i wish theyd get on and build it,
demolishing could be done in a couple of minutes with a crate full of TNT!

its been there for a good few weeks. PwC only just finished moving out in early Sept, so they will be soft stripping and putting up the scaffolding around the outside. That said, I understand that some UK forumers think the demolition has ground to a halt until the funding and consortium are agreed (1/3rd partner looks like he's being forced out to be replaced by a Middle Eastern government investment fund). Personally I think its progressing on plan, whatever eventually transpires with the Shard funding etc, the demolition of the existing building is guaranteed.
Thanks for the info about the crane jimbo. A crane can be taken down as easily as it's put up, but not a building. Compared with the others around it that building is almost new and surely has value. It will be a project milestone when the building starts to be demolished. Five points for the first photo of real demolition!

i wish theyd get on and build it,
demolishing could be done in a couple of minutes with a crate full of TNT!

well then people like you would expect new tower to rise from ruins overnight:nuts: :rofl:

lets just all be patient

lets just all be patient

Will you please stop spamming this thread all the time with pointless comments about nothing.

^^ :hilarious Leave socky alone... :ohno:

i wish theyd get on and build it,
demolishing could be done in a couple of minutes with a crate full of TNT!

Yeah too bad they won't run with that idea... :lol:

That link is in Euros, €546bn is ~$770bn in today's money... anyway far more annoying is the fact we could have moved from our crappy office in Euston to 1 London Bridge and seen all the action. Seems we're moving to Holborn now, still better than lovely Euston.


London certainly has the largest economy of any metro area in Europe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metropolitan_areas_in_the_European_Union_by_GRP) with a GDP of about $550 billion, however New York has a GDP of almost $1 trillion, and Tokyo is more than $1 trillion. Sure huge money flows pass through London's financial system, but probably no more than New York or Tokyo on a daily basis. The really big deals today are done globally between these three centers. BTW world GDP is about $50 trillion so it seems unlikely that deals of "Trillions of Pounds " are done every day.

Back to the Shard.

Has demolition work started? last photo showed scaffolding going up.

Guess what, there's a whole 96 page discussion (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=407549) about this supertall over in the London forum.

(Moderator, is there some way to merge these two threads?)

(Moderator, is there some way to merge these two threads?)

That's not how this forum works.

Ok there's a link on the first page, hopefully others will find it eventually. (Or make some kind of link?)

Or make some kind of link?

You just posted a link. And there's one in the first post in the thread along with all the other basic info.

Guess what, there's a whole 96 page discussion (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=407549) about this supertall over in the London forum.

(Moderator, is there some way to merge these two threads?)

Dude, we all know about the threads in each section :yes:

Its just that this thread is for the world to see and comment on, and the UK thread us for us brits to see and comment on.

No need to stress

:okay:

Hmmm.

Well the scaffolding is going up slowly on one corner but there is no sign of any work which is damaging the fabric of the building yet.

http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/cranesetcphotos/shard12.jpg

i wish theyd get on and build it,
demolishing could be done in a couple of minutes with a crate full of TNT!

Oh my god yes I totally agree! I can't wait for them to build this thing but jees already just do it!!

:wtf:

The design of this building is great. plus, those residences towards the top will probably have great (virtually) unobstructed views

this seems to big for London, hope they change the design of the building

Why can't they just demolished it Vegas style? Any restrictions or something?

^well the tube station right next door/underneath doesn't help.

Why can't they just demolished it Vegas style? Any restrictions or something?


It's a very complex site that requires both the demolition and the construction to be carried out within the footprint of the current building.

Adjoining the building to the north is the main passenger concourse of London Bridge station, which is a major rail terminus and interchange that handles 100,000 passengers every day.

To the west, immediately outside the current entrance, is the bus station and cab ranks serving the rail station.

To the east there are rail tracks that terminate almost at the edge of the building.

To the south, and three levels down, is a major road with London's biggest (and the world's tallest) hospital immediately on the other side

this seems to big for London, hope they change the design of the building

NO.

Too big for London?

What do you think London is? A small museum village?

http://w3.chemres.hu/ms/25imms/Images/sosto%20030.jpg

this seems to big for London, hope they change the design of the building

The design shouldn't be altered in any way whatsoever. What we're getting here is quite simply the perfect design, at the perfect height, in the perfect location.

The building will taper gently to a point, reducing its dominance whilst maintaining a wonderful soar and grace. The shape itself is reminiscent of the old church spires in the City, yet at the same time is incredibly futuristic, like something from the 24th century. This fusion of old and new is symbolic of London's very essence. As for the cladding, it will be one of the highest quality façades ever used for a skyscraper.

I honestly can't imagine a better proposal for this site - and in my opinion it's the best proposal anywhere in the world right now.

London needs a really stunning landmark to last for the next few centuries, and I believe the Shard will become as famous and important as Big Ben, Tower Bridge and the London Eye.

Anyone able to post some neighborhood pics? I'm curious to see what surrounds this.

This is Southwark, a mixture of lowrise housing, old markets, churches. Although it's a historic area, it's quite rough and neglected to be honest. In the first picture, LBT will stand just outside the bottom-right edge -


http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/wjfox2005/London_general/southwark/Aerialview-amazing.jpg




And here, LBT will replace the brown/silver tower in the middle -


http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/wjfox2005/London_general/southwark/ViewfromPalestra2.jpg

I have not been following this so could someone tell me is this getting built, if so whn will construction start and end. I am really interested as I really like the tower and London.

I have not been following this so could someone tell me is this getting built, if so whn will construction start and end. I am really interested as I really like the tower and London.

We're awaiting final confirmation of funding. One of the partners (who owns a 1/3rd stake in the project) is hopefully selling his share to the Qatari Government. Once this happens, we'll know for sure the project is going ahead. It was meant to be confirmed this week but nothing has been announced yet.

In any event, demolition will continue. Actually, here's a (very) quick video of the site I took earlier -
http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/wjfox2005/London_general/southwark/?action=view&current=MVI_3435.flv

Core and steelwork will be rising from Feb 2009.

where was the high photo taken from?

where was the high photo taken from?

From Guys Hospital,I would imagine.

where was the high photo taken from?

First one from Guys second from Palestra.

i love both pictures!

The London Bridge bus station area is filled to the brim with pictures of this building, it is - by all the evidence at street level anyway - definitely going ahead.

Nice Vid and good luck to London I hope this gets built.

Thanks for posting the pics.

Is the project intended to push future development in this area? It seems like it will stand out pretty dramatically.

I'm afraid you are very sadly mistaken if you think any of the massed nimby-packed regulatory bodies that prevent, er, I mean, control London's planning development would be remotely in favour of a stunning 1000-foot tower inspiring any 'future development'. God forbid.

Though, for once, I won't actually mind that much if no other talls grow up to join LBT in Southwark. If any tower ever deserved to stand out proud and alone, it's this one...

It seems like it will stand out pretty dramatically.

Just as it is intended to do.

Some updates from today. Not that much activitiy, although scaffholding was going up when I was there.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y288/PFarrey/SHARD2S.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y288/PFarrey/SHARD3S.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y288/PFarrey/SHARD4.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y288/PFarrey/SHARD5S.jpg

Thanks for the images PFarrey. Looks like some cladding has been removed in the middle of the building to attach the crane, demolition has started!

This is going to be a slow process, first the entire building is enclosed before floor by floor removal begins. Six months in all.

Thanks for the images PFarrey. Looks like some cladding has been removed in the middle of the building to attach the crane, demolition has started!

This is going to be a slow process, first the entire building is enclosed before floor by floor removal begins. Six months in all.

can't they just pull the whole thing down? it wouldn,t be the first time for a building of that proportions...

The area's kinda densely packed, i'm afraid. Major rail terminus, world's tallest hospital, transport interchange...they've in fact promised to keep every single construction vehicle within that very constrained site. I wish they could get it done faster, but hey, at least it's happening at all. So many times in the last few years we didn't think we'd even make it this far...

I'm very happy for the contruction but I feel a little bit of melancholy wtching this building being demolished.
I have a lot of personal memories around this site with this bulding as a background

I had a quick look at the first page, really cool building. Definitely a stand-alone building!
What do the Londoners here think about the realisation? Will the crisis in the financial sector have an impact at the project? Lately I heard that a lot of jobs due to the Subprime-crisis will be lost in London...
Hope they'll build this tower!!! :)

:drool:
:drool:
:drool:

double post!

Funding fear ends Mace’s Shard deal

Laing O’Rourke is being lined up to take over from Mace to build the 310m-high Shard of Glass building in London.

Mace had been doing the work on the Shard on a construction management deal but the Teighmore development team, led by Sellar Property, is set to ditch the CM route in favour of a fixed-price contract.

The decision was made after months of funding problems with banks unwilling to bankroll the deal under CM.

Banks are understood to have told Teighmore that they will only get involved in the scheme if the work is let under a fixed-price contract.

The move has raised fears that banks could make similar demands on other high-profile projects yet to sign off their financing.

One expert said: “At the moment, banks want certainty about what they’re getting involved in. Fixed-price means they cap their exposure to the contract.

“Some big jobs got their financing away before the credit crunch happened but if funding wasn’t signed and sealed then they’ve got problems. Banks are cutting their lending books and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the start of a wider trend.”

The Shard, which will eventually go up close to London Bridge train station, carries a construction price tag of £350 million and O’Rourke is expected to take over from Mace some time before Christmas.

It is believed Teighmore only began initial discussions with Laing O’Rourke recently, after approaching chairman Ray O’Rourke about the possibility of carrying out the deal.

Irvine Sellar, chairman of Sellar Property Group, has had to endure a series of frustrations in recent months after co-investor Simon Halabi decided to sell his stake in the job after racking up a series of losses on a failed leisure business.

Mace, which along with Laing O’Rourke is part of the CLM project management team on the 2012 Olympic Games, began work on the job last year.

But it is now bracing itself for a vastly reduced role. One insider admitted: “I think our role will be limited. It’s disappointing to say the least because it’s a great, high-profile scheme.”

Mace had been due to pick the winner of the key steel contract this month.


A colourful past

The Shard’s progress from the drawing board to reality has seen it linked with some of the industry’s leading names.

In 2001, Bovis Lend Lease was lined up as project manager, only for Multiplex to take over as pre-construction advisor in 2003. In November that year the tower was given planning approval, with Shangri La signed up on a pre-let for the hotel element in February 2005.

Mace stepped in last year after Multiplex walked away citing a change in its strategy towards risk.

Keltbray has carried out enabling works ahead of an eight-month demolition. Construction is due to take 40 months to September 2011.

What building or buildings are in the proposed site if demolition work is needed?

See previous page...

A demolition update from CranesEtc -


http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/cranesetcphotos/shard14.jpg


http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/cranesetcphotos/shard15.jpg





There are rumours of a big announcement next week - should hear some news about the funding.

Its about time the greatest country on earth got themselves a stupidly huge building!!

^^ The US already has stupidly huge buildings though.

:lol:

^^ The US already has stupidly huge buildings though.

:lol:

Nice.

hell yeah!

^^ The US already has stupidly huge buildings though.

:lol:

We must remember to fashion you a medal sir.

i know, right?

Thanks for the updates. This is easily one of the best projects in the world.

Any date for this photo?

Is that a bunch of scaffolding boards suspended by the crane or bits of the building?

Almost there... not final confirmation yet, but we're pretty close now -


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/11/24/cnshard124.xml

Qataris mull share in troubled Shard

By Sophie Brodie
Last Updated: 12:16am GMT 24/11/2007


The Qatari government is understood to be close to buying most of the troubled Shard of Glass development, increasing the likelihood that Italian architect Renzo Piano's vision will be realised.

Under the deal, the Qataris will take about 80 percent of the £400m development, buying out stakes owned by Syrian-born Simon Halabi and property company CLS.

This will leave Irvine Sellar, who has been working on the 600,000 sq.ft tower for many years, with a minority interest.

The project, near London Bridge, has been dogged with problems for several years, making it doubtful whether it would ever be built. The most recent of these was when it ran into financial difficulty after the credit crunch and was put on hold.

Meanwhile, Mr Halabi found himself under pressure from bankers Société Générale after his gym business Esporta, bought last year from Duke Street Capital for £476m, was put into administration. The move left him with a loss running into millions of pounds.

It was then revealed that a third party was interested in taking Mr Halabi's stake. Sten Mortstedt, executive chairman of CLS, said at the time that the banks considering financing the project, which included Credit Suisse, did not want Mr Halabi as an investor. Yesterday, Mr Mortstedt declined to comment. Mr Halabi and Mr Sellar were unavailable for comment. Credit Suisse are no longer involved.

Relations between the investors have often been strained. In 2004, Mr Halabi took the other two to court in a bitter row over the size of their respective stakes. The battle ended in an undisclosed settlement. Mr Sellar is now suing his solicitors for £55m.

Mr Piano first unveiled his 1,016ft skyscraper in 2000. The original plans were attacked by English Heritage, which led to a public inquiry.

The inquiry concluded the plans were fine and the tower could go ahead. It is due for completion in 2011.

why is the price so expensive for this building ,when other buildings over twice this height are nearly the same price?

why is the price so expensive for this building ,when other buildings over twice this height are nearly the same price?


High local labour costs and a difficult construction site that requires the building to be built entirely within its own footprint.

Several posts deleted. Please stop turning this into City vs City - that includes you Les.

OK. Sorry.

Just to reiterate what I said before, I'm chuffed about the news, and I think this tower will 'personify' the regeneration and renaissance of London that has and continues to happen in the city. Turning it from a place no one really wanted to be a few decades ago, to a city that can compete on the world stage again. I think this building will be a monument to that:)

High local labour costs and a difficult construction site that requires the building to be built entirely within its own footprint.

And the highest quality materials too :yes:

^^ The US already has stupidly huge buildings though.

:lol:


Nice one! :okay:

Damn... This tower is taking forever...
If it gets canceled in the end I'm going to be seriously annoyed for all those pages I read here for nothing.
Fingers crossed!

PS: we would need a smily for that by the way! Fingers crossed

I really hope it will get built...

We should hopefully know this week. As I have said in the Shard thread in the UK forums, demolition progress has greatly improved in the past week, that shows to me that the developers are either confident that the Quataris will buy a big stake, or that they already have. If they do, this will be sure to go ahead. It already has two prelets and the apartments will sell like hotcakes. Very, very expensive hotcakes.

Yes personally i'm buying 10 apartments. One for each of my cats. Yes, yes...i'm that rich. Now just get on and build the lovely pointed one please, which I am very sure will happen.

i agree with zenith cos im buying one for my horse.

Any news??, I hope this this goes forward it's such a cool building.

Damm the credit crunch!

will there be any private appartments in there. and at what price?

will there be any private appartments in there. and at what price?

Yes, there will be luxury apartments on floors 53-64.

I expect it will all be marketed very privately, given they will be the most exclusive apartments ever built in London, so the prices won't be readily available to the public. However, you can probably guess the minimum, when you consider that the apartments over at 1 Hyde Park (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=441757) recently sold for over £100 million each......

Oh, and winstainforth wanted an update. No news from the investors, but I have a recent photo update. This was taken by me a few days ago. Scaffolding is about halfway up -


http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/wjfox2005/London_general/1-18.jpg

Hey wjfox2002 what's that blue stuff above those buildings? :cheer:

Have they removed anything from the other sides, that one looked untouched.

OMG great proyect!! its awesome!!

Hey, why can't they just demolish the building on the site Las Vegas style (with dynamite)? Would it be too dangerous?

Hey, why can't they just demolish the building on the site Las Vegas style (with dynamite)? Would it be too dangerous?

Because it lies directly over a major train and underground station, and the site footprint is extremely tight, being surrounded by numerous other buildings including the largest hospital in London.

thanx for that update on the pricing 100million plus thats mindblowing.

gosh £100 million is alot!


ooooo i hope this building is built we deserve it !

This tower will give london a whole new look, finally the UK will have a supertall!! I can't wait!

I hope the shard will block the view of Guys Hospital


god that bulding ugly!(GH)

Well it will from one angle. Hopefully once it's built it'll take the attention away from Guy's.

wjfox2002 or anyone else who knows...

because of the tight surroundings will this tower need to be built pretty much within its own footprint??

^^ Yeah - it will have to be built in its own footprint. All while London Bridge Station stays open (And Guys Hospital too)

Here is a pic, and interesting article that were posted in the UK thread, which explains the process somewhat.

http://www.building.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=583&storycode=3094541&c=1

http://www.building.co.uk/Journals/Builder_Group/Building/2007_Issue_36/attachments/Bringing-down-Southwark-Tow.gif

This looks a bit more organised than the demolition of Rangs Building in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Thank god and prayers please for those that lost their lives.

wow the entire process sounds like an unholy ballache!

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ap7TLu7EUUj8

QInvest to Buy Majority of London `Shard,' Property Week Says

By Simon Packard

Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- QInvest, a bank owned by investors from the Gulf states, is poised to become the majority owner in the London skyscraper development known as the `Shard,' Property Week reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

QInvest will buy the 33 percent stakes of CLS Holdings Plc and Simon Halabi and part of the stake of Sellar Property, the weekly magazine said. Spokesmen for the three parties declined to comment on the magazine's report.

Earlier this week QInvest Chief Executive Officer Abdul Latif Almeer said during a press conference that the bank was helping in an unnamed 1.4 billion-pound ($2.78 billion) real estate project in London, Property Week said.

The Renzo Piano-designed tower project is expected to cost at least 800 million pounds to build.

To contact the reporter on this story: Simon Packard in London at packard@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 21, 2007 07:37 EST

:dance:

Awesome...love the project!

I just love to see it raise up

- deleted by wjfox -

still no progress..

http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff108/ekajllahsram/018.jpg

:bash::bash: :ohno:........

happy new year all.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Its Russia tower's cute little wife. While you have the darker, larger and taller masculine Russia Tower, this one seems slimmer, sleeker and less pronounced, yet just as stunning and more beautiful in the feminine way. Quite a long distance relationship though.

Its Russia tower's cute little wife. While you have the darker, larger and taller masculine Russia Tower, this one seems slimmer, sleeker and less pronounced, yet just as stunning and more beautiful in the feminine way. Quite a long distance relationship though.

What a poet :lol: I do see i big resemblance (sp?) though

London Bridge Tower came first.

London Bridge Tower came first.

It will also be built last (if at all)!

^^
if at all?
:bash:

the site is already going under demolition, and they have just received a huge middle eastern investment to make it go ahead.

they have just received a huge middle eastern investment to make it go ahead.

It hasn't been confirmed yet. I suggest you read the article again.

^^

'Shard Secures Massive Middle Eastern Investment'
http://skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=1279

^^

'Shard Secures Massive Middle Eastern Investment'
http://skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=1279

"The developer behind London Bridge Tower, better known as the Shard, appears to have finally secured the necessary investment to move the project into full-blown construction."

It's not confirmed yet.

My latest video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDCyeX-sbVg

That's a great video, very professionally made. Good work, you clever little chicken :)

wjfox: what's your job mate?
(if you don't mind saying of course...)

Good work!

http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=297&storycode=3103630&c=1


http://i11.tinypic.com/6jxp6ap.jpg


CLS loses £25m on sale of Shard stake

17:14 | 10.01.08

CLS Holdings’ shares crashed 5.5% this afternoon after it revealed it had sold its one-third stake in the Shard development at London Bridge at a loss of £25m.

By David Doyle

CLS said it had sold its interest in the London Bridge Quarter project, which comprises the Shard and neighbouring New London Bridge House, to Zijaj for £30m in cash. Zijaj is believed to be a consortium of Qatari investors, linked to bank QInvest, which Property Week revealed was buying out CLS and another one-third shareholder Simon Halabi (21.12.07).

CLS said the £30m sale price reflected a loss of £25m, or 37p a share. ‘This sale has been achieved despite the significant adverse change in the commercial property and lending environment since June,’ the company said.

The sale of Halabi’s stake is expected to take place imminently. As part of the whole deal Zijaj is also expected to buy part of Irvine Sellar's one-third stake, reducing his holding in the skyscraper scheme to around 20%. This would give the Qataris an 80% share in a scheme, which has a projected end value of £1.4bn.

The funding arrangement for the Shard, which has estimated construction costs of more than £800m, could finally enable the Renzo Piano-designed scheme to be developed.

I have to say following all this has been difficult.

Is the above a good thing?

Is the above a good thing?

Of course! Basically the project is getting new owners with more money.


wjfox: what's your job mate?
(if you don't mind saying of course...)


Artworker for a law firm in London.

Oh, well great then! :happy:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/wjfox2005/London_general/1-18.jpg

Don't we say "Rebirth" in english?

It seems that you use more and more french words ^^

Otherwise , with this supertall , the Bishop at 288m it would be great
In paris we have 2 supertalls approved , one of 275m proposed , and 3 others under developpment :)

Stop the f Paris / London fight ,unite ! we are all in Europe , so GO EUROPE :)

^ Renaissance is a word in English too and has been for centuries.

Otherwise , with this supertall , the Bishop at 288m it would be great In paris we have 2 supertalls approved , one of 275m proposed , and 3 others under developpment :)
Supertalls are defined here as 300m or above (including roof/spire).

nice

What's the deal with the metalwork up the side of Guy's? Is it getting a clean-up? (a reclad or demolition is obviously too much to hope for!)

That thing's been there for ages. I was also wondering.

Don't we say "Rebirth" in english?

It seems that you use more and more french words ^^

Otherwise , with this supertall , the Bishop at 288m it would be great
In paris we have 2 supertalls approved , one of 275m proposed , and 3 others under developpment :)

Stop the f Paris / London fight ,unite ! we are all in Europe , so GO EUROPE :)

We only technically have 1 supertall planned, and that is this one. The Bishopsgate Tower was going to be a supertall, but it was cut to 288m... It will still look like a supertall though, because it is on higher ground than the river.

But I agree with the 'unite!' bit though. It's fantastic that European cities can hold their own in terms of skyscraper development compared to the rest of the world:)

this is really draaaagging

i am impatient and want to see some action!

this is really draaaagging

i am impatient and want to see some action!

Me too. Europe is really really slow in building skyscrapers over 300m. This would be the first one (outside of Russia) and it takes ages.

Me too. Europe is really really slow in building skyscrapers over 300m. This would be the first one (outside of Russia) and it takes ages.
Hang on in there Tom, there are no supertalls built yet in Moscow. However they do have four U/C and work will start soon on Foster's Russia Tower at a whopping 610 m ! Paris has two proposed and Frankfurt one, so yes Moscow will be the supertall capital of continental Europe for a while.

If Wembley Tower (http://www.brent.gov.uk/wembley.nsf/24878f4b00d4f0f68025663c006c7944/7c509a3efc89512280256a41005d4c7a?OpenDocument) been competed in the 1890's, London would have had the first Supertall in the world!

BTW according to SSP Dubai has 76 skyscrapers (inc 4 supertalls) built and 101 U/C (inc 18 supertalls) - where did you get the 295 number from?

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/wjfox2005/London_general/1-18.jpg

Don't we say "Rebirth" in english?

It seems that you use more and more french words ^^

Otherwise , with this supertall , the Bishop at 288m it would be great
In paris we have 2 supertalls approved , one of 275m proposed , and 3 others under developpment :)

Stop the f Paris / London fight ,unite ! we are all in Europe , so GO EUROPE :)


Yes and we don't try and ban French words from our language. Thankyou for the support. I fully support Paris too, but not as fully as London ;)

Stop the f Paris / London fight ,unite ! we are all in Europe , so GO EUROPE :)

Ueah, you should unite and fight against Moscow together :D

I assume everyone has seen the Boots etc is shut in London Bridge station with a big hoarding specifically saying the shard about to start. But its still not 100% then?

Did the lease run out and they are just holding it just in case?

Ueah, you should unite and fight against Moscow together :D

Moscow is in Europe

With the supertalls of UK / FR and RU we can compete with US and China^^

Im guessing 750k us?

Moscow is in Europe

With the supertalls of UK / FR and RU we can compete with US and China^^

So Europe's (maybe) 4 vs the hundreds of the US and China? Dreaming I think.

Who gives a damn? I don't. Europe doesn't have to compete in the height stakes.

In my mind, Europe has some of the best skylines in the world without supertalls

Moving up outside of the building
This morning 17/01/08

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc159/trancestrances/Shard%20London%20Bridge%20Tower/170120081911.jpg

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc159/trancestrances/Shard%20London%20Bridge%20Tower/170120081912-1.jpg

So Europe's (maybe) 4 vs the hundreds of the US and China? Dreaming I think.

Well, there are four supertalls and one ultratall u/c in Moscow. Less then in China, of course, but for Europe it is something.

i think Europe is very beautiful for its historical buildings =)

If Wembley Tower (http://www.brent.gov.uk/wembley.nsf/24878f4b00d4f0f68025663c006c7944/7c509a3efc89512280256a41005d4c7a?OpenDocument) been competed in the 1890's, London would have had the first Supertall in the world!
Wouldn`t that be something like the Eifel Tower?


BTW according to SSP Dubai has 76 skyscrapers (inc 4 supertalls) built and 101 U/C (inc 18 supertalls) - where did you get the 295 number from?

From here
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/bu/sk/?id=100485

Times article relating to Halabi selling his share of the Shard project:


http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/construction_and_property/article3207071.ece


http://business.timesonline.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00268/BUILDING-360_268573a.jpg


January 18, 2008

Leading UK property developer Simon Halabi
to abandon Shard of Glass project

James Rossiter, Property Correspondent

Simon Halabi, one of Britain's wealthiest property tycoons, is poised to sell his one-third stake in the troubled Shard of Glass skyscraper.

Qatari investment funds are understood to have agreed to pay about £30million cash for Mr Halabi's stake in the site over London Bridge station, where there are plans for a 310m (1,016ft) skyscraper and adjoining low-rise glass edifice that could in total be worth £1.4 billion if built and fully let.

The final terms of Mr Halabi's sale are expected to be similar to those of a deal struck last week between the same Qatari funds to buy another one-third stake in the Shard scheme from CLS Holdings, a quoted property company that was forced to book a £25 million loss on its investment.

CLS's last gross value for its one-third stake in the Shard was £131 million, based on a June market estimation.

However, Mr Halabi, a reclusive Syrian-born private investor, is likely to have kept his investment in the scheme at cost.

His family trust is thought to have invested about £10.5 million to buy his one-third stake in the scheme, but it would have been liable for finance costs and advisory fees to keep the project alive.

Mr Halabi is sitting on losses of up to £150 million after buying the Esporta fitness chain last year, only for Société Générale, his main bank lender for the purchase, to put the holding company into administration. The Qatari funds buying into the Shard are thought to be fronted by QInvest, a Doha-based Islamic bank that was formed last year with backing from Gulf Finance House.

The new Qatari owners are expected to draw up a deal with Sellar Property Group, the privately owned British developer, which will give each side equal control over the venture but leave Sellar in charge of the project development.

New ownership of the planned Shard and adjoining New London Bridge House may kick-start construction.

The Times revealed that site clearance work to start building was halted in September as the owners struggled to raise finance and CLS and Mr Halabi started talks to try to exit the project.

The Shard was scheduled to be completed in 2011, but the timetable was put back last summer to at least 2012 as the credit crunch set in.

A five-year development loan of about £350 million is needed to get the project off the ground.

However, concerns are growing that the City is set to be hit by a glut of built but unlet property over the next four years.

Even so, developers are expected to build about eight million sqft of City offices between 2008 and 2012.

This will be about 50 per cent more than the amount of space completed over the preceding four-year period, according to figures that were published yesterday by Atisreal, the real estate property consultants.

They predict that City rents are in line to fall 5 per cent this year and next, rising only 3 per cent between 2011 and 2012.

Thanks to Black Cat in the London forums for this.

Wouldn`t that be something like the Eifel Tower?



From here
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/bu/sk/?id=100485
Yes Wembley Tower, also called Watkin's Folly, was intended to outdo Eiffel's Tower.

Emporis says Dubai has 36 built skyscrapers (150m or above) including 4 supertalls, surely that can't be right?

and

Times article relating to Halabi selling his share of the Shard project:
Seems to be bad and good news. Is there a smiley for that?

Almost there...

http://www.building.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=29&storycode=3104061&c=0

It is understood that Mace is on the verge of two other significant contract appointments in the capital. Sources close to the Shard, at London Bridge, said that the £350m Sellar Properties development was “on the brink of securing funding” this week. He said Mace would be appointed to build it on a fixed-price contract “imminently”.

:drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool:

If this isn't ready for the 2012 Olympics > :ohno:

it will definitely not be ready in 2012 ^^

it will definitely not be ready in 2012 ^^

Oh, really?

http://www.shardlondonbridge.com/timeline/development_programme.php

Oh, really?

http://www.shardlondonbridge.com/timeline/development_programme.php

i saw that already ^^. but they've only 4 years. and that's a supertall! demolishing the old building, clear the site, build the foundation, top out and finishing the whole tower....can't imagine they can do it in 4 years. but we'll see :), time will tell us :)

In my mind, Europe has some of the best skylines in the world without supertalls


I agree with you!:lol:
Chinese people, at least the people in Nanjing as i know,love european cities because european protect their old cities very well.
Skyscrapers can be built everywhere only depend on money but historical buildings and museums are unique and they can not be copied.

Anyway, I am happy for London for this new supertall and waiting for more supertalls be built in London(not too much, but every supertall should be elegant).

London is my favorite city:wave:

i saw that already ^^. but they've only 4 years. and that's a supertall! demolishing the old building, clear the site, build the foundation, top out and finishing the whole tower....can't imagine they can do it in 4 years. but we'll see :), time will tell us :)

I just hope that it will be topped out with cladding AT LEAST by the olympics, London needs to show of it's skyline by then and this will really boost it.

agreed ^^
If the shard isn't done, at least we'll still have some other new additions to the skyline :)
lets be optimistic!:banana:

Nice design, can't wait until it is finished :) i'm going to London with school in April ;)

hmm....

:banana:

http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=297&storycode=3104277&c=1

Qatari consortium set up to develop ‘The Shard’

09:05 | 22.01.08

Irvine Sellar’s Sellar Property Group today announced it had set up a new consortium to carry out its £2bn Shard skyscraper development at London Bridge Station.

By Deirdre Hipwell

As revealed by Property Week (news 21.12.07) the consortium will comprise four Qatari banks - Qatari Islamic Investment bank QInvest, Qatar National Bank, Qatari Islamic Bank and Barwa – and Sellar Property Group. Each party has bought 20% of the issued share capital of the company.

Sellar said the consortium, fronted by QInvest, was set up after a years’ negotiation with the Qatari investors which have bought both CLS Holdings and Simon Halabi’s Family Trust’s interests in the proposed 2m sq ft mixed-use London Bridge Quarter.

QInvest’s chief executive officer Professor Abdul Latif Almeer said: ‘Our investment in this £2bn development not only reflects our admiration for what has already been achieved in getting the scheme to its present level, but also underpins our confidence in the London commercial real estate market.’

Qatar Islamic Bank chief executive officer Salah Jaidah said: ‘Our investment in London Bridge Quarter represents a positive conclusion of nine months of negotiations, during which time QInvest and QIB took the lead and initiated the idea of creating the consortium of Qatari banks.

'It is also the first time that a consortium of Qatari banks has been formed to invest in an international project of this kind and we are proud to be part of it.’

Sellar Property Group, led by Irvine and his son James Sellar, will continue as developers of the Renzo Piano-designed Shard and will also develop the entire integrated scheme that includes the neighbouring New London Bridge, which will be renamed London Bridge Place.

The estimated build costs for the project are £1.4bn and the Qatari-based investors will provide a majority of the initial construction finance. James Sellar said the consortium planned to ‘fast track the construction of the Quarter enabling us to complete construction by the end 2011’.



http://www.propertyweek.com/Pictures/460xAny/i/q/o/shardhome.jpg

:rock::rock::banana2::banana2::rock::rock::banana::banana::rock::rock:

Great news..It's high time they started its construction.

^^woah! what a tower! love it :banana::banana::banana:

One of the most graceful structure proposed in the world.

...and what a saga! one of the longest building soap opera ever! after the British Library, T5...well...Britain is quite used to this kind of lenghty dramas...

Woah, not only has it started finally, but it will be even faster than planned, why couldnt they do that for all the towers

£2bn 'Shard of Glass' scheme assured
(22 January 2008 14:40)
The future of the £2 billion ‘Shard of Glass’ scheme in central London has been assured after investors from the Middle East took a major stake in the project.

Mace is lined up to build the project, which has been given the go-ahead after a group of investors fronted by the Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) and Middle Eastern investment bank QInvest signed a deal to buy 80 per cent of the finished property by London Bridge.

The project is the brainchild of Irvine and James Sellar, who said in a joint statement: “This underlines both their faith in this iconic development and the London real estate market. Together we can fast track the construction of the Quarter enabling us to complete construction by the end 2011."

QIB chief executive officer Salah Jaidah said: “This project is an exciting and strategic one for QIB and our subsidiary in London, European Finance House. It is the first time ever that a Qatari consortium of banks joins together for a project in the international market and we are proud to be part of it.”

The investment consortium also includes Qatar National Bank and Barwa and each of its members will be 20 per cent equal shareholders in a newly formed company, London Bridge Quarter Holdings with Sellar retaining a 20 per cent stake.
The deal to finance the Renzo Piano signed building took nine months to thrash out and was arranged by asset manager Centuria.

---------------------

Thank you Centuria!

---------------------

Shard developers secure funding
22 January, 2008

By Sarah Richardson

Four Quatari banks have agreed to fund the construction of the Renzo Piano's London Bridge skyscraper

Funding to build the 310m high Shard of Glass has been secured, the team behind the project confirmed today.


Four Quatari banks, led by investment bank Qinvest, have agreed to bankroll the project, which is being developed by Sellar Property.

Mace is expected to build the structure for a fixed price of around £350m after earlier negotiations to build the scheme under a construction management route hit a wall over risk concerns to the client.

Qinvest chief executive officer Abdul Latif Almeer said: "Our investment in this £2 billion development not only reflects our admiration for what has already been achieved in getting the scheme to its present level but also underpins out confidence in the London commercial real estate market."

i saw that already ^^. but they've only 4 years. and that's a supertall! demolishing the old building, clear the site, build the foundation, top out and finishing the whole tower....can't imagine they can do it in 4 years. but we'll see :), time will tell us :)

James Sellar said the consortium planned to ‘fast track the construction of the Quarter enabling us to complete construction by the end 2011’.

Good news so when does it actualy start getting built?

A new Icon for London...and what a graceful icon!

Good news so when does it actualy start getting built?

The current building will be demolished by the middle of the year, they are already doing groundwork around the area and in London Bridge Station.

At least its going ahead now and financial issues have been sorted.

the consortium planned to ‘fast track the construction of the Quarter

i dont mean to sound totally retarded but what is the 'Quarter' ? thanx:nuts:

i dont mean to sound totally retarded but what is the 'Quarter' ? thanx:nuts:

The combined train station upgrade, Shard tower, New London Bridge House development, and other local improvements.

This is fantastic news. I'm doubtful about the 2011 completion date, but maybe this new energy behind the project will realise it? Afterall they have a bit of competition with Ledenhall, Bishopsgate and Fenchurch Street.

If this is true then there should be real changes at the site real soon!

THIS BULDING IS ANDREWVILLE

GREAT SKYSCRAPER FOR LONDON:banana::lol::bash::):ohno::nuts::cheers:^^^^^^^^^^

What a fantastic way to end this saga!

Great news for London. You guys must be chuffed!

This is great news!
Full speed ahead!

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/8736/s91280x768zp3.jpg
By pfarrey (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/pfarrey), shot with DSC-W90 (http://profile.imageshack.us/camerabuy.php?model=DSC-W90&make=SONY) at 2008-01-26

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/9023/s101280x768nx9.th.jpg (http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=s101280x768nx9.jpg)http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/980/s81280x768kq4.th.jpg (http://img166.imageshack.us/my.php?image=s81280x768kq4.jpg)http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/4991/s71280x768jc7.th.jpg (http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=s71280x768jc7.jpg)
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/5359/s61280x768li1.th.jpg (http://img165.imageshack.us/my.php?image=s61280x768li1.jpg)http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/1802/s51280x768xf3.th.jpg (http://img144.imageshack.us/my.php?image=s51280x768xf3.jpg)http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/3526/s41280x768jj0.th.jpg (http://img180.imageshack.us/my.php?image=s41280x768jj0.jpg)
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/373/s31280x768tl4.th.jpg (http://img165.imageshack.us/my.php?image=s31280x768tl4.jpg)http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/5982/s21280x768cn1.th.jpg (http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=s21280x768cn1.jpg)http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/7897/s11280x768ye1.th.jpg (http://img180.imageshack.us/my.php?image=s11280x768ye1.jpg)

Wow!
A lot of Progess:banana:

Princes Charles against LBT

Prince Charles slams plans to 'vandalise' London skyline

8 hours ago

LONDON (AFP) — Britain's Prince Charles on Thursday savaged plans to erect more odd-shaped towers in London, saying they would "vandalise" the skyline and trash the city's character.

The heir to the throne, a fierce critic of post-World War II architecture, lambasted plans to site towers overshadowing historic places like the Tower of London and the City of Westminster.

After the gherkin-like 30 St Mary Axe tower was completed in 2004, an array of weird-shaped steel and glass towers are now in the pipeline, with nicknames like "Shard of Glass", "Walkie Talkie", "Helter Skelter" and "Cheesegrater".

"For some unaccountable reason we seem to be determined to vandalise these few remaining sites which retain the kind of human scale and timeless character that so attract people to them and which increase in value as time goes by," Charles told a building and planning conference at St James's Palace.

"Thus, in chasing the corporate tenant or the buy-to-let investor, we may not only be destroying our heritage, but killing the goose that lays the golden egg for we will destroy what makes our cities and towns so attractive to tourists in the process."

The prince, 59, said the approach of Berlin, where restrictions are imposed on the height of new buildings, "can help to achieve a far more coherent sense of harmony and civic self-confidence than the alternative 'free-for-all' that will leave London and our other cities with a pockmarked skyline".

Prince Charles contrasted the protection of the historic skyline in Paris, where tall buildings were allowed only around La Défense, and London where commercial pressures and the need to build 3 million more homes meant tall buildings were encroaching into historic areas and not areas suitable for them such as Canary Wharf.

A rash of skyscrapers "will disfigure precious views and disinherit future generations of Londoners," he added.

Due to post-war architectural carelessness, sink estates across Britain were "unloved and relentlessly, depressingly ugly," Charles added.

As an alternative, residential buildings should consist of four- to five-storey terraces and six- to 10-storey mansion blocks.

Buildings should be built to last 100 years rather than 20, and have flexible use. The proportions, layout, material and building practices used should fit the location.

Charles has tried to put his own building ideas into practice at Poundbury in south-west England, built on land he owns and conceived by him as an inspiration to town planning and design.

He concluded by telling delegates: "For the past 60 years or so we have been conducting an experiment in social and environmental engineering that has gone disastrously wrong."

Times change Charly - dont think your going to be king though,...

Prince Charles is a dick...

^^ i agree, the shard is surely up there with the best projects in the world right now and some stupid nosy royal shouldn't get in the way!
I think Big Ben deserves some competition...

We don't know if the POW is specifically referring to The Shard; he may well be referring to 20 Fenchurch St (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=14475141&postcount=387), a tower which on this board hasn't received universal acclaim.
In any case, The Shard is on the south bank of the Thames so won't "overshadow' the Tower of London or the City of Westminster.

SHARD OF GLASS ANNOYS ROYAL ARSE (PRINCE CHARLES)

who likes prince charles anyway?

who likes prince charles anyway?

so put down the monarchy and set the English Republic :nocrook:

A conservative, stuck-in-the-past royal. I am shocked.... :sleepy:

:ohno:Princes Charles against LBT

Prince Charles slams plans to 'vandalise' London skyline

8 hours ago

LONDON (AFP) — Britain's Prince Charles on Thursday savaged plans to erect more odd-shaped towers in London, saying they would "vandalise" the skyline and trash the city's character.

The heir to the throne, a fierce critic of post-World War II architecture, lambasted plans to site towers overshadowing historic places like the Tower of London and the City of Westminster.

After the gherkin-like 30 St Mary Axe tower was completed in 2004, an array of weird-shaped steel and glass towers are now in the pipeline, with nicknames like "Shard of Glass", "Walkie Talkie", "Helter Skelter" and "Cheesegrater".

"For some unaccountable reason we seem to be determined to vandalise these few remaining sites which retain the kind of human scale and timeless character that so attract people to them and which increase in value as time goes by," Charles told a building and planning conference at St James's Palace.

"Thus, in chasing the corporate tenant or the buy-to-let investor, we may not only be destroying our heritage, but killing the goose that lays the golden egg for we will destroy what makes our cities and towns so attractive to tourists in the process."

The prince, 59, said the approach of Berlin, where restrictions are imposed on the height of new buildings, "can help to achieve a far more coherent sense of harmony and civic self-confidence than the alternative 'free-for-all' that will leave London and our other cities with a pockmarked skyline".

Prince Charles contrasted the protection of the historic skyline in Paris, where tall buildings were allowed only around La Défense, and London where commercial pressures and the need to build 3 million more homes meant tall buildings were encroaching into historic areas and not areas suitable for them such as Canary Wharf.

A rash of skyscrapers "will disfigure precious views and disinherit future generations of Londoners," he added.

Due to post-war architectural carelessness, sink estates across Britain were "unloved and relentlessly, depressingly ugly," Charles added.

As an alternative, residential buildings should consist of four- to five-storey terraces and six- to 10-storey mansion blocks.

Buildings should be built to last 100 years rather than 20, and have flexible use. The proportions, layout, material and building practices used should fit the location.

Charles has tried to put his own building ideas into practice at Poundbury in south-west England, built on land he owns and conceived by him as an inspiration to town planning and design.

He concluded by telling delegates: "For the past 60 years or so we have been conducting an experiment in social and environmental engineering that has gone disastrously wrong."

:ohno:Such retrograde comments make my blood boil :ohno:

What makes many european cities unique is that mixture of ancient and avantgard architechture side by side. Too bad this man has SOOO much power.

Princes Charles against LBT

Prince Charles slams plans to 'vandalise' London skyline

Aww! Charles doesn't like the towers? I wish they had never been planned now!:( THEY MUST BE STOPPED!!!

The man can frak off. All the big sites are active now and they won planning permission fair and square. He has absolutely no power to stop them, and if he thinks his little speech is going to change the minds of the developers and more importantly the city planners, then he is seriously deluded.

London is the most amazing city in the world, IMO. It has been through SO much shit, for THOUSANDS of years, yet it comes back stronger, it still thrives and is seen as a modern metropolis, easily able to compete with the likes of New York and Tokyo. If this man thinks he can stagnate it and turn it into a museum then he is an idiot.

Charlie should stop barking and get a job.

Cant believe what he just said, he really wants London to stay old forever, well it aint gonna happen, you wannabe king ;)

He says that buildings should be built to last 100 years and not 20. Well that's exactly what the Shard is going to do, it'll probably last for even longer than 100 years.

LONDON (AFP) — Britain's Prince Charles on Thursday savaged plans to erect more odd-shaped towers in London, saying they would "vandalise" the skyline and trash the city's character.Charles is right. The two skylines of London are perfectly clustered in the City and on Canary Warf. Nowadays new skyscrapers pop-up everywhere. If you're not careful London is transforming into another Shanghai. Just another highrise city which can't be distinguished from any other present day skyscrapercity.

Charles is right. The two skylines of London are perfectly clustered in the City and on Canary Warf. Nowadays new skyscrapers pop-up everywhere. If you're not careful London is transforming into another Shanghai. Just another highrise city which can't be distinguished from any other present day skyscrapercity.

And who are you, the queen???

And are you seriously saying shanghai cant be distinguished from chicago, or new york or dubai???????...or any other city???

Charles is right. The two skylines of London are perfectly clustered in the City and on Canary Warf. Nowadays new skyscrapers pop-up everywhere. If you're not careful London is transforming into another Shanghai. Just another highrise city which can't be distinguished from any other present day skyscrapercity.

Have you actually looked at London's proposals?

Why the hell does everyone assume that just because a city has a number of tall buildings it will look like all the other cities with tall buildings? I can assure you it is alot harder to distinguish two low-rise cities.

As I have said before, London has one of the best skylines in the world without skyscrapers and IMO I think these new skyscrapers will enhance the rest of the city not shadow it.
By around 2015 London will have an even more classy, stylish and futuristic skyline.

surely he cant change the construction now?

We don't know if the POW is specifically referring to The Shard; he may well be referring to 20 Fenchurch St (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=14475141&postcount=387), a tower which on this board hasn't received universal acclaim.
In any case, The Shard is on the south bank of the Thames so won't "overshadow' the Tower of London or the City of Westminster.

Then it does not look like a problem to me. Looking at the renders in the opening post, I must say I have some sympathy for prince Charles, this building may fit better in one of the existing clusters then on this location with few towers nearby.

Prince Charles disgusts me and very disgraceful to the world. He needs to get a life, seriously. Let's ignore him and get this beautiful skyscraper get built! :)

surely he cant change the construction now?

Nah - of course not.

Prince Charles has no power whatsoever, he's just stating his old fashioned opinions. (although, to be fair he should not be totally ignored, some of his views on sustainability, communities and buildings built to last are worth listening too....but overall he is stuck in the past)

Then it does not look like a problem to me. Looking at the renders in the opening post, I must say I have some sympathy for prince Charles, this building may fit better in one of the existing clusters then on this location with few towers nearby.

No. Like the Eiffel Tower, this building looks best alone. Hell, it even goes one step further and was specifically designed to stand alone. Putting more towers near it, or putting it where there are more towers, would ruin it.

Anyone who has sympathy with prince charles's views on LBT has obviously never been to the area. It is so far from the idealistic medieval london that charles seems to think it is - the street plan and buildings are not quaint and olde worlde. The area is dominated by massive, busy roads, ugly post war dross and quite frankly the most horrid transport interchange in London.

Its not an attractive location, it does not represent historic london and there is very little in the area worth preserving, This is the ideal location for a tall building and total redevelopment.

Anyone who has sympathy with prince charles's views on LBT has obviously never been to the area. It is so far from the idealistic medieval london that charles seems to think it is - the street plan and buildings are not quaint and olde worlde. The area is dominated by massive, busy roads, ugly post war ground dross and quite frankly the most horrid transport interchange in London.

Its not an attractive location, it does not represent historic london and there is very little in the area worth preserving, This is the ideal location for a tall building and total redevelopment.

I agree :) London bridge is pretty duff

^^ Agreed.

then he is an idiot.

Got it in one. He's a complete tit.

Towers usually should be approved on quality rather than locality. Unless there is a universal historic value that needs protecting.

A 2nd supertall for London...

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=579524

...??

:)

It's not impossible, if the tower has a higher office usage than the Shard, and has similar radiator/cooling floors, or maybe an architectural addition like a spire or fins which seem quite popular now. I hope it isn't just a 60 floor box!

And unless I'm mistaken there are no height restrictions in regards to aircraft in Croydon?

bring it on i say

Great project for London :)

Great project for London :)
Do you mean LBT?

Although I mentioned it here before, thought I'd give a link to a webcast I've been watching recently about Shard. Am off to Chicago next tuesday so will be able to check up on the progress of our own new "scrapers" !!

listen in on this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i64xTevD8A

Quote from the moron Charlie Windsor: "A rash of skyscrapers "will disfigure precious views and disinherit future generations of Londoners," he added"

What effing "views"? I have been to London many times and have never seen any type of view whatsoever. Because of the way the roads are built with curves and dead-ends and the way the neighborhoods are situated who really has a view of anything but their neighbors? Can someone enlighten me? I agree that it is time for London to quit their love affair with those ugly looking medieval structures.

As far as the towers go and this one in particular is there a nearby tube to support the amount of people working there and will the surrounding roads support the daily deliveries this type of tower will demand? I am sure they thought of this but looking at the streets seems like a recipe for gridlock.

BTW... I'll never understand why the people of the UK tolerate the "royals" and their BS. Especially since so much money goes to subsidizing the adulterous slobs. Here in the United States we would have tossed their behinds out long ago and ended this monarchy nonsense. Maybe the UK will "progress" in this area like they have with the skyscrapers?

^The LBT will be built directly above london bridge tube station, so id say the transport is pretty good. We're very fond of our medieval structures, its the bland concrete council blocks that really make the area ugly, and fortunatly this should get rid of one of the worst, possibly more when they do up the area. We put up with the royals because americans love the idea of it, and we make big bucks from tourism at places like windsor castle and buckingham palace. In fact they probably draw in much more money through tourism than we pay them.

They only cost 60p a year per person (or something like that) - and as mentioned, they bring in a lot of tourism, and also do a lot of charity work and so on. I'm happy enough with them for the time being, as are most people.

I do wish Charlie boy would shut the hell up though....i hope he skips the thrown and hands it straight to Wills.

I somewhat like the bleakness of southwark at time.A supertall in croydon is stupid.It will look totally out-of-place.Bring on 200m but 300+ is stretching that bit too far :D

super tower! looks very modern, thats great

^The LBT will be built directly above london bridge tube station, so id say the transport is pretty good. We're very fond of our medieval structures, its the bland concrete council blocks that really make the area ugly, and fortunatly this should get rid of one of the worst, possibly more when they do up the area. We put up with the royals because americans love the idea of it, and we make big bucks from tourism at places like windsor castle and buckingham palace. In fact they probably draw in much more money through tourism than we pay them.

Ok... this is a very good explanation without telling me to go *uck off. I understand the difference now between the medieval structures and the "blocky" things... It is good this building is built on top of a tube station... otherwise I shudder to think what would happen! The traffic in London is bad enough.

Americans love the idea of the royals? WTF? Where do you get that from? We only like Diana for... for... geesh I can't remember why in the hell we liked her!

Ok... this is a very good explanation without telling me to go *uck off. I understand the difference now between the medieval structures and the "blocky" things... It is good this building is built on top of a tube station... otherwise I shudder to think what would happen! The traffic in London is bad enough.

Americans love the idea of the royals? WTF? Where do you get that from? We only like Diana for... for... geesh I can't remember why in the hell we liked her!

come to london mate it's nothing but yanks around buckingham palace and all londons historical buildings.Some days you think your in the us of a.Face it mate you yanks love us brits.

This tower (or a tower is this magnitude regarding size and design) is LONG overdue. If everything is planned correctly, London can easily host numerous supertalls without screwing up the harmony of the city. London has a long and interesting history, and people will flock to London as tourists whether this building is built or not; thats not going to change!! Its only a matter of time before the Shard is built, and towers that are even taller will follow. :cheers:

I personally think that Prince Charles feels like he is forgotten... :lol:

come to london mate it's nothing but yanks around buckingham palace and all londons historical buildings.Some days you think your in the us of a.Face it mate you yanks love us brits.

Oh, by the way... Marrio415 is right... us yankees do love the Brits!! :)

^^ yanks love brits... ehm... err... connected to The Shard project? probably not...

Marrio415 is right... us yankees do love the Brits!! :)

I'm sure it is mutual for the most part:D

I love brit girls, that accent gets me every time.


So is this going to be built? I hope it isnt because it looks so out of place.

I'm sure it is mutual for the most part:D

But remember they aint got irony so...

So is this going to be built? I hope it isnt because it looks so out of place.

Yep. Out of place compared the crappy guys tower, the crappy New London Bridge House, the crappy London Bridge Station, etc... etc... Yep, totally out of place;)

Apparently there is a digger now on the roof, eating away, with a skip being constantly taken up there and brought back down again full of rubble. Activity on the site seems to have increased massively since funding was secured. This has gone from being the least likely of the bigguns to be built, to the most likely, in the space of just a month or two.

This is going to be the best skyscraper in Europe. It's elegant, graceful. It blends in well with the London spires that are dotted around the city, yet at the same time looks like a futuristic pyramid dropped through time from the 22nd Century. It is going to be the catalyst for the regeneration of the whole area, and provide the best views of London ever, short of actually getting a helicoptor or plane ride above the city... I can't wait for this.

http://www.cnplus.co.uk/News/2008/02/shard_concrete_job_tendered.html

Shard concrete job tendered

While Keltbray presses on with demolition work at the site of the planned 310m high shard in London, Mace is preparing to send out tender documents for the £40 million concrete contract later this month.

http://www.cnplus.co.uk/News/2008/02/shard_concrete_job_tendered.html

Shard concrete job tendered

While Keltbray presses on with demolition work at the site of the planned 310m high shard in London, Mace is preparing to send out tender documents for the £40 million concrete contract later this month.

Now THATS progress.Cheers W

well this is what the shard schedule looked like a few years ago:
http://tinypic.com/f3riwh.jpg


this is the current website schedule which we can see is already way behind track:
http://camzyphotos.mysite.orange.co.uk/shard_development.bmp


the next timeline update will have the project finishing in 2013 :bash:

come to london mate it's nothing but yanks around buckingham palace and all londons historical buildings.Some days you think your in the us of a.Face it mate you yanks love us brits.

I can tell you're not a regular on North American Skybar.

the next timeline update will have the project finishing in 2013 :bash:
Having possession of the site delayed by one year may have something to do with it, it's not easy to build a supertall when you can't get on the site :)
Because of that delay the schedule was shifted to the right by one year too, why should it be delayed two more years?

Note how planning approval takes longer than construction - now that's ridiculous.

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There didn't seem to be much going on today. I spotted a digger on top of the roof though, perhaps we will see more progress with the scaffolding over the next fews weeks.

http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/1410/s11280x768zf7.jpg

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/9769/s21280x768mh1.jpg

if we consider the current schedule, the construction should start sometime in may, right?

There didn't seem to be much going on today. I spotted a digger on top of the roof though, perhaps we will see more progress with the scaffolding over the next fews weeks.
Well spotted!

Wow a whole extra floor of scaffolding up since your last photo back on Jan 26 (http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/8736/s91280x768zp3.jpg) and a bit more polythene. The question is: will we live long enough to see this finished?

the next timeline update will have the project finishing in 2013 :bash:

Why should the London Bridge Tower finish in 2013? That's screwed up.

Why should the London Bridge Tower finish in 2013? That's screwed up.

well it's just that if we look at the 'up to date' schedule that is currently on the SHARD website, the Demolition of Southwark Towers is due to finish by April time. Considering that it has barely even started yet, we can gage that they are already a fair amount behind already. They have it finishing in late 2011, and with extra controversy about the tower, London will surely hold it up even further. I think we may be lucky to finish it by the Olympics. 2013 new year seems more likely at this rate of progress.

With any luck, I will be completely wrong and it will finish perfectly on time. That is what we are all hoping for :) It just that London politics make it so difficult for anything to be built.

^^ To be fair, its nothing to do with 'London politics' - it already has planning permission and nothing can take that away.

Its the funding problems that have slowed this project even longer - now it appears the rich Arabs have given it their full backing it should be all systems go. The political and planning system can do nothing more to hold this up.

^^ I guess you're right, I was using the term 'London politics' in a far too general way.

But all the controversy surrounding Prince Charles' comments are so typical of England. He is just old-fashioned I suppose, but in Dubai not even second thoughts would surround this. Nowhere else in the world would planning permission take so long that it took even longer than construction. :ohno:

I want to see Southwark tower down as fast as possible before something else even gets the chance to intrude. I do love London as a city - but can just be frustrating watching all this happen and for it to take so long. It can be hard with all the historical landmarks to introduce extreme modernism like LBT, but cannot be avoided. Paris faces the same problem in that the Eiffel tower seems to be undermined in Paris by all the rising structures around it. Personally I think the 'pick 'n mix' of London will be interesting and effective with modern v. historic dotted around the city. :)

Hopefully this project will lift off now. I look forward to seeing progress made now the all clear has been received. :banana:

great tower

this is a great tower london don't really have many high skyscrapers as such but the ones they do have are quality, read this would be completed by 2013? that'll suck was hoping with all the amazing new projects going on for london would be mostly completed by the time 2012 olympics come around

Nowhere else in the world would planning permission take so long that it took even longer than construction.

Actually you have that the wrong way round, Dubai is one of very few places in the world where the planning takes less time than the construction. Take a few of the main examples of countries skyscrapers:

The freedom tower, 5 years design and planning, 4-5 construction, Shanghai world financial centre, nearly 10 years planning, 4 years construction, Paris have been trying to get a supertall to construction stages for decades, Las Vegas may never get that supertall approved, the Shanghai Centre has been on the drawing board for as long as i can remember and they havent even chosen a design yet. Hell even Al burj has been in proposal stage for nearly a decade.

this is a great tower london don't really have many high skyscrapers as such but the ones they do have are quality, read this would be completed by 2013? that'll suck was hoping with all the amazing new projects going on for london would be mostly completed by the time 2012 olympics come around

Well, there's at least a chance that cosmetically it'll look complete by 2012. I imagine a big chunk of that time at the end would be fit-out works perhaps, so with luck coverage of the Olympics would have this all but complete on the skyline.

maybe they could have shangri la's hotel section all fitted out for the olympics

What does "Demo" on the thread title means? They can't demolish something that has yet to be build, can they ...

/\

Demolition of the building that occupies the site so far.

What does "Demo" on the thread title means? They can't demolish something that has yet to be build, can they ...

:stupid:

^^ :hm:




PS. Thanks R@ptor

I love brit girls, that accent gets me every time.

A sucker for the Yorkshire accent on a lady are you?


I walked around the site the other day its gonna give such an amazing view of the river, the city and canary wharf!

Regarding what Charles said, I think there is a key thing to keep in mind though, which is : Why towers are considered "modern" or, "the way of the future" ? Because they are meant to allow an increase in the density of square meters builded per square meters available ?

This is simply FALSE ! (at least for appartments buildings)

Indeed it is a known fact that for apartments buildings, towers or skyscrapers are -mathematically- a BAD building form to increase density compared to slabs or courtyard buildings, see for instance :


Lionel March and Leslie Martin have made a major contribution to this discussion. (Leslie Martin and Lionel March, Land Use and Built Form, Cambridge Research, Cambridge University, April 1966.) Using the ratio of built floor area to total site area as a measure of density and the semi-depth of the building as a measure of daylight conditions, they have compared three different arrangements of building and open space, which they call S0, S1 und S2.

http://www.uni-weimar.de/architektur/InfAR/lehre/Entwurf/Patterns/107/107_diagramm1.jpg

Three building types

Of the three arrangements, S2, in which buildings surround the outdoors with thin wings, gives the best daylight conditions for a fixed density. It also gives the highest density for a fixed level of daylight.


http://www.uni-weimar.de/architektur/InfAR/lehre/Entwurf/Patterns/107/ca_107.html

So building skyscrapers for appartment buildings (not the case of the Shard I know), except maybe in very specific places like at the South of a nonconstructible area, never has any rational reason at the scale of the city, it is always a "I want a high tower" reason and in that sense appartments buildings skyscrapers can be considered as an anti modern generic building form, even if this is counter intuitive.

Note that for office buildings it is a bit different as the building can be made "fatter", but overall the rule most probably still holds.

For sure appartments buildings have to be reinvented, and the solution is for sure not towers.

(plus in a tower in general a flat is never a traversing flat, which is really at the opposite of luxury)

From City AM 14/03/08

SHARD DEVELOPER IN TENANT TALKS

SELLAR Property Group, joint developer of the proposed Shard of Glass skyscraper at London Bridge is in talks with prospective tenants of the scheme.

Since January, when the 310 million sq feet (?!?!) project secured funding from a group of Qatari investors, there have been a spate of enquiries from businesses looking to snap up the remaining floor space in what will be the European Union's highest building. Russian and Japanese companies are known to have expressed interest.
Toby Pullen, asset management director at Sellar said: "Although no one is looking to sell a stake, we have been approached by a few people."
The £2bn Shard scheme will be made up of apartments, hotel and office space, and finished by 2012.

The £2bn Shard scheme will be made up of apartments, hotel and office space, and finished by 2012.

OMG i can't believe its so expensive to build this tower for 2 billion pounds nonetheless i like this tower but not as much as the foster can't wait to see london once this is complete

310 million sq ft??

I think they might mean 3.1million sq ft as sears tower is only 4.5 million sq ft:dunno:

310 million sq. feet is absurd.

Maybe they got the height (310m) and the floorspace confused?

Is this project a definite "go"?

Site demolition is currently underway and funding for construction is reported to be secured.

Thats good news :P
Althought,i am slightly concered :s

Would there be a possibilty of i height reduction or even a raise in height??
I would be extremely pissed off if the UK's only supertall didn't quite make it as one:)

^^ You're being a tad bit pessimist there and NO, it will NOT get a height reduction.

i'm srry but this building is a joke.

i'm srry but this building is a joke.

Why?

Thats good news :P
Althought,i am slightly concered :s

Would there be a possibilty of i height reduction or even a raise in height??
I would be extremely pissed off if the UK's only supertall didn't quite make it as one:)


Really? As a Londoner myself, I couldn't care less. London doesn't need tall buildings to define itself.

This building will be an interesting oddity on the skyline, no more. I hope it is built as planned, but am certainly not going to lose any sleep if it doesn't happen.

It's British humour.

Well if this building is a joke, I think it's one of the best jokes out of all these projects/jokes out there (planned or being built).

This tower has been one of my favorites ever since the project came out.

Actually, it's Helghast being Helghast. If it is not Dubai, or more accurately, if it is from the US or UK, it either sucks, not tall enough, to plain.....he kinda just likes to hate.

just becuae i dont liek the freedom tower doesnt mean i dont like any tower in the US. and for your info. i live in chicago. i guess even voice your own opinion.
agree totally! ^^. i mean, this is one of the best supertall-projects in europe and IMO with a damn great design
it's funny that u say that cuz you said that about the russian tower.

and the reason i say this is a joke, because this tower was proposed or approved for got what it was exactly and that was back in November, 2003. and its going to be done by 2012. now thats a joke, it takes them That long just for some 310m building.