The Shard, also referred to as the Shard London Bridge and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a pyramid-shaped 72-storey mixed-use development supertall skyscraper, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, in Southwark, London, that forms part of The Shard Quarter development. Standing 309.6 metres high, The Shard is the tallest building in the United Kingdom, the seventh-tallest building in Europe, and the second-tallest outside Russia, being only three meters shorter than the Varso Tower in Warsaw. It is also the second-tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, after the concrete tower of the Emley Moor transmitting station. The Shard replaced Southwark Towers, a 24-storey office block built on the site in 1975.
The Shard in April 2015
The Southwark Towers office block, which was demolished in 2008 to make space for The Shard
Internal structure of the Shard's spire and radiator floors, seen from the 72nd-floor observatory
The Shard pictured from Great Tower Street in April 2012
Renzo Piano is an Italian architect. His notable buildings include the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, The Shard in London (2012), the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City (2015), İstanbul Modern in Istanbul (2022) and Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens (2016). He won the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1998.
Piano in 2012
Renzo Piano
Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (1971-1977)
The Menil Collection in Houston, Texas (1982–1987)
