The Shard Tower is a new landmark in London. Shard - the tallest building in the EEC

Near London Bridge and the River Thames you will see a pointed tower resembling a shard, this is the famous Shard skyscraper. Its name is translated from English as "splinter". The 95-storey building houses:

  • Offices - from the second to the 28th floor
  • Restaurants - 31 to 33 floors
  • Hotel 5 stars "Shangri-La" - from 34 to 52 floors
  • Elite apartments - from 53 to 65 floors
  • Observation deck - from 68 to 72 floors.

Many perceive this recently built building with a height of 306 meters as unfinished - its architecture is very unusual. True to its name, The Shard is lined with 11,000 glass panels. But soon it will be outdone by the Gazprom Tower skyscraper in St. Petersburg, and the Mercury skyscraper in Moscow City in 2013 surpassed the London skyscraper.

The observation deck is located at the very top of the building, it offers stunning views of the capital of Great Britain. There are special tablets with which you can "zoom in" and see many of the sights of London. One of the levels of the observation deck is open, so it is cooler here than on other floors and, of course, a few degrees colder than below. In clear weather, the viewing radius from the observation deck reaches 40 miles (more than 60 km).

In summer and on weekends, tickets must be bought in advance, because there are a lot of people who want to, despite the quite high price of this excursion. But be sure to take into account the weather forecast - during the fog from above, you may not see anything at all. It is worth noting that the toilets on the 68th floor (the lower floor of the observation deck) have floor-to-ceiling glazing. Therefore, visiting them you can get a very unusual experience.

The Shard skyscraper houses three restaurants:

  • British Cuisine and Seafood Restaurant Aqua Shard
  • Restaurant Oblix
  • Hutong Restaurant, here you can taste Chinese cuisine.

The prices here are quite normal (for London), but they also need to be booked in advance.

Each room at the Shangri-La is individually styled with an oriental touch.

Opening hours of the observation deck at the Shard skyscraper 2019

  • In winter (until March 27, 2019)
    • Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday from 10:00 to 20:00
    • Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10:00 to 22:00
    • Check the schedule on the official website - the observation deck may be closed for events

Ticket prices for the observation deck of the Shard skyscraper 2019

It is highly recommended to buy tickets in advance on the official website. London is the capital of fog, so visibility can be very poor in bad weather. If you cannot see at least three of these objects due to cloud cover: the London Eye,

Since the time of Babylon, people have been rushing up, trying to conquer the heavens. Starting construction in 2009, the new skyscraper soared to 306 meters and since 2013 has been delighting guests of London with a new one.

This is quite a popular place, because everyone should see London from a height, and The Shard offers simply amazing panoramas. "The Shard" is a huge glass pyramidal office building (from 2 to 28 floors) with apartments (from 53 to 65 floors), Shangri-La hotel (from 34 to 52 floors), restaurants (from 31 to 33 floors) and an observation a platform that occupies as many as 4 levels - from 68 to 72.

The skyscraper with the beautiful name The Shard of London is the tallest building in London. It was built in 2012 on the site of the Southwark Towers office building, which was demolished in 2008.

The project for a new skyscraper was proposed by the architect Piano back in 200, but it caused a heated public discussion. Therefore, he was able to approve only a few years later, when the city authorities came to the conclusion that Shard would bring more benefit to the city than harm.

The shard of london observation deck

350 million pounds were allocated for the construction of the Shard, but then the amount was increased to 435 million. The construction of The Shard of London lasted 4 years. The project has been halted several times due to bad weather.

Lined with thousands of glass panels, this 309-meter skyscraper shines in the sun and is visible from afar. Since its construction, Shard has been in trouble more than once: once it was struck by lightning, and a few days later a fire broke out on the lower floors of the building.

People like the new attraction even more than "". It is said that at this rate of visitation, the Shard will pay for itself in less than 10 years.

Some interesting facts about The Shard


Hotel in The Shard of London

Also on this site you can purchase a visit to the Shard and other attractions.

How to get to The Shard?

Getting to the famous skyscraper is very easy. It is difficult to get lost, because The Shard can be seen from almost anywhere in London, at least Central.

nearest metro: London Bridge

Railway stations: London Bridge Main

Buses: 43, 48, 141, 149, 521

Entrance - from the street joiner street

Hotels near The Shard

The area where the Shard skyscraper is located is very convenient for stopping, because from here it is quite easy to get to all the main attractions.

The shape of the spire… belongs to our imagination. This form - in a poetic sense - is tantamount to a breath of fresh air.

Renzo Piano

This 309 m high steel and glass skyscraper has eight double layer facades with natural ventilation. Very white glass reflects sunlight. Above the lobby are retail stores; offices on the lower floors, a hotel in the central segment, and apartments with an observation deck above.

The temptation to present to the world his understanding of the image of the London skyscraper was exceptionally strong. So when local developer Irwin Sellar suggested that Piano design a skyscraper on the site of Southwark Towers, a 1970s office center, the Italian master agreed.

The name "Shard" came about as a result of sharp criticism of the project from the defenders of the historical image of the city, indicating that it would be "a piece of glass in the heart of historic London." The nickname stuck, completely replacing the original name of the tower. Over time, the skyscraper changed its name even on the logo and in official documents.

"Shard" is located on the south bank of the Thames, close enough to the main attractions of the center. Historically, this was the area of ​​London Bridge, which connected the city with the suburb of Southwerk. This is where the first official name of the skyscraper came from, translated from English as “London Bridge Tower”. The skyscraper is embedded in a large transport hub "London Bridge": the lower levels of the building are connected to the railway station, bus station and metro station. In fact, long-distance trains bring passengers to an extension that goes straight to the foot of the tower. And part of the station infrastructure with shops is simply built into the lower levels of the skyscraper.

The development of London is proceeding at a rapid pace, despite all sorts of crises. Over the past three decades, dozens of high-rise buildings have appeared in the city. If at the time of construction, Foster’s “Cucumber” seemed to be the highest, then since 2004 there have been new towers around it, among which it is the most modest in size (180 meters). But this is the City - the right bank of the Thames, and the Piano skyscraper was originally planned on the left bank, in close proximity to the main historical landmarks of London - St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower. Therefore, the idea found many influential opponents. After all, the height of the Shard is an impressive 310 meters, while the cathedral is only 111. Of course, St. Paul's Cathedral stands on top of Ludgate Hill - the highest point in the city, but even in total it is lower than the Shard. So the concerns of heritage defenders seem justified.

The public debate lasted for several years and was comparable to a discussion in terms of intensity of passions. Even after the fundamental decision on the construction was made, the process of agreeing on the project lasted another year and a half. With the active support of the then mayor of London, Ken Livingston, and the personal approval of the Deputy Prime Minister of the government, John Prescott, in 2003 the plan was accepted for implementation. Piano began to prepare working documentation for the construction of the object, and the owners of the site began to dismantle the old 25-story tower.

In 2007, the economic crisis hit London, and many high-rise projects, including the Shard, were mothballed or canceled altogether. But by the beginning of 2008, a new investor was found for Shard, and the implementation process finally started. By this time, the former skyscraper had just been completely demolished, and in February 2009 construction began. Since the main budget for it was allocated by a consortium of Qatari banks, the grand opening of the building on June 5, 2012 was conducted by the Prime Minister of Qatar.

Shard has 72 floors and 110,000 square meters of total area, half of which are offices, and the rest are given to the Shangri La hotel with restaurants. There are also several large and very expensive private apartments in the tower, and on the top five floors there are observation galleries open to the general public.

The obelisk-shaped skyscraper was designed by Denton Corker Marshall and Harry Seidler & Associates in the late 1990s for Melbourne's Grollo Tower. None of them were implemented due to funding problems. Shard Piano has the shape of a narrow pyramid with an open end. This skyscraper may have influenced the design of the similar Lotte World Tow (2016) in Seoul designed by KPF.

According to the original plan, the owner of the site, Sellar Property Group, intended to create a whole block of new development in the area, the core of which was to be two high-rise buildings from Renzo Piano, set on a new small town square. The architect came up with the first version of the skyscraper project back in 2000. Next to the 310-meter Shard, he placed a second skyscraper with a height of "only" 180 meters. The smaller building (the "New London Bridge House") was expected to house 55,800 square meters of offices and shops at a cost of around £400 million. The onset of the crisis made its own adjustments, and as a result, the Baby Shard was never implemented.

During the approval process, Piano emphasized in every possible way that the cladding of the structure with panels of exceptionally light glass would make it possible to visually hide its real dimensions. Thus, the "Shard" will not greatly violate the usual panorama of the British capital from the Thames. In cloudy weather, the skyscraper really reflects the sky, and its top dissolves into the clouds, but on clear days, the Shard is perfectly visible for many kilometers. Obviously, he nevertheless became a monument to his time and irreversibly changed the overall appearance of London, bringing a modern note to it. The 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale even screened a documentary on the building and its relationship to the urban context.

Many critics of the skyscraper blamed its creator for the excessive schematic and simplicity of the facades, the lack of details of a human scale and obvious spatial games. But games are the lot of postmodernism, not high-tech. With Piano, architecture is formed by thoughtful functionality, and he is not interested in aesthetic tricks for the entertainment of the public. Since the indispensable condition for the implementation of the giant building was its maximum possible invisibility, it would be foolish to expect some provocative undertakings in it, as in the Georges Pompidou Center or some other works of the master.

Livingston's desire as the mayor of London to get the highest skyscraper in Europe, to have such a status object, crashed into bureaucratic delays. The world high-altitude race is being carried out at an exceptionally dynamic pace, and even old Europe, adding new high-altitude dominants with great care, does not stand aside from this process.

Piano's task was to build a "vertical city". He proposed this shape of the spire not only to demarcate the various functions of the building - from commercial to residential - but also to create the illusion of "disappearing into the clouds." Situated close to London Bridge, the Shard has become a symbol of urban regeneration and a reflection of the London skyline. After completion of construction work, this £430 million tower became the tallest building in Europe.

During the approval and construction of Shard, other skyscrapers were announced and implemented, which took away the title of "the tallest building on the continent" from the latter. In particular, the Russian "Vostok" towers "Federation", "OKO" and "Mercury City" today moved "Shard" to fourth place in Europe, and the "Lakhta Center" in St. Petersburg, "Akhmat Tower" in Grozny, "Hermitage Plaza" in Paris and some other announced projects will only continue this process.

Architectural and design features:

  • Not far from the Shard is a no less famous building, the Administration of Greater London, built somewhat earlier by another of the founders of hi-tech - Norman Foster.
  • During the construction of Shard, the development of the adjacent area was replenished with new buildings.
  • Initially, next to the "Shard" it was planned to build a whole block of new buildings with another dominant on a smaller scale. New London Bridge House, nicknamed the "Baby Shard", was to rise 180m and house 55,800m2 of offices and shops. But the total cost of the complex of 400 million pounds was too high, and with the onset of the crisis, the second high-rise project was canceled.
  • The skyscraper consists of an office part (from the first to the 28th floors), restaurants and bars (31-33rd floors), a hotel complex (34-52nd floors) and 10 luxury apartments (on the top 20 floors). The covered observation deck is located on the top floor and offers magnificent views of the historic center of London.
  • The viewing platforms are equipped with special interactive telescopes, through which you can observe the architectural masterpieces of the British capital.
  • The skyscraper is serviced by high-speed elevators with a speed of up to 6 m/s.
  • The building has 72 ground operated floors. The total height is 309 m. Today, the Shard skyscraper is one of the main symbols of modern London and the whole of Great Britain, it is the tallest building in the country.
  • The skyscraper got its name "The Shard" due to its spectacular completion in the form of several sharp glass "shards" growing from the broken edges of its glazed facade.
  • The building is made of special panels of light glass, maximally "dissolving" the massive structure in the city space.

And so, in London, the tallest building in Europe officially opened with a solemn ceremony and a laser show.

Over the 12 years that the project has been underway, the construction of The Shard skyscraper (“Shard”) has been in jeopardy several times due to public discontent and lack of funding. As a result, a steel tower 309.6 meters high, lined with 11,000 glass panels, was built at the expense of Qatari investors who are actively acquiring real estate in the British capital. At the same time, The Shard may lose its honorary "high-rise" title in the near future.

The history of The Shard began in 2000, when the Italian architect Renzo Piano designed the future champion. At the same time, entrepreneur Irwin Sellar decided to renovate the morally and technically obsolete 25-storey business building complex Southwark Towers, built in 1975 near the London Bridge over the Thames (Southwark area). Having met for lunch in Berlin, Sellar and Piano agreed to build a new skyscraper on this very site (originally The Shard was called London Bridge Tower, and then The Shard of Glass, "Shard of Glass").

Plans for the construction of a skyscraper Londoners perceived ambiguously. In particular, the project was opposed by the administration of Southwark and several large public organizations, who argued that such a tall building would spoil the panorama of the city and overshadow the historical sights. In general, residents of the British capital quite often express dissatisfaction with new skyscrapers, but they do not always succeed in canceling the implementation of projects. The most striking examples of this are the 30 St Mary Ax, nicknamed the "cucumber" by the townspeople, and the Strata SE1, known as the "electric razor" and. It was not possible to cancel the construction of The Shard either - it took some time to coordinate the construction, but at the end of 2003 the project was approved by the authorities.

However, what the Londoners did not cope with, almost came out of the global financial crisis. At the end of 2007, when the developers of the project (CLS Holdings, Sellar Property Group and Halabi Family Trust) were already preparing for the demolition of Southwark Towers, unrest began in the financial markets and a number of project participants decided not to invest in expensive construction. The project, then estimated at £350 million, was on the brink of cancellation. It was then that a powerful group of investors from Qatar came to the rescue, including, among others, the country's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani and the head of the National Bank, Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani. In January 2008, a Qatari consortium bought 80 percent of the project for £150 million and later increased its stake to 95 percent.

By the beginning of 2009, the dismantling of the old business center was completed, and the active stage of construction of The Shard began. In four years, the builders erected a 95-story tower 309.6 meters high (23 floors are technical). At the same time, in the course of work, the volume of investments in the project increased to 450 million pounds.

The building fully justifies its name - it is made in the form of an irregular pyramid and is covered with 11 thousand glass panels from the outside. Almost all of the materials used in the construction were reported to be recycled products. The Shard will house office and retail space, a five-star Shangri-La hotel with 200 rooms, restaurants and a dozen apartments, each of which costs up to $80 million. One of 44 elevators takes you to floors 68-72, home to the UK's highest public observation deck. It should be noted that only the outer appearance of the skyscraper has been completed, while the interior decoration will continue until 2013. Since the project was financed by Qatari businessmen, a number of "Islamic" restrictions will be placed on The Shard's tenants. For example, companies associated with the gambling or alcohol industry will not be able to place their office in the tower.

Meanwhile, the discussion around The Shard, especially after the arrival of Qatari capital, is only heating up. At the same time, not only the spoiled, according to some, “postcard” view of the capital causes dissatisfaction. So, even Londoners accustomed to high prices were surprised by the cost of tickets to the observation deck of the skyscraper, which will open in February 2013. In order to climb it, adult visitors will have to fork out about 25 pounds and give another 19 pounds for each child.

Not everyone was satisfied with the grand opening ceremony of the building, which, in addition to the leaders of Qatar, was attended by many British politicians and the son of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Andrew. After dark, a laser show began - beams of different colors illuminated the Shard itself and connected it with other London high-rise buildings and attractions. The "soundtrack" of the event was classical works performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The ceremony also divided the Londoners - some considered it unreasonably large and costly, while others, on the contrary, were deceived in their expectations and did not see anything unusual.

Annoying ordinary Britons and the very fact of Qatari expansion into the real estate market in London. Businessmen from the emirate own not only many modern town-planning dominants of the city, like The Shard, but also iconic historical objects. For example, back in 2010, Qatar Holding, which also participated in the financing of Shard, bought the Harrods retail chain, which owns the famous department store of the same name, from the Egyptian billionaire Mohammed al-Fayed.

Almost immediately, the new owners unveiled plans to build a luxury hotel store on the roof. The implementation of this idea, however, was not reported, however, in early July 2012 it became known that the Harrods network would cease to be exclusively trading. Under a well-known brand, it is planned to open hotels around the world, in particular, in Malaysia, the USA, France and China.

sketch by Renzo Piano

Despite all the ups and downs, The Shard managed to get the title of the tallest building in Europe by taking it away from the Moscow Tower of the City of Capitals complex in Moscow City, 302 meters high (buildings like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, 324 meters high, or the British TV towers Emley Moor, 330 meters, are traditionally not taken into account in such ratings). Another thing is that he will not be able to keep this title for a long time. The main competitors are the Moscow 332-meter skyscraper "Mercury City Tower" (in March of this year, the builders passed the mark of 310.8 meters, but the building has not yet been completed), the Moscow 360-meter tower "Vostok" of the Federation complex (with spire - 509 meters) and the 320-meter Hermitage Plaza multifunctional complex in the La Defense business district of Paris, which will be built by the company of Russian businessman Emin Iskenderov. The first facility is expected to be put into operation in 2013, the second - in 2014, the third - by 2017.

Remarkably, the Shard London Bridge was not built at all by the city authorities of London (as, in fact, the London Eye).

The skyscraper was built according to the plan of the architect Renzo Piano with almost the full financial support of Qatar (and this, for a second, is more than 435 million pounds).

The British government only approved this project and washed its hands of it.

And so, starting in 2009, on the site of the Southwark Towers office complex (it had to be demolished), work began on the construction of the tallest building in London. A real pyramid made of concrete and thousands of glasses.

There was also a public outcry, as zealous defenders of the architecture and appearance of London as a whole complained that this hulk would simply ruin all the raspberries. They knocked on the doors of UNESCO, calling on the latter to common sense.

However, all attempts to disrupt the construction came to nothing. The authors of the project assured that The Shard will perfectly fit into the architecture of London and bring incredible benefits to the city!

You know, having been in this building. Having visited several districts next to a dozen other buildings in the city, as well as visiting almost all the most famous sights of London, I can say with confidence that the capital of Great Britain, among other things, is very impressive precisely because it has been preserved here as a strict aristocratic (royal) English style, and modernity is rapidly developing.

This contrast is incredibly captivating. It's not something in Rome , where literally everything breathes antiquity (or rather, the historical era). And there are not just tall buildings, much less skyscrapers.

Everything is different here. In London, they honor the old classical aristocracy (in many areas you can see old pretty identical houses on two or three floors), but do not forget to keep up with the times, erecting beautiful high-rise modern buildings.

The view from the Shard - fantastic views of London

Well, yes, I digress a little. I go directly to the observation platform, practically on the very top of the Shard, from which a fantastic view of the city opens up.

I'm telling. There are two elevators leading to this site. First, you are lifted to the middle of the path on one. Then, they transfer to another elevator, which takes you to the 68th floor.

Well, and then you overcome four more floors on foot.

Yes, yes, The view from the Shard takes up 4 levels! Moreover, the 72nd floor is open, so in autumn and winter it can be especially cool here.

But the views from here open ... dear mother!

And when the evening comes and the lights are lit in the houses - the spectacle becomes simply mesmerizing!

And you stand in silent silence, admiring the splendor woven under your feet

Holding your breath and catching the thought that this is HEALTHY!

Well, when London wraps up the night, it's time to order champagne with caviar at the bar in order to feel the grandeur and beauty even more.

What else is in The Shard

Hotel. In fact, I'd be surprised if it wasn't there. It is located from 34 to 52 floors.

There are several restaurants in Shard located on floors 31-33. These are the British Mediterranean restaurant Aqua Shard, the Oblix restaurant, and the Hutong Chinese Restaurant.

There is a gift shop on the 68th floor of Shard. And even the Sky pool.

Impressions and conclusions from the visit TheShard(shard) in London

I summarize. We really liked The Shard London Bridge. In terms of entertainment, it is much cooler than the London Eye (London Eye) and the Walkie-Talkie skyscraper with the Sky Garden observation deck, because. the main observation deck in the "Shard" is located much higher than its counterparts - on the 72nd floor.

This is the height at which helicopters and airplanes fly.

But, nevertheless, in terms of comfort and cost, the Shard is significantly inferior to the same Sky Garden.

Judge for yourself. Here you pay about 30 pounds and are just in a glass terrarium, even with a bar.

And you can come to Sky Garden absolutely free of charge. You can sit on soft sofas, at the bar, enjoying excellent coffee, delicious food, and, of course, enchanting panoramic views of London.

The atmosphere in the Sky Garden is much nicer. And the place itself is much larger than the observation deck in The Shard.

If you have a small budget for a trip to London, feel free to go to Sky Garden and get a lot of fun.

If you have money, be sure to visit Sky Garden, and then look at The Shard. You can compare these two amazing places and have even more fun.

Well, if you have, frankly, dofiga money, then you can visit Sky Garden, Shard, and the London Eye (although the London Eye, as for me, is the most useless attraction in London).

Here are the things.

Additional Information

Working hours: daily from 10:00 to 22:00.

How to get toTheShard(shard) in London

The nearest tube station is London Bridge.

But you can also take a bus. Both on BIG BUS TOURS, and on regular flights (43, 48, 141, 149, 521).

Be sure to use the Oyster Card to pay for your trips (valid in London for all types of public transport).

The entrance is on Joiner Street, off St Thomas' Street.

How much is the ticket to the towerTheShard(shard) in London

At the time of this writing, the ticket costs £29.86 per person.

How to get to the observation deckTheShardis free

I share a tip. Several times a month, various major sponsors arrange promotions on the tower. And then the entrance to The Shard for any person is absolutely free. We just heard on the radio about such an event (conducted by the Corona company) and hurried to visit the observation deck of the skyscraper. They also drank beer on the ball.

And finally, a short video review of our visit TheShard(shard) in London