The Shard, Renzo Piano, London, England, Sellar Property Group, mixed-use, skyscraper, high-rise, tower, active façade, winter garden

Couple of days ago, London Mayor Boris Johnson, joined by building’s architect Renzo Piano, cut a ribbon to the viewing platform, positioned 243 meters up The Shard skyscraper, standing next to London Bridge Station. Recently opened attraction, The View from The Shard, accessed directly from an entrance on the ground level, is expected to attract over half a million visitors each year.

The very building, magic for a number of reasons, as its architect stated, has been completed since the summer of 2012, but officially opened to public of February 1st, 2013. Formally named “The London Bridge Tower”, this mixed-use skyscraper is home to a large number of programs. Designed as a “vertical city”, this London skylines’ newest addition addresses the city’s growing population and need to maximize the space.

The semi-public, ground level houses a public piazza with restaurants, cafes and areas for art installations. Triangular-shaped, building facilitates 55,000 square meters of offices, three floors of restaurants and 200-room Shangri-La Hotel, which is due to open this summer. Moreover, ten luxury apartments are expected to be priced £50 million each. Ventilated winter gardens add luxury to the exquisite office spaces with striking views.

Generous at the bottom, the building is getting narrower to the top, disappearing in the air almost like a pinnacle of the Gothic cathedral. Its architecture is firmly based in the historic form of London’s masts and spires, elegantly reinterpreted by great Piano. Active envelope is enabled by sophisticated use of glazing – expressive facades of angled panes are designed to reflect light and changing patterns of London sky, therefore the form of the building will change according to the weather or seasons.

The Shard is a centerpiece to the £2 billion redevelopment of the London Bridge area. The chairman of Sellar Property Group – the client, believes that the Londoners will feel ownership of the Shard – they will eventually adopt it the same ways as the Parisians adopted the Eiffel Tower or the Americans adopted the Empire State.

The Shard, Renzo Piano, London, England, Sellar Property Group, mixed-use, skyscraper, high-rise, tower, active façade, winter garden

The Shard, Renzo Piano, London, England, Sellar Property Group, mixed-use, skyscraper, high-rise, tower, active façade, winter garden

The Shard, Renzo Piano, London, England, Sellar Property Group, mixed-use, skyscraper, high-rise, tower, active façade, winter garden

The Shard, Renzo Piano, London, England, Sellar Property Group, mixed-use, skyscraper, high-rise, tower, active façade, winter garden

The Shard, Renzo Piano, London, England, Sellar Property Group, mixed-use, skyscraper, high-rise, tower, active façade, winter garden

The Shard, Renzo Piano, London, England, Sellar Property Group, mixed-use, skyscraper, high-rise, tower, active façade, winter garden

The Shard, Renzo Piano, London, England, Sellar Property Group, mixed-use, skyscraper, high-rise, tower, active façade, winter garden

The Shard, Renzo Piano, London, England, Sellar Property Group, mixed-use, skyscraper, high-rise, tower, active façade, winter garden

The Shard, Renzo Piano, London, England, Sellar Property Group, mixed-use, skyscraper, high-rise, tower, active façade, winter garden

 

 

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