THE ASCENT
London’s Skyline Gets Taller
The London Bridge Tower
| Rising above London is a 72 storey mixed use tower located besides London Bridge Station on the south bank of the river Thames. The station, which combines train, bus and underground lines, is one of the busiest in London with 200,000 users per day. The project is a response to the London Mayor Boris Johnson’s policy of promoting high density development at key transport nodes.Also known as The Shard, the Tower is the tallest building in Western Europe, its crystalline façade transforming the London skyline with a multi-use 310 m (1,016 ft) vertical city of high-quality offices, world-renowned restaurants, the five-star Shangri-La hotel, exclusive residential apartments and the capital’s highest viewing gallery.Well-connected and comprehensively serviced by central London’s transport infrastructure, facilities and amenities, The Shard is a timeless reminder of the power of imagination to inspire change.The View from The Shard is another premium visitor experience at the pinnacle of The Shard. Viewing galleries on floors 68 to 72 offer the highest views from any building in UK, almost twice as high as any other viewing point in London. |
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The experience provides a unique encounter with The Shard and is set to become the first one-stop destination in London where visitors can experience the whole of London.This ambitious project has been conceived by Sellar Property to be the capital’s most dynamic building and has been beautifully designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano. The Shard is owned by London Bridge Quarter Limited, comprising the State of Qatar (the majority shareholder) and Sellar Property, with non-equity funding by Qatar National Bank.
The Tower was inaugurated by His Excellency Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassem Bin Jabor Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar and HRH the Duke of York KG in July, 2012.
Architectural Finesse
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The form of the tower was determined by its prominence on the London skyline. Unlike other cities such as New York or Hong Kong, the Shard is not part of an existing cluster of high rise buildings. References included the masts of ships docked in the nearby Pool of London and Monet’s paintings of the Houses of Parliament.The form of the tower was determined by its prominence on the London skyline. Unlike other cities such as New York or Hong |
Kong, the Shard is not part of an existing cluster of high rise buildings. References included the masts of ships docked in the nearby Pool of London and Monet’s paintings of the Houses of Parliament.
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The slender pyramidal form is suited to the variety of uses proposed: large floor plates for offices at the bottom, public areas and a hotel in the middle, apartments at the top. The final public floors, levels 68-72, accommodate a viewing gallery 240m above street level. Above, the shards continue to 306 m. The mix of uses add vibrancy to the project: public access was deemed particularly important for such a significant building in London.
Architect Renzo Piano says, “The shape of the tower is generous at the bottom and narrow at the top, disappearing in the air like a 16th century pinnacle or the mast top of a very tall ship. The architecture of The Shard is firmly based in the historic form of London’s masts and spires.”
Eight glass shards define the shape and visual quality of the tower. The passive double façade uses low-iron glass throughout, with a mechanised roller blind in the cavity providing solar shading. In the “fractures” between the shards opening vents provide natural ventilation to winter gardens.
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These can be used as meeting rooms or break-out spaces in the offices and winter gardens on the residential floors. They provide a vital link with the external environment often denied in hermetically sealed buildings.
The main structural element is the slip formed concrete core in the centre of the building. It houses the main service risers, lifts and escape stairs. A total of 44 single and double-deck lifts link the key functions with the various entrances at street and station concourse level.
The project also includes the redevelopment of the train station concourse and bus station. The existing roof is to be removed and replaced with a glazed canopy and retail units relocated to open up visual connections between the train station, bus station and taxi ranks. Two new 30m x 30m public squares form the centre of the scheme. Such improvements to the public realm are vital to the regeneration of this congested and neglected part of the city and will hopefully provide the catalyst to further redevelopment in the area.
Technical Solution
The project involves the use of some of the most innovative technological solutions in the field of external facades in the area of environmental sustainability and energy efficiency. In particular, the technology called “passive wall” will be applied and it will reduce fuel consumption for heating in winter and limit overheating during hot weather. Its objective is to ensure the optimum internal habitability in every season.
The important innovation is the constructive work system. The construction of the foundations begins with the laying of the poles by immersion, on which a first portion of the structural core has been laid.
The excavation continues then below it (around the slender columns) for a further three floors.When the excavation is complete, a concrete core stabilizes the merging with the walls, forming a single structure. The construction of the building and then continues due to the use of high-pressure pumps that “push” the concrete up to the highest part of the nucleus.In doing so, the core takes the form of a large central column on which begins the construction of floors, while the building continues to grow in height. The core contains all the services and vertical movements.
Credits
Client: Sellar Property Group
Renzo Piano Building Workshop, architects in collaboration with Adamson Associates (Toronto, London)
Phase One (Planning Application), 2000-2003
Design team: J. Moolhuijzen (partner in charge), N. Mecattaf, W.Matthews with D.Drouin, A.Eris, S.Fowler, H.Lee, J.Rousseau, R.Stampton, M.van der Staay and K.Doerr, M.Gomes, J.Nakagawa, K.Rottova, C.Shortle; O.Aubert, C.Colson, Y.Kyrkos (models)
Consultants: Ove Arup & Partners (structure and services);
Lerch, Bates & Associates (vertical transportation); Broadway Malyan (consulting architect).
Phase Two, 2004-2012
Design team: J. Moolhuijzen, W.Matthews (partner and associate in charge), B.Akkerhuis, G.Bannatyne, E.Chen,.Reid with O.Barthe, J.Carter, V.Delfaud, M.Durand, E.Fitzpatrick, S.Joly, G.Longoni, C.Maxwell-Mahon,J.B.Mothes, M.Paré, J.Rousseau, I.Tristrant, J.Winrow and O.Doule, J.Leroy, L.Petermann; O.Aubert, C.Colson, Y.Kyrkos (models)Consultants: WSP Cantor Seinuk (structure); Ove Arup & Partners (building services);erch, Bates & Associates (vertical transportation);ownshend Architects (landscape); Pascall+Watson (executive architect for the station)
Key Facts
Height: 306m - to accommodate luxury hotels and restaurants, as well as offices and residences.
Gross Floor Area: 126,712 m²
Offices – Levels 4-28: 55,277 m²
Restaurant – Levels 31-33: 2,608 m²
Hotel – Levels 34-52: 17,562 m²– 200 Rooms leased to Shangri-La Hotels
Residential – Levels 53-65: 5,788 m²– 10 apartments
Viewing gallery – Levels 68-72: 1,391 m²
Car Parking – 48 spaces in car stacking machine
Lifts – 44 lifts + 8 escalators
Glass panels: 11.000