Renzo Piano's Shard is a Vertical City Emerging from the River Thames

The Shard. London, England.

In the late 1990s, developer Irvine Sellar had a vision to create an architecturally striking vertical city in London to incorporate retail offices, a hotel, apartments, and a public viewing gallery. His vision aligned with the UK government's agenda to encourage high-density developments in close proximity to transportation hubs. With this in mind, Sellar acquired Southwark Towers, located adjacent to London Bridge Station, in 1998. Next, he met with award-winning architect, Renzo Piano (Centre Georges Pompidou, Whitney Museum of American Art) in Berlin, in May 2000, to discuss this vision. Piano was known to hate tall buildings and had been quoted saying, "you know I hate tall buildings- they are arrogant, aggressive, like fortresses." However, he was intrigued by the idea, while inspired by the "energy" of the railways line and the beauty of the Thames. At that lunch Piano sketched his vision which reportedly looks very similar to the completed skyscraper. He described this vision as a "spire-like sculpture" emerging from the river, reminiscent of the spires of London's historic churches. He's also said to have drawn inspiration from the works of 18th century Venetian painter, Canaletto. Canaletto's paintings of London often featured ships with large masts on the River Thames. This meeting was followed by years of investment issues, a complicated planning process and the global financial crisis of 2008. That year, Sellar found a partner in the State of Qatar. Piano's slender, pyramidal design used pioneering engineering methods, including top-down construction- in which foundations are dug while the core is built up. The glass and steel spire tapers off at 95 stories (310 m), making it the tallest in the UK, the 6th tallest in Europe and the tallest in Western Europe. The 8 sloping glass facades, or "shards", reflect light in unpredictable ways and are sensitive to changes in the sky around- causing the color and mood to constantly change. Extra-white glass was used in place of typical green glass and adds to the "lightness". The 11,000 panes of glass include internal blinds that respond automatically to changes in light levels. The 8 "shards" also create gaps which allow natural ventilation into the building. The Shard was completed in 2012 and inaugurated on 5 July 2012 by the Prime Minister of Qatar and featured a light and laser show reflecting off the building. The vibrant community surrounding the Shard is now known as Shard Quarter and includes a sister building, also designed by Piano. This building is The News Building and it houses the headquarters for The Times, Harper Collins, Dow Jones, and the Wall Street Journal. The Shard's "vertical city" is a place where people can live, work, and relax and houses 30 acres of property in a 1 acre site. Piano is quoted saying of the concept of mixed-use buildings, they "provide life in a city without increasing traffic." There are 36 lifts, some of which are double-decker. The ground level connects to London Bridge Station which has been transformed into a 21st century transportation hub, servicing 75 million people a year. The largest floor plates are used for office space (levels 2-28), followed by 3 floors of restaurants and bars (levels 31-33), then the Shangri-La Hotel occupies the central section (levels 34-52), then residences with 360 degree views (levels 53-65). The top floor houses the UK's highest public viewing platform at 240 m above sea level. One million people visited the viewing platform in the first year and up to 6,000 people visit the restaurants and bars each day. The Shard, and the concept of a vertical city, are pioneers in architecture, urban planning, and real estate development- finding innovative ways to create a vibrant city in a small footprint.