In 1998, London-based entrepreneur Irvine Sellar and his partners decided to redevelop the 1970s-era Southwark Towers following a UK government white paper encouraging the development of tall buildings at major transport h… See more

Renzo Piano, the project's architect, designed The Shard as a spire-like sculpture emerging from the River Thames. He was inspired by the railway lines next to the site, the London spires depicted by the 18th-century … See more

For the construction of the skyscraper some path-breaking engineering methods were used, such as top-down construction, where foundations are dug while the core is built up – this was a first for the UK. In February 2… See more

Standing 309.6 metres (1,016 ft) at its highest point, and 308.5 metres (1,012 ft) at the highest point of its steelwork, The Shard became the tallest building in the European Union in December 2011, and the tallest com… See more

The Shard comprises a 26-floor office complex, occupied by 32 companies across 10 business sectors, 3 restaurants—Aqua Shard, Oblix, and Hutong—the five-star Shangri-La The Shard, London hotel, 10 residential … See more