhattan
http://www.google.ch/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=Paris+Pompidou+Centre&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=1xP3dSZnZuZh5M&tbnid
=xykc7-P0KY8QvM:&ved=0CAQQjB0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gothereguide.com%2Fpompidou%2Bcentre%2Bparis-
place%2F&ei=v-
YsUZeyG8eLhQfA8ICYDg&bvm=bv.42965579,d.bGE&psig=AFQjCNH5cps6eL14ZLyYaTeDtJLGat677A&ust=1361982734442761
