I have to say not sure why they built the shard where it is. Wouldn't it've been better as a centrepiece in the city of london itself?

It would be too tall, it would interfere with flight paths, that's why the pinnacle had to be scaled down to 288m

Thanks Lumberjack! That first shot was in the Standard today as well - a fantastic picture, in spite of the awful grey weather we had yesterday!

I was in St James' park when the Spitfires, Red Arrows etc went over buck house! Also when I went there was great views of the Shard from all over London!

http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/Architecture/skyscrapers-under-construction/shard-update/i-58TCmDB/0/X3/9D6A1377-X3.jpg

the construction chest (http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/)

Lovely shot chest. Notice the steel for the last of the shards has been fitted.

is that gap getting filled in at the top ?

Taken yesterday from Harrow on the Hill.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/stefan_long18/2012-06-07175815.jpg

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/stefan_long18/2012-06-07175830.jpg

An article on the Shard with some shots from the public viewing level:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2156671/The-Shard-London-view-described-awesome-Defying-vertigo-Robert-Hardman-climbed-highest-building-Europe.html?ICO=most_read_module

An article on the Shard with some shots from the public viewing level:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2156671/The-Shard-London-view-described-awesome-Defying-vertigo-Robert-Hardman-climbed-highest-building-Europe.html?ICO=most_read_module

perfect, the surprise is gone now :cry:
anyway, there is less than a month now until the shard is supposed to open, in that time they need to fit out the interior, remove the hoist, fill in the gaps on the cladding, and finish the base of the structure, adding the canopies ect, better do it quick!

http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/6448/kw0c3218.jpg

One from Tuesday:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8154/7168783587_79ae684d6f_b.jpg

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/london/in-pictures-murky-view-of-london-captured-in-unique-puddle-art-7830798.html?action=gallery&ino=5

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/incoming/article7830736.ece/ALTERNATES/w620/refklectlon2.jpg

^^ Nice shot, was it taken with a pinhole camera?

Cheers

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/5589/kw0c3292.jpg

http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/2243/kw0c3309.jpg

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/7997/kw0c3317.jpg

^^ Nice shot, was it taken with a pinhole camera?

Cheers
I think it's the reflection in a puddle, by an artist who specialises in such things.

potto. In you first photograph, in the foreground, is that Kings Cross Lands? If it is, then they are reallt motoring!

Saw this Channel 4 clip which I think is amazing............
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sm4ok55AVQ

potto. In you first photograph, in the foreground, is that Kings Cross Lands? If it is, then they are reallt motoring!

No thats the development happening to the west of Euston, its called the Regents Park Quarter or something similarly developer-ish.

The Kings Cross Lands are off screen to the left of the second picture potto posted

Saw this Channel 4 clip which I think is amazing............
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sm4ok55AVQ

that was aired ages ago, we all saw it, good findings though, there arent many shots like that on youtube! :):)

a few abstracts in the grey misery that is June in London

http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/Architecture/skyscrapers-under-construction/shard-update/i-7zW4hQG/0/X2/MG9437-X2.jpg

http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/Architecture/skyscrapers-under-construction/shard-update/i-bSzptdv/0/X2/MG9448-X2.jpg

http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/Architecture/skyscrapers-under-construction/shard-update/i-G3R7JBt/0/X2/9D6A1424-X2.jpg

http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/Architecture/skyscrapers-under-construction/shard-update/i-H4hZqXZ/0/X2/MG9430-X2.jpg

http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/Architecture/skyscrapers-under-construction/shard-update/i-5SWdrjS/0/X2/MG9450-X2.jpg

http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/Architecture/skyscrapers-under-construction/shard-update/i-TG7sdXz/0/X2/MG9443-X2.jpg

http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/Architecture/skyscrapers-under-construction/shard-update/i-tms7kxK/0/X2/9D6A1405-X2.jpg

http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/Architecture/skyscrapers-under-construction/shard-update/i-TrKXqsh/0/X2/9D6A1388-X2.jpg

http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/Architecture/skyscrapers-under-construction/shard-update/i-jmKNzbc/0/X2/9D6A1396-X2.jpg

http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/Architecture/skyscrapers-under-construction/shard-update/i-qGSDQjF/0/X2/MG9439-X2.jpg

http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/Architecture/skyscrapers-under-construction/shard-update/i-2cwxqjQ/0/X2/9D6A1397-X2.jpg

http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/Architecture/skyscrapers-under-construction/shard-update/i-sQ9FMnc/0/X2/9D6A1392-X2.jpg

http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/Architecture/skyscrapers-under-construction/shard-update/i-4KjRm85/0/X2/9D6A1406-X2.jpg

http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/Architecture/skyscrapers-under-construction/shard-update/i-7sbPczL/0/X2/9D6A1407-X2.jpg

http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/Architecture/skyscrapers-under-construction/shard-update/i-bnpqwrJ/0/X2/9D6A1402-X2.jpg

http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/Architecture/skyscrapers-under-construction/shard-update/i-R7LM3gD/0/X2/9D6A1417-X2.jpg

the construction chest (http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/)

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/7997/kw0c3317.jpg


Yep... London is the most beautiful city in the world :)



.

Great photos everyone!!

Really impressive chest as usual

May I add that I love the yellow lights. Remind me of a certain load of steel currently going up...

Potto - fantastic pics, but then again they should be - i've just noticed what camera you are using.......

:lol: yes cough no excuses now

took these latest pictures and clips on the 6th of June..it's getting there...
http://youtu.be/bjjN4SgL-yk

A few from my way home.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7093/7181515135_e57099ab44_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/57855223@N05/7181515135/)
IMG_5169 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/57855223@N05/7181515135/) by corerising (http://www.flickr.com/people/57855223@N05/), on Flickr

Some internal fitting out.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7086/7366746046_2e7faac340_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/57855223@N05/7366746046/)
IMG_5172 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/57855223@N05/7366746046/) by corerising (http://www.flickr.com/people/57855223@N05/), on Flickr

Missing panel? Or just part of the window cleaning apparatus?

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5232/7366739410_814454d2c1_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/57855223@N05/7366739410/)
IMG_5174 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/57855223@N05/7366739410/) by corerising (http://www.flickr.com/people/57855223@N05/), on Flickr

http://i45.tinypic.com/257eil5.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/c6g00.jpg

Beautiful. That's the thing with the Shard. It's like London. Sometimes it's the most beautiful and inspiring place. Other times it just a bit of a turd. (I LOVE London, but it's true. I think I saw somebody once say that at it's best London is the best city in Europe, and at it's worse, it is the worst).

I have to admit that on the whole I am not won over by the Shard. For every day that it looks good there are twenty that it looks drab, grey and featureless. Personally I think that it is not tall enough- if it had been 1400feet as originally proposed it would have made the impact that was expected. A architect friend used the phrase 'has not delivered it's promise' and I think this is true.

For me SWiss RE always looks good - no matter what the weather is doing. Ultimately I prefer Heron and HSBC towers for detail and finish. I anticipate 122 Leadenhall as being another tower to surpass the Shard. I do not 'hate' the Shard but can not love it either - though I have tried

I have to admit that on the whole I am not won over by the Shard. For every day that it looks good there are twenty that it looks drab, grey and featureless. Personally I think that it is not tall enough- if it had been 1400feet as originally proposed it would have made the impact that was expected.
I think it's too tall if anything. It would look a lot better nearer the City cluster rather than being more isolated and next to Guys.

Today

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/20120613_0013.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/20120613_0020.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/20120613_0022.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/20120613_0025.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/20120613_0082.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/20120613_0136.jpg

is the gap at the top getting cladded where there's a big open space?

Another article, this time in The Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/jun/13/shard-renzo-piano

is the gap at the top getting cladded where there's a big open space?

No - it's supposed to be a big open space. If there wasn't it would look like a pyramid and not shards of glass.

^^ Maybe cybertect (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/member.php?u=499049) needs to add another FAQ to his signature...

"Yes the top is finished and will remain open to the elements. The exterior is (pretty much) complete."

:lol: I may just do that

great pics in todays telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/uknews/9331468/Aerial-photographs-of-London-at-dawn.html#?frame=2248130

Looking at the reflections in the Thames reminds me how still it becomes overnight when there's no boats around to disturb it.

the first one has the look of the bridges over the river arno in florence about it! (or is it just me!)

That first pic is gorgeous. Gotta love when people moan about the lack of coherancy in the London skyline.

That first pic is gorgeous. Gotta love when people moan about the lack of coherancy in the London skyline.

Some people think cities should never change or grow. If that was the case then we probably wouldn't have many of the structures London is famed for.

No - it's supposed to be a big open space. If there wasn't it would look like a pyramid and not shards of glass.

no i'm aware of that but there's a part on this pic here that doesn't look finished yet.. that big space?

http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/Architecture/skyscrapers-under-construction/shard-update/i-58TCmDB/0/X3/9D6A1377-X3.jpg

Was over by the Tower today - Shard looking gorgeous across the river:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7072/7372646746_29db481d52_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14231430@N04/7372646746/)
The Shard - 14th June 12 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14231430@N04/7372646746/) by graham228221 (http://www.flickr.com/people/14231430@N04/), on Flickr

Cheeky little core in the foreground too.

Did something I've been meaning to do for a while today - make my way to work via the north bank of the Thames to catch the morning light on the northern side of The Shard.

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120614_0145.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120614_0157.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120614_0166.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120614_0172-Edit-Edit.jpg

no i'm aware of that but there's a part on this pic here that doesn't look finished yet.. that big space?

http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/Architecture/skyscrapers-under-construction/shard-update/i-58TCmDB/0/X3/9D6A1377-X3.jpg

Still not sure where you mean. Those red bits will get infilled when the hoists are removed. Other than that, cladding is complete.

Looking at Graham's pic: Why did Unesco threaten to take away the Tower of London's World Heritage status because of the Shard?? It almost hides Guys. Surely that's an improvement?

Did something I've been meaning to do for a while today - make my way to work via the north bank of the Thames to catch the morning light on the northern side of The Shard.

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120614_0145.jpg


The cladding looks really disappointing. Just cheap.
The comparison with e.g. WTC 1 is striking.

I wish that cream building would just GO!

Still not sure where you mean. Those red bits will get infilled when the hoists are removed. Other than that, cladding is complete.

ok, i've made it clear here, it's circled.. it looks unfinished and horrible..? it thought it was getting filled in soneone said

http://s18.postimage.org/jbb16q0nd/9_D6_A1377_X3.jpg

The cladding looks really disappointing. Just cheap.
The comparison with e.g. WTC 1 is striking.

Isn't the reflective cladding on the WTC1 cheap Chinese tat though?

WTC 1
it's a question of taste, but in the case of wtc 1 i find the cladding reinforces the defensive/forbidding/security-obsessed nature of the building. i would love to see details of the cladding, but i can't find any - the place is probably so cordoned off it's impossible to take them.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/uk/12/shard_comparison/img/shard_comp_976.gif?cachebuster=cb00000002

ok, i've made it clear here, it's circled.. it looks unfinished and horrible..? it thought it was getting filled in soneone said

http://s18.postimage.org/jbb16q0nd/9_D6_A1377_X3.jpg

That's the frame for the spire. There was never any intention to clad it.

Shame really, it looks horrible, when the rest of the building is so nice

Looks like we ran out of money. Good launch pad for potential suicides though. Maybe those floors are rented to Exit or the Kevorkian clinic?

The cladding looks really disappointing. Just cheap.
The comparison with e.g. WTC 1 is striking.

If you think that crystal clear glass is 'cheap', then I doubt you know an awful lot about cladding types.

WTC1 looks alright, but gosh, if the shard was covered in the same cladding it would look worse than cheap, it would look tacky and chintzy.

The whole point of the Shard is to look like shards of glass, i.e., as clear as possible. Tinting it blue and making it highly reflective would, imo, make it look crap.

I wish that cream building would just GO!

Hey! I work in that cream building (Cottons Centre) and it's lovely... actually, it's not. it's dull and ugly and in two weeks my contract ends here so i won't give a crap.

http://s14.postimage.org/5fd6gji9t/londra.jpg
Uploaded with http://postimage.org



http://www.the-shard.com/views/360.html

:nuts::nuts::nuts:


http://www.linkiesta.it/londra-renzo-piano

Shame really, it looks horrible, when the rest of the building is so nice

yeah.. i've no idea what they were thinking of doing that, just looks terrible, and i'm a shard fan aswell :S

Piece on the Shard on the BBC Website - although it is mainly just about tall buildings.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18438604

Looks like we ran out of money. Good launch pad for potential suicides though. Maybe those floors are rented to Exit or the Kevorkian clinic?

They're not floors. That's all above the roof. It's a box frame to support the top of the shards. They were previously going to put plant on these floors for aircon, but the plan was changed. It is not useable space though.

If you think those top pieces should have been cladded, it's obvious you aren't completely aware of what the designer was actually trying to do... make it seem like shards as opposed to a pyramid. The "shards" never meet.

Twitter users might like to know that the official Shard account @TheShardLondon / https://twitter.com/#!/TheShardLondon has recently become far more active. Undoubtedly the marketting types are stepping things up in prep for the official opening.

I'm keeping an eye on it in case of surprise offers of tickets or opportunities for a look around. They are also plugging their Facebook group http://www.facebook.com/#!/TheShardLondon where they were promising "exciting news about the opening.

Cool so the exciting news is .... Cheggers is going to do the grand opening :banana:

I thought this interesting from the recent BBC article, "Buildings can also be designed with canopies near the ground to protect pedestrians from wind gusts." So it seems they're not just to protect from rain.

I took another tour along the north side of the Thames on my way into the office this morning.

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120615_0001.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120615_0004.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120615_0007.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120615_0053.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120615_0055.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120615_0056.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120615_0059.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120615_0070.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120615_0083.jpg

Still looks very dirty - are they having problems getting the cement dust off?

all those white things in the windows are they staying there, or will the building look like the clean glass at the spire

what is three quays?

Joiner Street lower canopies progress

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120614_0185.jpg


what is three quays?

It's an aparthotel development between the Tower of London and Sugar Quay

Shame really, it looks horrible, when the rest of the building is so nice

Agreed, what were they thinking?

all those white things in the windows are they staying there, or will the building look like the clean glass at the spire

The white things are just protective paper. However, it will never be as transparent as it is at the spire, because office workers and hotel guests will use the blinds.

Wasn't there going to be another (mini-)Shard where the derek crane used to be?

Wasn't there going to be another (mini-)Shard where the derek crane used to be?

yeah i thought so aswell, because surely it can't be left the way it is it looks completley unfinished, there's just a BIG space there for no reason.

Judging by camputer25 the South-West Shardling (mini Shard) has been completed and the hotel floor's hoist doors have almost been removed and enveloped in cladding, we need a South West / South side update photographers please!

When the first photos came in of the completed spire, I was sceptical about. But having just seen it in person, I can now say it works. Except for that window cleaning thing at the top. I just want to flick it away.

Judging by camputer25 the South-West Shardling (mini Shard) has been completed and the hotel floor's hoist doors have almost been removed and enveloped in cladding, we need a South West / South side update photographers please!

Thats good! I hated the area where there was no glass! :cheers:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7220/7384569144_c696c0fb91_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/77964020@N07/7384569144/)
16.6.2012 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/77964020@N07/7384569144/) by TheShardBaby7 (http://www.flickr.com/people/77964020@N07/), on Flickr

Don't know how you keep up those diagrams TSB with the various constructions changing on a daily basis. I like the Guy's one the best but they're all impressive.

They're filling in those gaps behind the Shard hoist at the moment.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5330/7385522452_6eccaf9e20_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ant4937/7385522452/)
Shard south side panel work (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ant4937/7385522452/) by anthonySE1 (http://www.flickr.com/people/ant4937/), on Flickr

Walked over to see what that crane in Camputer 30 (http://www.siteeyelive.com/monitor/shard/camputer30.jpg) is doing and it's stacking portakabins for Network Rail.

Don't know how you keep up those diagrams TSB with the various constructions changing on a daily basis. I like the Guy's one the best but they're all impressive.

I have to look carefully at camputer25 and judge how many levels have been worked at on the hoist.
Thanks for clearing up our confusion over what that mobile crane is doing.

They have announced who is opening the Shard and its Qatar's Prime Minister!:nuts::?

A photo I took on Saturday from Tower Bridge.

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp92/benny1982/DSCN7248.jpg

nice. is there a way to see it in full resolution?

Searched 'Shard Opening ceremony' and it says Shard London Bridge, Opened June 2012, so its gotta be next week or so.

Nevermind I just found this website! (http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/5976)

nice. is there a way to see it in full resolution?

I can upload a larger version if you like of that picture. I resized it before I posted it to here.

Here is a view looking up Shardy on Friday night.

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp92/benny1982/DSCN7202.jpg

The Shard from the top of the Monument.

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp92/benny1982/DSCN7285.jpg

Old and new London, The Shard and The Tower.

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp92/benny1982/DSCN7267.jpg

Daredevil Shard Workers putting the finishing touches to the Shard. Enjoy this clip
http://youtu.be/3lJO6UsfaYw

Finally brought my camera to work. Here's a shot in the very popular "reflection" theme...

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7407568486_715e52c25e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/misty2k/7407568486/)
Shard_Reflected (http://www.flickr.com/photos/misty2k/7407568486/) by Misty2k (http://www.flickr.com/people/misty2k/), on Flickr

Daredevil Shard Workers putting the finishing touches to the Shard. Enjoy this clip
http://youtu.be/3lJO6UsfaYw

Finishing touches? They're window cleaners!

Some pics I took yesterday :cheer:

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5191/7408181462_1df7f326b7_b.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5231/7408181048_aa11ccd048_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7408180316_170723abef_b.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5465/7408179748_9fc796e71b_b.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8005/7408179232_fa01efe36c_b.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5271/7408178788_b4f7b367d6_h.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8150/7408178102_1831b7755a_b.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8022/7408177450_6630637351_h.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5275/7408176942_410467e466_h.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8164/7408176490_009f31a60e_h.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/7408175696_b82a08a13c_h.jpg

Shard in the new BA advert

http://taxi.ba.com/

Awesome shots Over One Thousand, saving the best for last. Superb.

I took a stroll down the river to Rotherhithe this lunch time :)

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120620_0108-vpan.jpg

Have people been nicking your photo's Rob?

You mean the watermark?

Well, they do get put about on the net and I have found some unauthorised commercial uses, but when I'm posting one of my stitched panos at a big size, I'm exercising caution as they're large enough to do a decent-ish print - hence the rather more obtrusive watermark than usual.

that edge should meet the backpack, it looks so odd like that, i don't think it was meant to be like that lol

You have to admit, it doesn't look very tall.

cybertect you should make some desktop wall papers :)
I would have to have a nice watermark in my DB

Lovin' the Shard Cameo on the BA Advert :)

Here's a little treat for the weekend: View Large (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cybertect/7421460584/sizes/o/in/photostream)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7273/7421460584_7cdd27d73d_h.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cybertect/7421460584/)
London from Rotherhithe (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cybertect/7421460584/) by cybertect (http://www.flickr.com/people/cybertect/), on Flickr

Here's a little treat for the weekend:

only it the pick had more vertical resolution. it would have been perfect.

reclad will ruin guys

Is it even posible to ruin Guys Hospital?

Stunning picture Cyber. Thank you.

Latest diagram:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7120/7424013748_66d29c0339_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/77964020@N07/7424013748/)
21.6.2012 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/77964020@N07/7424013748/) by TheShardBaby7 (http://www.flickr.com/people/77964020@N07/), on Flickr

reclad will ruin guys

I suppose someone had to like it!

ro5v_osntZ4
New British Airways ad.

The Shard is in the ad:)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7430278228_d8510e020a_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/77964020@N07/7430278228/)
23.6.2012 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/77964020@N07/7430278228/) by TheShardBaby7 (http://www.flickr.com/people/77964020@N07/), on Flickr
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7430275074_9a4664d37c_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/77964020@N07/7430275074/)
Shard and Place diagram-23.6.2012 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/77964020@N07/7430275074/) by TheShardBaby7 (http://www.flickr.com/people/77964020@N07/), on Flickr

another diagram???? They are great though :)

ro5v_osntZ4
New British Airways ad.

The Shard is in the ad:)

I quite like the music of the Clash as well. So london ! I was a punk / skinhead at that time. Now, banker :)

Great views of the Shard on the front-top of a bus down Brixton Hill by the Town Hall. Stunning.

Here we go again...:ohno:

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/qatar-s-london-shard-delayed-report-463172.html

Here we go again...:ohno:

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/qatar-s-london-shard-delayed-report-463172.html

It's like the Empire State Building all over again.

I didn't even know they were planning to have it complete in time for the Olympics! I assumed there was about another year internal fit-out yet.

I didn't even know they were planning to have it complete in time for the Olympics! I assumed there was about another year internal fit-out yet.
Neither did I. I also didn't know that Al Jazeera were "in advanced talks" to move in;
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/al-jazeera-eyes-new-london-home-in-shard-459849.html
Do all Qatar-financed developments end up with a Qatar-based company/individual being the first to buy/move in? It's like One Hyde Park. What's the bet that if Al Jazeera do move in they'll pay top dollar so as to "prove" the market.

New British Airways ad.

The Shard is in the ad:)

<reply style="being silly">
Wow! Filming that must have been a logistical nightmare! How did they get all those roads closed? I bet that Milkman was surprised!
</reply>

I'm guessing that the opening date nonsense was set by someone in Qatar who had no knowledge whatsoever of the construction schedule. Mace have never been under any illusions that it would only ever be externally complete by the games. Makes you wonder what the stroppy billionaires expect for their investment, moon on a stick?

<reply style="being silly">
Wow! Filming that must have been a logistical nightmare! How did they get all those roads closed? I bet that Milkman was surprised!
</reply>

cant tell if being sarcastic.....

either way, they used CGI.

cant tell if being sarcastic.....

I think the clue was in the tags ;)

I think the clue was in the tags ;)

Thank you. I sometimes wonder why I bother.

From Wapping, first thing this morning: View Large (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cybertect/7441372524/sizes/o/in/photostream/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7113/7441372524_a45ee9efc4_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cybertect/7441372524/)
Butlers Wharf Panorama (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cybertect/7441372524/) by cybertect (http://www.flickr.com/people/cybertect/), on Flickr

A Wapping great view.

cant tell if being sarcastic.....

either way, they used CGI.

Um, no they didn't. They had to close the roads on the nights of the 16th and 17th of June, you were somewhat correct I guess in that they had to use artificial lighting to make it seem like it was the daytime but they proudly said at the end of the ad NO CGI WAS USED.

BTW, glazing has started going on to the lower level canopies on Joiner Street

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120625_0002.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120625_0001.jpg

I was therte at the weekend - most of the glass is still utterly filthy - why haven't they sorted it out yet?

Pointless doing it now, as it will only get filthy again. Better to do it at the end.

Couple from Sunday

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8001/7443679276_98326c9cbd_b.jpg


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8141/7443652316_faefa7a1e3_b.jpg

Pointless doing it now, as it will only get filthy again. Better to do it at the end.

So why are they always cleaning the bottom and top parts of the building but not the middle section? :dunno:

Cybertect, the Butler's Wharf pano's a stunner, cheers for posting!

The Shard is the perfect metaphor for modern London.

Expensive, off-limits and owned by foreign investors – the Shard extends the ways in which London is becoming more unequal

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/6/26/1340708208731/shard.jpg


Next Thursday, a giant metaphor will be launched in London. The prime minister of Qatar will fly over especially; his supporting act will be Prince Andrew. Foreign dignitaries will be treated to a lavish dinner; lowly residents of the capital can gawk at a free laser show that threatens to out-do George Lucas.

This is how developers plan to "inaugurate" the Shard, the 72-storey skyscraper that already stalks Londoners everywhere they go. It glowers over your conversations in Peckham; it skulks in your eyeline as you amble along Hampstead Heath. Get up close to Europe's tallest tower, and its 1,017 feet (getting on for twice the height of the Gherkin) render everything around it toylike, laughable.

The money men behind the Shard would like the rest of us to treat it merely as a building. Ideally, you'd marvel at its jutting architecture (the work of Renzo Piano, don't you know); failing that, they'd take you castigating its arrogant flashiness.

But before falling for the predictable Shard-en freude, we should think again. Because what is approaching completion over on London's South Bank is almost the perfect metaphor for how the capital is being transformed – for the worse. The skyscraper both encapsulates and extends the ways in which London is becoming more unequal and dangerously dependent on hot money.

Consider again the story of the Shard. This is a high-rise that has been imposed on London Bridge despite protests from residents, conservation groups and a warning from Unesco that it may compromise the world-heritage status of the nearby Tower of London. What's more, its owners and occupiers will have very little to do with the area, which for all its centrality is also home to some of the worst deprivation and unemployment in the entire city. The building is 95% owned by the government of Qatar and its developer, Irvine Sellar, talks of it as a "virtual town", comprising a five-star hotel and Michelin-starred restaurants.

It will also have 10 flats that are on sale for between £30m to £50m, and from where on a clear day it will be easier to gaze out on to the North Sea, 44 miles away, than at the beetle-sized locals 65 floors down below. "We won't really market these apartments," the PR man cheerily told me. "At this level of the market, there are probably only 25 to 50 possible buyers in the world. The agents will simply phone them up."

So one of London's most identifiable buildings will have almost nothing to do with the city itself. Even the office space rented out at the bottom is intended for hedge funds and financiers wanting more elbow room than they can afford in the City or Mayfair. The only working-class Londoners will presumably bus in at night from the outskirts to clean the bins.

Otherwise, to all intents and purposes, this will be the Tower of the 1%.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/25/shard-metaphor-for-modern-london

Another terrible article from the increasingly shrill and paranoid Guardian.

THE SHARD IS LITERALLY RUBBING DIRT IN THE FACE OF THE WORKERS.

It's actually quite hard to work out what the article's on about:

Shard is an excellent name. The original democrats of Athens wrote on pot shards when voting to ostrasize someone.


WTF?

This article is repeated for every new skyscraper.

It's a bit depressing to see that The Guardian is so pessimistic towards these types of things. The media needs to be more positive towards developments like this, or people reading the articles are gonna seriously get brainwashed by negativity. No wonder people look so sad on public transport :doh:

So, I guess they forgot about the Public Viewing Deck then? And the rebuild of the Station Concourse that came with it? And the new shops that will open with 'The Place' (awful name) then?

I think the Shard is good thing for London. What is the Guardian on about?!

A main gripe seems to be that it's foreign money, but not all 2000 workers in the building will be foreign!

and the only reason it is built with foreign money is because no British bank had the balls to fund such a long term investment

From the comments:

You can be welcoming to immigrants in general but abhor foreign investment that produces nothing but higher property prices and rents for the existing population (40ish percent of whom are not 'white'). The 'foreign investment' that buys central London property as a safe haven for capital in turbulent economic times globally just pushes the next layer down, (the very rich who nonetheless want to live in the house they own) and that has a knock on effect until you get to me on £1060 salary a month and £520pcm rent.

London's is being slowly economically cleansed and we haven't even seen the full effects of the housing benefit cuts yet.

Next time there's a riot I hope the shard gets torched and parasitic foreign capital runs scared.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/25/shard-metaphor-for-modern-london?commentpage=7#start-of-comments

I have heard an awful lot of Greek and Spanish money has been pumped into prestige London property.

It's a bit depressing to see that The Guardian is so pessimistic towards these types of things.

The Guardian is pessimistic about everything these days. It's even worse than the Daily Wail.

There's no wonder it's hemorrhaging money left right and centre by continuing to publish drivel like this.

"The true expression of the skyscraper is not weight but lightness."

Discuss.

Wow.. What a ridiculously pessimistic article.. Very bias. Every one of my london friends / neighbours that I have spoken too about this building has loved it!

Its simply stunning how it can change in character depending on the angle or location you view it from. Even from as far as Victoria park.. It exposes itself through the trees like a crystal church spire.. Probably the most inoffensive supertall I have ever seen built.

There are elements of truth in the article around inequality and the Shard being for the 1% (it is), but this is a commercial mixed used space and not a community reinvestment scheme.

That said, this is just another manifestation of rip-off Britain - corporate spaces for corporate credit cards. How else would a normal person afford the £15+ entry to the top?

The same normal people that pay £15+ for a trip on the wheel

or £40 to see some wax

Rather pay £15 to go up the shard than the Orbit.

I would rather have a couple of hours with a great view and a nice meal at SushiSamba in the Heron Tower than a quick trip up the shard with a gaggle of loud shutterbug tourists. Can't imagine for Londoners that the shard observation decks are like to be a pleasant place to be.

I would rather have a couple of hours with a great view and a nice meal at SushiSamba in the Heron Tower than a quick trip up the shard with a gaggle of loud shutterbug tourists. Can't imagine for Londoners that the shard observation decks are like to be a pleasant place to be.

Well obviously. I would take a meal with a nice view on top of a tall tower anyday! I think the profile of the Shard will bring people in though.

What's to say there won't be a burger van at the top of the Shard

:lol:

Here's a few pics taken earlier this evening, mostly the lower level canopies on Joiner Street.

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120626_0019-Edit.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120626_0004.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120626_0009.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120626_0012.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120626_0007.jpg

Another terrible article from the increasingly shrill and paranoid Guardian.

No wonder it's losing 45 million quid a year...

It doesn't bother me one bit that London has lots of properties I can't afford to live in. How does it affect me if someone wants to spend 20 million quid on a flat with nice views? Answer: It doesn't, unless I happen to work in the construction industry, in which case, I have a nice job out of building the flats.

If the only buildings ever built were the ones everyone could afford, our city wouldn't be nearly so interesting.

It's not a guardian article per se, just a rant on their online comment blog. There've been multiple positive pieces in the actual guardian paper

A vertical panorama of the Shard from Tower Bridge:
(Sorry about the slightly grainy quality, I don't have a full version of a panorama maker - which I would need to pay for - so it saves my panoramas at 1/16 of their original size, and then they lose a bit of their visual quality when I bring them back up to size).

http://i.imgur.com/QRLIy.jpg

More photos from my day out in London:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7451206780_f69aa20017_c.jpg
by ghost-of-sparta (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghost-of-sparta/) on Flickr.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7255/7451226088_b41ce02f62_c.jpg
by ghost-of-sparta (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghost-of-sparta/) on Flickr.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7254/7451243668_0023cb4ae3_c.jpg
by ghost-of-sparta (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghost-of-sparta/) on Flickr.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8014/7451262668_04399b9de9_c.jpg
by ghost-of-sparta (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghost-of-sparta/) on Flickr.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8147/7451353758_e8b17ee589_c.jpg
by ghost-of-sparta (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghost-of-sparta/) on Flickr.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7451277030_6d0ecb2934_c.jpg
by ghost-of-sparta (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghost-of-sparta/) on Flickr.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7274/7451290216_6eaba5e912_c.jpg
by ghost-of-sparta (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghost-of-sparta/) on Flickr.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8141/7451312580_1941323571_c.jpg
by ghost-of-sparta (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghost-of-sparta/) on Flickr.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8144/7451371788_98d472f676_c.jpg
by ghost-of-sparta (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghost-of-sparta/) on Flickr.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8002/7451386310_3487e5390e_c.jpg
by ghost-of-sparta (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghost-of-sparta/) on Flickr.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7451402102_1b4745e40f_c.jpg
by ghost-of-sparta (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghost-of-sparta/) on Flickr.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8167/7451418808_b884d02a13_c.jpg
by ghost-of-sparta (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghost-of-sparta/) on Flickr.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8007/7451437336_4eb62744de_c.jpg
by ghost-of-sparta (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghost-of-sparta/) on Flickr.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7273/7451192608_2207e06e56_c.jpg
by ghost-of-sparta (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghost-of-sparta/) on Flickr.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7125/7451448546_cafe540d93_c.jpg
by ghost-of-sparta (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghost-of-sparta/) on Flickr.

Worst deprivation and unemployment in the entire city??? borough market, Tate modern and bermondsey street nearby,deprived ?

More photos from my day out in London:



Thanks for your photos of Shard, Leadenhall etc - some nice new perspectives.

It doesn't bother me one bit that London has lots of properties I can't afford to live in. How does it affect me if someone wants to spend 20 million quid on a flat with nice views? Answer: It doesn't, unless I happen to work in the construction industry, in which case, I have a nice job out of building the flats.

If the only buildings ever built were the ones everyone could afford, our city wouldn't be nearly so interesting.

Quite.

We have urban estates offering accomodation for people on lower incomes and suburban housing estates full of middle class people. Why shouldn't there be a building in London that offers hugely expensive apartments, a 5 star hotel and offices that may, or may not be, full of people earning high salaries? The author clearly dislikes the tower but that is largely irrelevant to the wider points he is attempting to make.

It was nothing more than a thinly veiled and disgraceful xenophobic rant against wealthy people.

No wonder it's losing 45 million quid a year...

It doesn't bother me one bit that London has lots of properties I can't afford to live in. How does it affect me if someone wants to spend 20 million quid on a flat with nice views? Answer: It doesn't, unless I happen to work in the construction industry, in which case, I have a nice job out of building the flats.

If the only buildings ever built were the ones everyone could afford, our city wouldn't be nearly so interesting.

Agree.

If someone can afford to spend £20mill on a flat, good for them! Just because I can't afford it, doesn't mean people who can afford it should be prevented from doing so.

There is a depressing tendency in this country to demonise people with wealth. We all want to see social mobility improve, but if everyone was brought down to the lowest common denominator (because some want a completely "equal" society), then there would be nothing for people to aspire to. It's all about equality of opportunities, not equality of outcomes.

Apologies for being off topic...

There was a noticeable smell of new paint around the entrance to London Bridge station this morning - looked like the white columns had received a fresh coat overnight.

Some pics taken first thing:

This chap was cleaning the ones on the western side

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120627_0006.jpg


The Shard and The Place

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120627_0014.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120627_0017.jpg


Hays Lane

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120627_0020.jpg

The Guardian is pessimistic about everything these days. It's even worse than the Daily Wail.

There's no wonder it's hemorrhaging money left right and centre by continuing to publish drivel like this.

Not to mention hugely hypocritical. Lambasting rich people and those who are avoidance paying tax whilst being well known for tax avoidance itself.

Celebrating 2 years of The Shard Baby:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8163/7455196234_42e5833abd_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/77964020@N07/7455196234/)
27.6.2012 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/77964020@N07/7455196234/) by TheShardBaby7 (http://www.flickr.com/people/77964020@N07/), on Flickr
:dance::cheers:

Re the Guardian article, I just posted this:

What an idiotic article.

As part of the Shard's development, London Bridge station and bus station has been completely overhauled, and there is a substantial new public space. The public benefits enormously from this.

There will also be two public viewing platforms in the building, one virtually at the top - there will be a charge to visit this, but it's hardly off-limits. The hotel bars and the restaurants will also of course be open to anyone, and I don't suppose a fruit juice will set you back a fortune.

The fact that the development was financed from overseas is a good thing: it's called foreign direct investment. I don't understand your xenophobia, so let me put it as simply as I can: people in other countries have paid for all those improvements to London Bridge, not train and bus passengers, not British taxpayers. How is that not a good thing?

There's nothing "hot" about the money either. And London isn't "dangerously dependent" on it: if the Qataris were suddenly to go bust, the building would still be standing, they'd just have to sell it.

The architectural issue is more subjective: of course it won't be to everyone's taste. Personally I think it's a beautiful and elegant building which echos the spires of London's churches. It's true that there was a small nimby campaign against the building (there is against virtually any new building) but polling showed that local residents largely supported the development.

There's also a "we love the Shard" group on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/groups/16718967507/) and there certainly isn't a "we hate the Shard" one.

I'm afraid it shows the extent to which the Guardian has lost the plot and descended into paranoia that it sees a nice new building as some kind of attack on the "working class". This is why people make fun of you. This is why your readership continues to fall. Please stop.

I would rather have a couple of hours with a great view and a nice meal at SushiSamba in the Heron Tower than a quick trip up the shard with a gaggle of loud shutterbug tourists. Can't imagine for Londoners that the shard observation decks are like to be a pleasant place to be.

But aren't most observation decks like that? I've been up The Empire State and The Eiffel Tower and they are what they are. Tourist traps. The only exceptions I can think of that I have been up are the John Hancock Centre in Chicago which was quite quiet during the middle of a weekday in early October and the Torre Panorâmica de Curitiba in Brazil (OK, I admit, I am name-dropping there, but it is a cool tower over a fascinating city.) http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torre_Panor%C3%A2mica_de_Curitiba

"The Shard is the perfect metaphor for modern London"

"The Guardian is the perfect metaphor for modern xenophobia"

A trio of pics taken as I was passing through London Bridge station this evening

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120627_0226.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120627_0228.jpg

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j427/cybertects/Shard/20120627_0231.jpg

^^ Love the last one. I really lost my Barings with it, thinking the canopy was actually a wall!

that last one is stunning. beautiful composition.

Thanks. I saw the chance to use the edge of the canopy to read off the graph line that The Shard presents, and took it: y = mx + c :)

it's a wonderful shot cybertect, I think geometric style bw shots are ideal for the base of the Shard.

Quite.

We have urban estates offering accomodation for people on lower incomes and suburban housing estates full of middle class people. Why shouldn't there be a building in London that offers hugely expensive apartments, a 5 star hotel and offices that may, or may not be, full of people earning high salaries? The author clearly dislikes the tower but that is largely irrelevant to the wider points he is attempting to make.

It was nothing more than a thinly veiled and disgraceful xenophobic rant against wealthy people.

exactly. the idea about it being "foreign" seems odd to me. i get interviewed by french and german journalists on a weekly basis about architecture in london and almost ALL they talk about right now is the shard, they don't go on about the architecture of the olympics because frankly that's shit. the shard this, the shard that... i get the impression our common market enemies are deeply impressed at it. they also go on about how it's a great triumph for britain - this is something the country can actually be proud of.

that it was funded with foreign money, along with pretty much every other skyscraper in london, is something we should be ashamed of, but only in the sense that it is an utter indictment of the failure of our own banks to invest in the future. barclays would rather rig markets than invest in britain.

something else i have noticed is they are utterly bemused with the mythical status st paul's has on the skyline. they ask you things about it and ultimately they are right - why is that building protected on the skyline in a way that big ben or westminster abbey are not??? st paul's isn't even that well known abroad, tourists all know big ben and tower bridge.

Re the Guardian article, I just posted this:


Good post. It's also worth noting that more than a thousand people have been involved in the Shard's construction - an additional boost to London's economy.

exactly. the idea about it being "foreign" seems odd to me. i get interviewed by french and german journalists on a weekly basis about architecture in london and almost ALL they talk about right now is the shard, they don't go on about the architecture of the olympics because frankly that's shit. the shard this, the shard that... i get the impression our common market enemies are deeply impressed at it. they also go on about how it's a great triumph for britain - this is something the country can actually be proud of.

It is something to be proud of, its iconic and will surpass the Gherkin as London's most recognisable modern structure. It's also far superior to the Gherkin architecturally in my opinion too. I've never seen the Shard in the flesh but am hugely impressed by the many fantastic photos I've seen on this forum.

Another thing that annoyed me was the authors insinuation that the Shard follows you round London. I don't live in London and travelled to the capital a few months ago to attend a conference in the Kings Cross area. I had an hour to kill before catching my train home and thought I would have a wander to see if I could see the Shard. I walked for several miles around the area but never even got a glimpse!

The Shard opening is going to be pretty spectacular.

http://www.standard.co.uk/incoming/article7895933.ece/ALTERNATES/w620/shard.jpg

A spectacular laser show projected onto the Shard next week will be the signal to Londoners that the tower is open for business.

This image released to the Standard shows how the night-time display will light up the city, with 12 lasers and 30 searchlights connecting the latest addition to the skyline with other buildings including the Gherkin, the Tower of London, St Paul’s Cathedral and Tate Modern.

TALL STOREY: THE SHARD'S PROGRESS

Prince Andrew will be among the first people to step into the 72nd-floor, 360 degree viewing gallery for the official inauguration on July 5, along with the Prime Minister of Qatar, whose country has financed the building.

The 310-metre high tower, the tallest in Europe and designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, cost £450 million and has taken three years to build. While office workers will move in to the lower floors shortly, the viewing galleries and five-star Shangri-La Hotel will not open until February 1 next year.

Pre-bookings for the galleries will start to be taken via the Shard’s website from July 6. The £50 million price of one of the apartments will be beyond most people’s means, but the laser show can be viewed free from a prime riverside spot south of the Shard. The 10pm show will also be streamed live at www.the-shard.com.


http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/all-light-on-the-night-laser-show-will-announce-72floor-450m-shard-is-open-for-business-7895934.html

Rob, hope you don't mind me modifying your pic... I just couldn't resist...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8014/7459726628_85da0e147f_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/misty2k/7459726628/)
Ceiling Cat (http://www.flickr.com/photos/misty2k/7459726628/) by Misty2k (http://www.flickr.com/people/misty2k/), on Flickr

The Shard opening is going to be pretty spectacular.



http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/all-light-on-the-night-laser-show-will-announce-72floor-450m-shard-is-open-for-business-7895934.html

So I guess the story of the opening being pushed back 2 months wasn't true? Nice :)

Rob, hope you don't mind me modifying your pic... I just couldn't resist...

[/URL]
[URL="http://www.flickr.com/photos/misty2k/7459726628/"]Ceiling Cat (http://www.flickr.com/photos/misty2k/7459726628/) by Misty2k (http://www.flickr.com/people/misty2k/), on Flickr

:lol:

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/all-light-on-the-night-laser-show-will-announce-72floor-450m-shard-is-open-for-business-7895934.html

is there a confirmed date for that yet?

5th of July.

ah ok, as this is a photo opportuity not to miss and wanted to make sure

Brilliant news!

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/all-light-on-the-night-laser-show-will-announce-72floor-450m-shard-is-open-for-business-7895934.html


If the offices, the hotel and the viewing gallery don't open until February (as indicated in the report) what's gonna be "open for business" on July 5th?

Just received the following email. :cheers:


http://www.futuretimeline.net/misc/shard-email-280612.jpg

something else i have noticed is they are utterly bemused with the mythical status st paul's has on the skyline. they ask you things about it and ultimately they are right - why is that building protected on the skyline in a way that big ben or westminster abbey are not??? st paul's isn't even that well known abroad, tourists all know big ben and tower bridge.

It's because of WW2. St Pauls survived most of the bombing and acquired its mythical status as a result.

Just received the following email. :cheers:


http://www.futuretimeline.net/misc/shard-email-280612.jpg

how much are the tickets? and when you purchase tickets when can you go on the shard deck?

Just received the following email. :cheers:I received it too - really looking forward to going up when it eventually opens. :D
That laser show sounds good too, I imagine it'll be pretty spectacular!

So I guess the story of the opening being pushed back 2 months wasn't true? Nice :)

Not necessarily. I guess they decided the official opening doesn't have to happen after Practical Completion of the building.

That laser show sounds good too, I imagine it'll be pretty spectacular!

Probably need to be some distance from the Shard to get the full impact of the display. Might take a walk down to Southwark Bridge on the 5th for a better view.

We all want to see social mobility improve, but if everyone was brought down to the lowest common denominator (because some want a completely "equal" society), then there would be nothing for people to aspire to. It's all about equality of opportunities, not equality of outcomes.


Very well put.

Good news on the light show. I do still wonder if there are plans for any sort of permanent illumination once the shard is complete and operational.

Officer Dibble I liked your response to the Guardian. But others your attacks on the Guardian are misplaced. The point of the Guardian is that it publishes a range of views and opinions - that's surely a good thing? The article represented the view of one very wrong journalist.

To be honest, if the Guardian does have a reputation for misguidedly attacking businesses and the rich I prefer that to the Mail and other papers with their constant attacks on the poor and voiceless. The Qataris and developers in general can defend themselves!

What's to say there won't be a burger van at the top of the Shard

I'm sure one of those caramelised nut sellers will find a way

just a quickie from Wapping taken yesterday evening ...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8143/7465503246_366024dccd_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mogwai_83/7465503246/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mogwai_83/7465503246/) by Docklandsboy (http://www.flickr.com/people/mogwai_83/), on Flickr

Luscious foliage sprouts up in London's backstreets under the shadow of The Shard | Friday 29 June 2012

As London prepares itself for the official inauguration of The Shard next Thursday (5 July), in a quiet laneway between offices and residential units, a young Australian architect and a local landscape designer have been injecting a little greenery. Andrew Burns and Sarah Eberle have transformed a narrow cut-through into a flourishing green passageway called Gibbon’s Rent with help from members of the local community

http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=20033

http://static.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/20033_1_gibbons1.jpg

http://static.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/20033_2_gibbons2.jpg

http://static.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/20033_3_gibbons3.jpg

http://static.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/20033_4_gibbons4.jpg

http://static.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/20033_5_gibbon5.jpg
Photos: Max Creasy / Mickey Lees

Officer Dibble I liked your response to the Guardian. But others your attacks on the Guardian are misplaced. The point of the Guardian is that it publishes a range of views and opinions - that's surely a good thing? The article represented the view of one very wrong journalist.

To be honest, if the Guardian does have a reputation for misguidedly attacking businesses and the rich I prefer that to the Mail and other papers with their constant attacks on the poor and voiceless. The Qataris and developers in general can defend themselves!

Well said

Do you guys think that my sky garden (where I usually take my pics) would be a good vantage point to take pictures of the laser show from????

I haven't been about much for the last month or so, I went off checking out some skyscrapers elsewhere (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevekeiretsu/7161340973/in/set-72157630006907745/lightbox/)...

this week i was in Smithfield for some training, funny, just yesterday...

st paul's isn't even that well known abroad, tourists all know big ben and tower bridge.

... two french students said they had a couple of hours to kill, was there anything interesting to see in the near vicinity, I suggest st pauls and it was met with a blank shrug.

anyway took the opportunity for a brief jaunt around the city with camera but didn't get much of any worth to be honest. one of the shard here, and one of st pauls i'll put in the skyline thread...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8162/7469553432_65b5fe1ec2_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevekeiretsu/7469553432/)
Shard from One New Change (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevekeiretsu/7469553432/) by stevekeiretsu (http://www.flickr.com/people/stevekeiretsu/), on Flickr

It's because of WW2. St Pauls survived most of the bombing and acquired its mythical status as a result.

Though St. Pauls became known as a symbol of defiance in the war, its importance to the city extends far beyond that role.

It was the tallest building in London from its completion in 1710 until 1962, so for most Londoners in history it would have been a the most prominent landmark, and symbol of the city. Its image crops up countless times on artwork relating to the city over this time.

It is also the masterpiece of one of the finest architects in the history of our country.

How wonderful then that people can enjoy it from so many vantage points in and around the city.

Though St. Pauls became known as a symbol of defiance in the war, its importance to the city extends far beyond that role.

It was the tallest building in London from its completion in 1710 until 1962, so for most Londoners in history it would have been a the most prominent landmark, and symbol of the city. Its image crops up countless times on artwork relating to the city over this time.

It is also the masterpiece of one of the finest architects in the history of our country.

How wonderful then that people can enjoy it from so many vantage points in and around the city.


It is a beautiful building, the Parish Church of the British Empire. The east side of St Pauls is flecked with shrapnel damage like a teenager's acne-ravaged face and a landmine did crash through the roof into the crypt but thankfully didn't explode, it was towed to hackney Marshes and detonated, the crater is still there, someone on this forum has pictures, I can't remember who, sorry!

St Pauls, important? yes, but tediously cited. I'll take Hawksmoor's Christ Church Spitalfields anyday.

St Pauls, important? yes, but tediously cited. I'll take Hawksmoor's Christ Church Spitalfields anyday.That's my favourite London church too :)

I can't help feeling that some people desperately want to keep London's skyline like those of Florence with it's Brunelleschi Dome or Rome with St Peter's. London isn't either of these places. It's a constantly evolving metropolis. They want to preserve something that's already gone. London has lost buildings sometimes shamefully, often through necessity, but it's the mixture from every period that makes London so special and fascinating. I love that London's skyline includes BOTH the Shard AND St Pauls. I love that in and around the steel and glass of St Mary Axe, Leadenhall and Aviva you have medieval churches like St Andrew Undershaft and St Helen's Bishopsgate.

That's what London is, not a Canaletto painting from Waterloo Bridge.

Does anybody know where i could find footage of the Shard's inauguration after Thursday, as i will be unable to watch???

Does anybody know where i could find footage of the Shard's inauguration after Thursday, as i will be unable to watch???

On the shard website???? There should be LOTS of vids on YouTube (:

The last red hoist door has been removed and so has started the removal of the rail of which the lifts travel up.:banana::banana::banana::cheers:

“I am opposed to millionaires, but it would be dangerous to offer me the position.”
Mark Twain

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7132/7473807030_26d35051ab_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/78859742@N07/7473807030/)
Leeds Week 1 - London 039 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/78859742@N07/7473807030/) by cvittone2011 (http://www.flickr.com/people/78859742@N07/), on Flickr

Wow, beautiful picture!!!

http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/2482/kw0c4218.jpg
http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/9838/kw0c4235.jpg
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/6734/kw0c4247.jpg

A few over the last few days.. absolutely iconic !!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8009/7461895036_1fc5834308_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47769294@N03/7461895036/)
IMG_5790 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47769294@N03/7461895036/) by Lumberjack_London (http://www.flickr.com/people/47769294@N03/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8157/7461893582_8b31f5d5bc_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47769294@N03/7461893582/)
IMG_5796 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47769294@N03/7461893582/) by Lumberjack_London (http://www.flickr.com/people/47769294@N03/), on Flickr


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7256/7463569668_7f6dec1651_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47769294@N03/7463569668/)
IMG_5788-small (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47769294@N03/7463569668/) by Lumberjack_London (http://www.flickr.com/people/47769294@N03/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8156/7463570224_6181ac07d3_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47769294@N03/7463570224/)
pano1-small (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47769294@N03/7463570224/) by Lumberjack_London (http://www.flickr.com/people/47769294@N03/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8143/7463567220_d8025ea310_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47769294@N03/7463567220/)
IMG_5838-small (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47769294@N03/7463567220/) by Lumberjack_London (http://www.flickr.com/people/47769294@N03/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7114/7463564152_fbcd10f6cc_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47769294@N03/7463564152/)
IMG_5802-small (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47769294@N03/7463564152/) by Lumberjack_London (http://www.flickr.com/people/47769294@N03/), on Flickr


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8004/7474856360_e4bacbe289_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47769294@N03/7474856360/)
IMG_5904 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47769294@N03/7474856360/) by Lumberjack_London (http://www.flickr.com/people/47769294@N03/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8011/7474853826_f7c0f7500f_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47769294@N03/7474853826/)
IMG_5897 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47769294@N03/7474853826/) by Lumberjack_London (http://www.flickr.com/people/47769294@N03/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8151/7474853180_dd7dfe3774_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47769294@N03/7474853180/)
IMG_5894 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47769294@N03/7474853180/) by Lumberjack_London (http://www.flickr.com/people/47769294@N03/), on Flickr

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/9161/kw0c4200.jpg
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/2549/kw0c4197.jpg
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/156/kw0c4198.jpg

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/8003/kw0c4194.jpg
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/3595/kw0c4195.jpg

really need traffic lights here? They weren't there before

With literally days left now til the inauguration that middle section better finally get its first clean :tongue3:

Really Impressive Tower. Congrats to London !

Anyone planning to watch the Laser show from a particular vantage point?

Southwark Bridge I think

With literally days left now til the inauguration that middle section better finally get its first clean :tongue3:

Deep clean Xtreme were on it yesterday (the North side).
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7477008266_16fec26d0a_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/77964020@N07/7477008266/)
30.6.2012 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/77964020@N07/7477008266/) by TheShardBaby7 (http://www.flickr.com/people/77964020@N07/), on Flickr

BTW, what has happened to this forum? Advertising girls on LOCALSLAGS? Skyscrappercity pimping?

BTW, what has happened to this forum? Advertising girls on LOCALSLAGS? Skyscrappercity pimping?

Lol Muslim dating was the funniest one

The Telegraph: The Shard Set for First Office Tenant.

Irvine Sellar, chairman of the building’s developer Sellar Property, said three parties were in “serious talks” to move into offices in Europe’s tallest building.

He spoke ahead of the formal inauguration of The Shard on Thursday, which will celebrate its external completion on the South Bank at a record-breaking 309.6m (1,015ft).

The celebrations will see guests entertained by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, as lasers shoot from the 95-storey building to city icons including the London Eye and Tower Bridge.

Transport for London was bought out of its lease by the developers in 2010, against a backdrop of rising rents. Since then, Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera and US management consultant AT Kearney are said to have been in talks, but no one has been confirmed.

Article continues in link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/9367002/The-Shard-set-for-first-office-tenant.html


Isn't the advertising via googleads determined largely by your browser's cookies? If you get dodgy ads, you're probably to blame for looking at the wrong type of websites. ;)

Is anyone else a bit disappointed with the street level? The entrance glazing looks a bit Tesco's to me... Might look better once the hoarding clutter is gone...

:madwife::madwife::madwife: were are the trees

I'm glad TFL were bought out of their lease. When I heard they were going to have offices in the shard, I thought 'WTF'!

By all means, if some private company wants to spend eye-watering rents on the shiniest building in the town, let them justify it to their shareholders, but public bodies should be looking for a bit more value-for-money.

Hopefully, they were bought out with a nice profit which will pay for a few more new buses!

http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/Architecture/skyscrapers-under-construction/shard-update/i-fvLj9DH/0/X3/9D6A2352-X3.jpg

the construction chest (http://constructionchest.smugmug.com/)

Tidying up for the grand opening?. 9pm and they're still removing the south side hoist. Should finish the job tonight.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7115/7481617606_4030c1d546_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ant4937/7481617606/)
Shard south side hoist removal (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ant4937/7481617606/) by anthonySE1 (http://www.flickr.com/people/ant4937/), on Flickr

Can someone make some nice 1080P wallpapers of the shard I cant find any.

Can someone make some nice 1080P wallpapers of the shard I cant find any.

How do you make a progressive wallpaper?

How do you make a progressive wallpaper?

Stick a Toyota Prius, a moustache'd man reading the Guardian and some lentils in it.

Eeep... this from twitter...

London Fire Brigade ‏@LondonFire (http://twitter.com/#!/LondonFire)

We've been called to reports of a window cleaner in a precarious position on the 72nd floor of the #Shard. 10 firefighters at the scene.

Oh dear very ominous

Snatched a couple of snippets from twitter...
From Neil Mundy ‏@NeilMundy (http://pic.twitter.com/fEF4PtRs)
https://p.twimg.com/AwzUvGmCMAAnB3B.jpg

From Matt King ‏ - @mttkng
BzhVIOff6mI

not the right forum for your pissing contest, take it elsewhere. Private messages perhaps.

Another video of the sillyness has made it onto youtube... Uploaded by 'theonlywalshy' - linkydoodah (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UzTgVoRqoY)


-UzTgVoRqoY

Not sure it has been posted here:
The Economist: London’s skyline: Tower power
link: http://www.economist.com/node/21557736

let's just stick to the tower :)

Sounds like a window cleaner almost did!

No.1 News story on the UK BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18681294

I wouldn't be surprised if it was site management pushing the window cleaners to work when they shouldn't be, i.e in windy conditions, just so they can get the shard up to scratch before the opening ceremony on thursday.

I've had it on site where the job was a little behind schedule so the site manager got myself and the other brickies up on the scaffolding backing up the internal wall we built just the day before, whilst the scaffolders were inside erecting a scaffold bird cage. The scafolders lent their steel bars against the newly built wall as I was almost a storey below and the whole bloody thing fell across my back, fortunately i have a back made of solid titanium, well so my missus tells me, and the wall was made of high density thermolite block not concrete. I got away with it.
Funny thing was, was the site manager almost had a fit as he realised what a stupid mistake he made by pushing us, he was all over me like a wet flannel, even took me personaly to the hospital to get checked up....the journey was a very uncomfortable one to stay the least as i was not a very happy titanium bunny.

Not sure it has been posted here:
The Economist: London’s skyline: Tower power
link: http://www.economist.com/node/21557736


I like the fact that they are calling 20 FC the Pint! Does look like a pint glass and makes you feel a bit p*ssed when you look up at it!

When is the grand opening? what date & time?

It will open on the 5th july.

Instagram of one of Pottos pics from before
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8019/7490482706_c5742db046_b.jpg

Don't know if this has been posted elsewhere - a pretty pedestrian video - zeitgeist animated characters etc. Of interest is the last shot - the Shard standing forefront among other London landmarks. Instant icon!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18647587

Window cleaner got into trouble as the cradle swang violently near 72nd floor,apprently. Turned out okay.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18681294?ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

oops already been posted soz..ah well,for those who missed last page

Hello Mr Jenkins :hi:

Wow Longboy, that is really putting your head above the parapet:)

I truly am amazed at the bum licking surrounding this grotesque turd of a building. I am even MORE amazed that no one can see the fact that the top of it looks likes they’ve simply run out of money and can’t be bothered to finish it.

It is without doubt the most vile, ugly and repugnant pile of utter shite ever to be constructed in London.

I smell a whiff of the emperor’s new clothes, please someone just admit it

The Shard is RUBBISH !

I wouldn't exactly call it a 'pile of shite', but I am dissapointed with it, ugly and out of place. The Gherkin is just soooo much more classy. You're right about the top, I have said this several times on here, when are they going to fill in the gaps?

Well, for what it's worth I think the Shard is extremely attractive. It would be really dull had it been a closed pyramid. As it is it looks exciting and interesting. Has anyone done a render that shows how it would look?

I like the shard look but think it would have looked a little more dynamic had they made one shards significiently longer that the others.

I think the Shard looks fantastic

Only gripe I have with it is that I think it is a building for *our* times only and will not age well. I hope it doesn't become just a pyramidal-shaped version of Euston Tower.

When is the grand opening? what date & time?


http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/483162_397294813668027_377198570_n.jpg

The Shard London

Have you invited your friends and colleagues to view The Shard's inauguration? Watch the live-feed exclusively on our website: http://the-shard.com/​inauguration/.

The Shard's laser show starts at 10:15pm (BST) on Thursday 5th July. Some of the best viewing vantage points include Tower Bridge, Tower Hill and Tower of London Path.

From The Shard London's Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=397294813668027&set=a.384078998322942.86003.224103870987123&type=1).

Im going to be on Tower bridge getting photo's / video's of the display :)

The Shard had better be careful of the giant robot across the river may fire back in self defence!

My main issue with this dogs dick of a building is not the fact it looks like a cross between Monica Seles and the elephant man, but because it is entirely unnecessary. The only development required there is that of LB station itself, along with the bus garage. A bloody great hard-on poking out of it is NOT NEEDED. I mean, £20-50M for a ‘flat’ just smacks of capitalist madness.

The building is a joke

It’s reasoning is a joke

It looks like a see-through cock

:lol:

My main issue with this dogs dick of a building is not the fact it looks like a cross between Monica Seles and the elephant man, but because it is entirely unnecessary. The only development required there is that of LB station itself, along with the bus garage. A bloody great hard-on poking out of it is NOT NEEDED. I mean, £20-50M for a ‘flat’ just smacks of capitalist madness.

The building is a joke

It’s reasoning is a joke

It looks like a see-through cock

Some Steps for you to follow:

1) Please stop typing on the computer you are using which (assuming it's not from N.Korea) is made by a capitalist company.

2) Then please go see a physiatrist about your obvious repressed homosexual thoughts (If you're gay or a woman, then miss this step).

3) Stop complaining about 'rich people's apartments' then learn a skill become an expert at it, get rich and buy yourself a nice apartment.

http://freelancewritinggigs.com/networkblogging/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Please-dont-feed-the-trolls.jpg