The Shard - London, England (Renzo Piano Building Workshop)

[Urban Shocker]

The design consists of several glass facets that incline inwards but do not meet at the top, and is inspired by the masts of ships that once anchored on the Thames.

This is an outstanding tower with a relevant reference in its design. Why couldn't the same have been demanded from the TIFF condo tower and Lightbox?

From the Lightbox website:

Bell Lightbox is designed to be highly animated at street level. A large-scale canopy projects over the King Street entrance and defines a deep, generous arcade that wraps around the corner to John Street. Made of concrete, the canopy is punctuated with cast glass oculi that borrow light sources from the street to create a ‘spotlight’ effect. A carpet of moving images will animate the sidewalk and lead directly into the box office and the two storey lobby. Restaurants, cafes, theatres, and multiple gathering places will ensure that the building is animated throughout the day and night. The roof will have an outdoor amphitheatre, and is shaped in reference to the roof of the Villa Malaparte, a classic icon of film and architecture.

http://www.shuandjoe.com/2009/04/villa-malaparte/

 

[allabootmatt]

Walked by the Shard construction site the other week. It is massive, for sure. One thing to keep in mind is that London would--in all likelihood--never allow something so overwhelming in a more central location. London Bridge station may be only a half-mile from Bank, but the South Bank is not nearly as historically protected as the City. The site is wedged between the station (which is awful) and Guy's Hospital (awfuller). This is not a prestige location by any stretch, and now that City real estate isn't nearly as crazy as it was, I'd be surprised if they could pull in many A-list firms to take office space....

 

[syn]

From the Lightbox website:

Bell Lightbox is designed to be highly animated at street level. A large-scale canopy projects over the King Street entrance and defines a deep, generous arcade that wraps around the corner to John Street. Made of concrete, the canopy is punctuated with cast glass oculi that borrow light sources from the street to create a ‘spotlight’ effect. A carpet of moving images will animate the sidewalk and lead directly into the box office and the two storey lobby. Restaurants, cafes, theatres, and multiple gathering places will ensure that the building is animated throughout the day and night. The roof will have an outdoor amphitheatre, and is shaped in reference to the roof of the Villa Malaparte, a classic icon of film and architecture.

http://www.shuandjoe.com/2009/04/villa-malaparte/

That explains the flat roof, but not the overall design. I knew exactly what they were trying to accomplish with the glass, but overall effect isn't too compelling, especially considering it isn't exactly uncommon.

In any case, my beef is more with the generic condo tower than the Lightbox.

 

[khris]

London's Shard continues skyward

Despite the credit crunch, despite the collapse of half of the world’s financial system, despite the latest credit crisis in Dubai, the Shard, Europe’s tallest tower continues to rise out of the ground. That was the message from Sellar, the developer at their London press briefing this week.

The developers and their Qatari Royal family backers were so confident of progress that even now, some 18 months into the site phase, they reaffirmed the completion date as the 14th May, 2012. No slippage here, not a day. Caught up in the moment, one journalist asked if they had a time on the 14th. Outside, Mace the main contractors were lifting steels for the core and part of the exterior wall, focused on their target to deliver over 1.5 floors per week leading to a topping out planned for the end of 2010.

Joking aside, it is a monumental moment for London. The Shard, or the London Bridge Quarter as it has grown into, now encompassing the adjoining building, the new bus station, rail station platform and the Thameslink rail viaduct is the largest urban regeneration London has seen since the war. The complex will deliver one million square feet of floor space, 50% of it pre-let. The developer brushed aside onslaughts from Peter Bill of Estates Gazette questioning the value of the works and others fretting about the un-let space with an assurance that, thanks to the backing of the Qataris, “we are in no hurry to market the remaining space, in fact we are not actually offering the space at the moment.â€

By this time next year, all being well, London will have the biggest Christmas tree in Europe.

 

[spaced]

Strange to see St. Paul's loosing it's predominance (from this view anyways).
Looks like the concrete core should be topping out soon:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/jan/30/shard-renzo-piano-london-bridge

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddes...shard-in-progress#/?picture=371159785&index=0

 

[Bogtrotter]

The skyscraper shy UK getting a 1,000+ footer before Toronto- I never would have thought. Looks great in the renders.