The Shard pierces the London skyline

London is now officially home to the tallest building in Europe. The Shard stands 310 metres (1,016 feet) high in the heart of the city, on the South bank of the river, between London Bridge and Tower Bridge.

It towers over the local landscape, noticeably puncturing the skyline whilst other buildings are dwarfed in comparison.

Even 30, St. Mary Axe (the Gherkin to most), a newcomer to the city skyline, now seems to blend in with the rest of the older buildings as this newcomer towers over all.

Everyone watched the news and read the papers when the Shard was officially opened – but there are lots of facts that are perhaps lesser-known, yet make the Shard even more interesting.

  1. The concept of a ‘vertical city’ led to the imagining of the Shard. Rather than just wanting to create a building which was the tallest in Europe, the developers envisaged a space that had a variety of spaces within: of the accessible floors, 27 are used for offices, 3 for restaurants (that’s 3 floors devoted entirely to restaurants!), 18 floors are part of the five-star Shangri-La hotel, and 13 are used for residences. Then there are 2 service floors, with 5 floors used for observation. The final 23 floors are taken up by the spire. The variety of occupants mean it is possible to live, work and socialise in the same building.
  2. The Shard was initially designed on a restaurant menu. Renzo Piano, the architect responsible for envisioning the Shard, has also created other stunning feats of architecture such as the Pompidou Centre in Paris, Potsdamer Platz in Berlin and the New York Times Building, surprisingly in New York City. When meeting with The Sellar Group to discuss the potential project, Piano sketched out rough designs on the back of the restaurant menu. It’s possible that these designs weren’t the ones used as architectural blueprints.
  3. The Shard incorporates some of the most advanced architectural technology into its revolutionary design. Specialist building design and analysis software was used to create a safe and stable frame, which allows the Shard to move up to 20 inches in high winds. This is despite having a thick concrete core which houses emergency escape routes and firefighter lift shafts. Steel tendons, kept taut with large hydraulic jacks, stabilise the higher levels.
    View from The Shard
  4. The design of the building is environmentally-friendly: a staggering 95% of construction materials used were recycled. The Shard’s energy efficiency is boosted thanks to triple-glazed glass, with a layer of sun shielding glass sandwiched between the inner and outer sheets.
  5. The blind control system automatically adjusts itself throughout the day, ensuring shade is only used when and where necessary. The panes in the outer layer of glass contain low levels of iron, creating a highly reflective surface that limits heat build-up, and adds a shine to the building. These external panes do not meet, which create constant airflow that naturally regulates the Shard’s internal temperature.
  6. There have already been some more unusual visitors to the Shard: there have been at least four instances where BASE jumpers have bypassed security, and in February 2011, Romeo the fox was discovered on the 72nd floor of the Shard. He was surviving on food scraps left by construction workers, as apparently he couldn’t reach the buttons in the lift to get back down.
  7. Cleaning of the Shard will be done manually – scary enough considering there are 11,000 panes of glass. But spare a thought for the window cleaner who was left dangling outside the 72nd floor (what is it about that floor?) after his cradle developed a fault in high winds, just a few days before the official opening.
  8. Finally, one of the most important, yet overlooked, aspects of the Shard: just how do you flush a toilet that is 1,000 feet up? The pressure needed to force water that high would be around 25 Bars: normal high-rise buildings require about 16 Bars (the industry maximum). The Shard houses a series of pumps and tanks which allow the water to be pumped up in stages – pump rooms are on the 21st, 51s and 68th floors, allowing the water pressure to be reset, and eliminating the risk of high-pressure water damaging pipework.