LONDON | London Bridge Tower - "The Shard" | 1,017 FT / 310 M | 87 FLOORS [Archive]

wjfox2004

Nov 25, 2007, 10:40 PM

Can't believe we don't have a thread for this already... it's one of the biggest towers going up in Europe. Demolition has now started.

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London Bridge Tower - the "Shard"
Southwark SE1

Height: 310m
Floors: 72 + 15 radiator levels
Architect: Renzo Piano
Developer: Sellar Property Group

Links:
Official website (http://www.shardlondonbridge.com/)
Renzo Piano Building Workshop (http://www.rpbw.com)
SkyscraperNews.com listing (http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=46)
Station redevelopment (http://www.tpbennett.co.uk/project.aspx?siteid=2&projectid=13)
SSC thread (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=407549)
Construction timetable displayed on the current site (http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/wjfox2005/London_general/Timetable.jpg)

Notes:
- Irvine Sellar's landmark tower, dubbed the "Shard of Glass" by the media, will be the first building in the UK to break the
1000ft barrier. It will be nearly twice the height of SwissRe, and could become the tallest building in Western Europe.

- London's first truly "mixed use" tower, the floors will be divided as follows:
http://www.willfox.com/images/skyscrapers/lbt/floorsdiagram.jpg

- At the lower levels, the skyscraper will extend the existing public concourse and open up routes connecting Guy's Hospital,
King's College and the southern residential areas to the business communities stretching along the river.

- 30% less energy will be required than for a conventional tall building through the extensive use of the latest
conservation and recycling techniques and materials. A ventilated double skin façade will considerably reduce heat gain
and increase comfort close to the facade. Excess heat from the offices will be used to heat the hotel and apartments
and any additional excess heat will be dissipated naturally through a 16-storey radiator at the top of the tower.
Winter gardens with operable louvre windows will be located on each floor allowing the occupants to connect with
the outside world.

- Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the tower was structurally redesigned to improve stability and reduce
evacuation times.

- The total cost of the project is in excess of £1.2bn and includes major refurbishment of London Bridge tube and
bus stations, along with other local transport improvements.

- Following objections from English Heritage, and a lengthy public inquiry, London Bridge Tower was given final approval by the
Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, on 19th November 2003. The tower has since gained tenants - Shangri-La Hotels (http://shardlondonbridge.com/information/story.php?id=6),
who will be occupying floors 34-52 - and Transport for London (http://www.skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=595) who will take a large chunk of the office space.

Current Status:
Under construction! The tower is scheduled to be topped-out by the end of 2010, and is due to open in 2012 - a few weeks before the Olympic Games.

http://www.willfox.com/images/skyscrapers/lbt/1.jpg

http://www.willfox.com/images/skyscrapers/lbt/lbt.jpg

http://www.willfox.com/images/skyscrapers/lbt/base.jpg

http://homepage.mac.com/benveasey/.Pictures/lbt.jpg

Image credit: Chest

http://www.willfox.com/images/skyscrapers/london2012/28.jpg

http://i11.tinypic.com/34rzy8g.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/wjfox2005/London_general/1-4.jpg

wjfox2004

Nov 25, 2007, 10:44 PM

A rendering of my own, showing its place in the future skyline.

Note: full size panorama can be viewed by clicking here (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=489244).

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/wjfox2005/pano_2012_annotated_central.jpg

wjfox2004

Nov 25, 2007, 10:45 PM

And a couple of recent demolition pics, courtesy of CranesEtc from SSC -

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

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

JManc

Nov 25, 2007, 11:10 PM

to bad guys hospital will continue to grace its fuglyness next to the shard.

wjfox2004

Nov 25, 2007, 11:30 PM

Actually, there are rumours it could be given a reclad. It sure as hell needs one...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Guys_hospital_tower.jpg

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/2365No.1LondonBridge_pic7.jpg

JManc

Nov 25, 2007, 11:45 PM

that would be quite a feat. i like brutalism but that's just bad.

FrancoRey

Nov 26, 2007, 5:32 AM

When were these taken? The Thames looks VERY high...

Can't wait to see the Shard be a go, btw. And yes, the antiqated Guys Hos. could use some love.

Shep

Dec 6, 2007, 8:37 PM

Your a World of Info wjfox! :yes:

Carry on now! :D because I for one really appreciate it! :tup:

wjfox2004

Dec 21, 2007, 10:38 PM

Looks like the financing problems could be resolved...

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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

wjfox2004

Jan 6, 2008, 11:05 AM

My latest video on YouTube -

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

If you have a YouTube account, please rate this! :)

Aleks

Jan 6, 2008, 11:48 AM

OMG! HOW COULD I MISS THIS? This is one of the best skyscrapers going up now. I thought it was canceled for some reason. How can so many posts be on the Burj Dubai thread when this buildings is sooooo much better.

Guy's Tower wouldn't be so ugly if the bird head at the top wasn't there. I wonder how new cladding will look for this tower? It won't be easy choosing a color and design since people know it has a horrible looking building.

pablosan

Jan 6, 2008, 4:53 PM

Wow, this is an awesome looking project.

kenratboy

Jan 8, 2008, 4:36 AM

This is one project that just MUST happen. Great design, and it will set a precedent for more tall construction in the UK and across Europe.

wjfox2004

Jan 10, 2008, 7:28 PM

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.

FrancoRey

Jan 10, 2008, 8:05 PM

Who cares who now owns it or who lost money on it. BUILD IT I SAY!!! ;) :whip:

SkyscraperMan

Jan 10, 2008, 9:54 PM

Impressive. Great for London! :tup:

wjfox2004

Jan 18, 2008, 5:01 PM

"...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'..."

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

:upload_71700:

Nowhereman1280

Jan 18, 2008, 6:39 PM

:banana:

Love this building, good to see funding is coming along!

Rico Rommheim

Jan 18, 2008, 7:04 PM

Nicest building u/c in the world as far as I'm concerned :tup:

wjfox2004

Jan 22, 2008, 10:07 AM

At last, the confirmation we've been waiting for... :banana:

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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

SJPhillyBoy

Jan 23, 2008, 1:23 AM

Very futuristic along with the other proposed towers. I like it!

kenratboy

Jan 23, 2008, 2:37 AM

Very glad to hear this thing still has a chance of being built!

Surrealplaces

Jan 23, 2008, 4:36 AM

I hope this thing gets built, it's cool.

jsf8278

Jan 25, 2008, 6:02 PM

Wow that's impressive. It reminds me of the TransAmerica building in San Francisco, and when comparing the two it makes the TransAmerica building look like crap.

Shep

Jan 28, 2008, 10:44 PM

This would be One Hell Of A Building! :yes:

pablosan

Feb 6, 2008, 1:55 AM

So, what is the status of this project?

wjfox2004

Feb 6, 2008, 7:52 PM

So, what is the status of this project?

To sum up...

- full planning permission was granted in 2003
- tenants have since been gained for the hotel and office space
- a new consortium of Qatari banks are funding its development
- the consortium said recently they intend to begin work immediately
- the site was finally vacated last summer, and demolition began last December. This was halted for a while, as financial issues were resolved, but following the new consortium's announcement it has begun again. The site will be cleared around June/July.
- Mace are agreeing to a fixed-price construction contract

Newcastle Kid

Feb 22, 2008, 12:21 PM

I'm very happy that it looks like this is finally set for lift off:)

Apparently, since the announcement of funding, the demolition work has sped up quite a lot.

wjfox2004

Apr 3, 2008, 11:13 AM

http://www.cnplus.co.uk/News/2008/04/cleveland_bridge_favourite_for_shard_of_glass_steel_prize.html

Cleveland Bridge favourite for Shard of Glass steel prize

Published: 02 April 2008 10:18

Cleveland Bridge is being tipped to carry out the steel contract on the Shard of Glass in London as front runners for the key subcontract packages on the 310 m-high building begin to emerge.

Main contractor Mace is due to make a series of decisions on trade contracts by the middle of next month before it makes a summer presentation to developer Teighmore, which has told it not to bust a £300 million budget.

The steelwork deal would be the Darlington firm's most high-profile scheme since the £60 million Wembley Stadium contract, which it turned its back on when it walked off that job nearly four years ago.

The firm has priced the work along with a rival team featuring ZNS, the sister firm of Dutch company Hollandia - the contractor that ended up replacing Cleveland Bridge at Wembley - and Belgian contractor Victor Buyck.

A winner is expected to be named in May with the deal carrying a price tag of about £25 million for 11,000 tonnes of steel.

Steel will be used in the first 42 storeys of the project, which will house hotel and commercial space, with the next 30 floors residential and featuring a concrete frame, before steel is used again in the remaining floors.

Two firms, Byrne Bros and John Doyle, are pricing the concrete contract, also expected to come in at around £25 million, with Mace due to make an announcement on the winner after the steel contract has been sorted.

Demolition firm Keltbray finally began tearing down the main fabric of the existing building this week as part of its £7 million contract at the site, which is next door to London Bridge railway station. It has been on site for more than two months carrying out asbestos removal.

Mace is hoping piling work, which will be carried out by Stent, can begin by July with construction work finishing in 2011. The M&E deal is expected to be the last major package to be sorted out with the contract split into two. Phoenix Electrical is one firm looking at the deal.

Author: David Rogers. News Editor

:banana:

wjfox2004

Apr 4, 2008, 10:35 AM

http://www.building.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=284&storycode=3110309&c=1

Bernard Ainsworth is hired to take on the Shard

2008 Issue 13

By Roxane McMeeken

Legendary project director leaves Atkins to lead development of 312m London Bridge tower

Bernard Ainsworth, the project director of the Millennium Dome, has been brought in to head the development of the 312m Shard tower for Sellar Property Group.

Ainsworth is leaving Atkins, where he is currently projects director, to project manage the Shard, and the surrounding London Bridge Quarter.

Ainsworth, 61, said he had intended to retire this year from his role at Atkins but changed his mind after he received Sellar’s offer. His work for Atkins included a secondment to doomed London Underground consortium Metronet.

He will start his job on 14 April. He said: “I am very excited. I’m a project management guy, I like big projects and the Shard is a great project.”

Ainsworth, who is in Building’s Hall of Fame, made his name on the Millennium Dome before becoming chief operating officer for the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, which was lauded for regenerating the east of the city.

Ainsworth’s title is project managing director with specific responsibility for the £2bn London Bridge Quarter, which includes the Shard development.

The 72-storey Shard has an estimated construction value of £350m. Building revealed last week that Mace, which is building it under a fixed-price contract, may revert to a construction management procurement route if a deal is not agreed by September.

Irvine Sellar, chairman of Sellar Property Group, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have attracted one of the construction industry’s leading builders to lead what we believe to be Britain’s most prestigious regeneration project.

“He has a superlative track record of delivering large and complicated construction projects on time and within budget.”

http://www.building.co.uk/Pictures/316xAny/j/w/p/St_Thomas_Street_Small_300d.jpg

WonderlandPark

Apr 4, 2008, 3:46 PM

Concrete construction on top of steel construction? Weird.

I guess it makes some sense, use steel for office where its properties allow huge open spans. Concrete for residential, because of its insulating and sound properties.

Seems like loading that steel frame below with lots of weight, but :shrug:

wjfox2004

Apr 14, 2008, 3:02 PM

A quick update of the demolition progress, posted by Fitz44 on SkyscraperCity. Piling and groundwork is reported to be starting in July -

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa278/fit3xl/london/London998.jpg

wjfox2004

Apr 23, 2008, 7:09 PM

From almazUK on flickr:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2407/2434086653_68bf001067_b.jpg

wjfox2004

May 2, 2008, 7:12 PM

Pics from today by DarJoLe of SkyscraperCity:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2082/2458772707_a63b3fa401_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2147/2459608084_5f55376246_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3194/2458780781_bb776d9264_b.jpg

theWatusi

May 2, 2008, 8:41 PM

I like this one.

Is that a battleship in the Thames?

Scruffy

May 3, 2008, 7:06 AM

This might be the European Tower im most excited about, but i can't help getting so impatient. SOO many years waiting for it

FrancoRey

May 3, 2008, 6:27 PM

I like this one.

Is that a battleship in the Thames?

Actually, I think it's a destroyer. But meh.

Can't wait to see this tower start up!

wjfox2004

May 4, 2008, 4:08 PM

I like this one.

Is that a battleship in the Thames?

HMS Belfast -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Belfast

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/Hms.belfast.london.arp.jpg/776px-Hms.belfast.london.arp.jpg

SkyscraperMan

May 4, 2008, 10:33 PM

This is honestly the most impressive skyscraper planned for Europe. Very glad to see this great architecture hit London - by 2015 the London skyline will most likely be the best in Europe. :tup:

Aleks

May 5, 2008, 1:05 AM

The most impressive would have to be the Russia Tower. This is the second best.

But they're actually gonna build this? I always thought they were gonna back out but it's great that they're gonna build it.

CapitalCity

May 5, 2008, 7:46 PM

it kinda looks like a futuristic transamerica pyramid

wjfox2004

May 15, 2008, 9:25 AM

Oh Jesus...

http://www.cnplus.co.uk/News/2008/05/mace_hit_by_fresh_budget_setback_on_350m_shard.html

Shard busts budget

Published: 14 May 2008 15:56 Author: David Rogers

Mace has been given more time to work up costs on plans for London's tallest building after blowing its £350 million budget by more than 10 per cent.

The firm was due to have delivered cost details on the Shard of Glass to developer Teighmore yesterday. The proposal was timed to coincide with the arrival of a delegation of investors from the Qatari banks funding the scheme, which have insisted on a £350 million fixed-price contract.

The current figure is understood to be around £400 million. Mace now has until the end of the month to get the figure down - although it is expected to be still well above the £350 million demanded.

John Doyle is being lined up for the concrete contract, which includes the basement, sub and superstructure work.

Mace is believed to have asked the firm to redraw designs for the substructure to get the cost of the concrete package down. This has come in at around Ł45 million Đ more than 20 per cent higher than Mace was expecting.

Mace declined to comment but one source said: "There are a few areas that need to be rebid and re-engineered. It is tight on budget and whether they get it on budget is a big question."

The main problem is with the basement works - because of its proximity to London Bridge railway station - and these are expected to take up to a year to complete. The source added: "The real risk is in the basement and Doyles and Mace are trying to work out how to carry this without carrying too much exposure."

Keltbray has already begun tearing down the existing building at London Bridge that will make way for the Shard and is also carrying out groundworks ahead of Stent moving in for piling work. The official completion date is still the end of 2011.

But news of the latest budget problems raises fresh fears that Teighmore, which is led by the chairman of Sellar Property Group, Irvine Sellar, will have to pay more for the 310 m high structure or risk it never getting off the ground.

Teighmore has a month to decide what to do with Mace's offer. The most likely outcome is that it asks Mace to retender some of the bigger packages such as M&E and steel. These are priced at £60 million and £28 million respectively.

Last autumn, Teighmore turned its back on Mace when it asked Laing O'Rourke to come up with proposals for the building after deciding the original route of construction management would be too expensive.

But the country's largest private contractor never actually came up with a firm bid - after being trumped by Mace which agreed to carry out the deal on a fixed-price.

Who's won what

Demolition/groundworks Keltbray
Piling Stent
Concrete John Doyle
Steel Cleveland Bridge
M&E Hotchkiss (mechanical); Phoenix (electrical); Balfour Kilpatrick (electrical)
Cladding Scheldebouw

Analysis: Will fear of risk cut down the project?

By David Rogers

Right now, it is fair to say that two questions arise with the Shard. First, is this ever going to get built?

And if it does, who will build it?

Nobody can give a definite answer to either question. It's likely that the best answers would be "probably - but we've no idea when" and "at the moment Mace, but who knows?".

There was a certain inevitability that a new method to build the Shard - beset by budgetry problems for years now - would end up costing more than the bankers would ideally like.

It is up to Mace to get the figure down to what it wants. If not, it and the developer face a terrible dilemma - pull it now or go ahead and build it knowing it could end up costing even more than they ideally want to pay.

The trouble, as ever with a project like this, is the risk. No one wants to catch a cold. Not Mace, not its subcontractors and not the banks. A state of impasse or a rethink - lopping some floors off perhaps? - is looming.

jimmym_mcfc

May 15, 2008, 2:20 PM

the tower looks great and fits in really well
alll the other proposed "skyscrapers" look good to but i really doubt all of them will be biuld
london jus hates skyscrapers !

wjfox2004

May 22, 2008, 9:22 AM

http://www.cnplus.co.uk/imageGallery.html?articleTitle=Shard%20drafts%20in%20T&T&articleUri=tcm:18-1401004&pageUri=tcm:18-1401014-64&xlImageUrl=/images/shard_scaffold1_resized_150_tcm18-731561.jpg

http://www.cnplus.co.uk/images/shard_scaffold1_resized_250_tcm18-731564.jpg

Shard drafts in T&T

Published: 22 May 2008 09:07

Project manager Turner & Townsend has been drafted onto the Shard of Glass project in London to help get the scheme on budget.

A half dozen strong team led by UK director Tim Coleman formally began working on the job this week and will report to the man in charge of the whole development - known as London Bridge Quarter - Bernard Ainsworth.

Mr Ainsworth said the T&T team would be staffed up to around 15 people.

He said: "It is a fairly rapid appointment but we need an expansion of my role and T&T will report to me.

"Every major project needs a project manager and they will be getting involved in all aspects of the job."

T&T will be working with Mace, the firm appointed by developer Teighmore to make sure the scheme is built for £350 million, as well as cost consultant Davis Langdon and engineers WSP and Arup.

Bids for most of the major packages have come back to Mace but Construction News understands that some of these have helped blow the Shard's budget by around 10 per cent.

It is believed the concrete package Đ which John Doyle is slated for - and the M&E deal, which is heading for a team featuring MJN, Phoenix and Hotchkiss, have caused the most headaches.

Mr Ainsworth, who joined the project last month from Atkins and whose previous jobs include running the 2002 Commonwealth Games and working on the Millennium Dome for John Laing, declined to comment on the specifics of the budget. But he said: "I can see a picture that is emerging that is going in the right direction.

"We will be reviewing the picture over the next four or five weeks and it will be a very intensive four or five weeks ahead of us."

Mace had been expected to provide a final figure for the building work this month but Mr Ainsworth said the slip would not affect the main building programme, which is scheduled to start by next January and finish in March 2012.

He said: "A lot of the bids only came back two or three weeks ago but we're still on course to start by the end of the year."

Demolition contractor Keltbray has already taken down three floors of the existing site building, which sits next door to London Bridge station, and is due to finish this work later this year.

Who's who on the Shard

Teighmore is the developer on the project and this is made up of four banks from the Gulf state – Qatari National Bank, Qatar Islamic Bank, Q Invest and Barwa International – and Sellar Property Group, headed by Irvine Sellar. Each owns a 20 per cent slice.

The team charged with building the 310 m-high tower is Mace, while the cost consultant is Davis Langdon, the structural engineer WSP and M&E engineer Arup. A Paris-based company called Tyrrell is advisor to the banks.

London Bridge Quarter is the name of the entire redevelopment – which includes the Shard – and is headed by Bernard Ainsworth, who reports to Teighmore. This week Turner & Townsend was appointed project manager.

wazcaster

May 23, 2008, 3:27 PM

Oh no, please dont tell me that it wont happen because the 'professionals' in charge overspent on it.

Don098

May 23, 2008, 4:18 PM

...can we say Shanghai World Financial Center? Better name though...shard

wjfox2004

Jun 25, 2008, 10:16 AM

Shard construction contracts in place

10:09 | 25.06.08

By Deirdre Hipwell

The development of Europe’s tallest tower The Shard moved a step closer today after Irvine Sellar’s property company awarded a number of key construction contracts.

Sellar Property Group, on behalf of the Shard development consortium London Bridge Quarter, said four construction contracts covering piling, facades, steel and lifts had been agreed.

It said the four contracts amount to almost a third of the total build costs to the 310m high tower. The piling for the tower will be carried out by Stent and forms a major part of the construction element of the tower, will get underway towards the end of the year once demolition is complete. Scheldebouw has been awarded the facades contract while Corus/CBUK and Kone have been contracted to install the steel and lifts.

London Bridge Quarter comprises around 2m sq ft of mixed-use space including The Shard, the redevelopment of New London Bridge House and a piazza linking the two buildings.

Major milestone

Irvine Sellar, chairman of developer Sellar Property Group, said: ‘The placing of these contracts is in line with the programme and plan we established at the beginning of this year when the Qatari investor consortium, comprising Qatar Islamic Bank, QInvest, Qatar National Bank, and Barwa International, joined us as partners to create this iconic landmark building.’

Bernard Ainsworth, Sellar’s project managing director, said: ‘This is a major milestone in the Shard delivery programme. Intensive discussions are continuing with a number of other contractors including concrete and MEP.’

Mace is the main contractor at the Shard. Turner and Townsend is project director.

wjfox2004

Oct 1, 2008, 11:50 AM

As demolition nears completion, the official website has been updated.

It now includes this stunning video and hi-res renders. Check it out… it’s ludicrously awesome:-

http://shardlondonbridge.com/

*drools*

Fabb

Oct 1, 2008, 7:39 PM

Great video !
I liked, at the end, the complicity of the Shard and One Canada Square.

lakegz

Oct 4, 2008, 7:49 PM

it says 87 floors in the title but i'm wondering how many functional floors this will actually have. Since the top 80 feet is the crown that makes about 940 feet occupiable and given that most office buildings have 12-13 foot floors, 87 floors for this one doesn't seem to add up. What info am i missing?

Bergenser

Oct 4, 2008, 8:02 PM

UK's first supertall! Congrats! :D
Very nice video.

Starsky

Oct 12, 2008, 6:53 AM

What does European culture have against skyscrapers??

Ilex

Nov 2, 2008, 6:50 AM

What does European culture have against skyscrapers??

It's kinda weird considering that for hundreds of years Europe had the tallest buildings, and now it's one of the least developed regions in the world in terms of highrises.

HyperPower

Nov 2, 2008, 10:40 PM

What does European culture have against skyscrapers??

Skyscrapers are apart of the American Century, they don't want sloppy seconds.

wjfox2004

Nov 20, 2008, 10:01 AM

Demolition is nearing completion.

Photo by Delegado of SSC:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff329/De1egado/IMG_6570.jpg

JDRCRASH

Nov 20, 2008, 8:56 PM

When are we going to add this baby to the Supertall Construction list?

Cypherus

Nov 21, 2008, 12:40 AM

I don't like this design. It looks like a giant obelisk that appears ominous from all angles.

wjfox2004

Dec 16, 2008, 1:29 PM

http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=297&storycode=3130031&c=1

Qatari Diar to provide finance for London’s Shard development

12:53 | 16.12.08
By Deirdre Hipwell

Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company is to provide the bulk of development finance for the Renzo Piano-designed Shard development at London Bridge.

The sovereign wealth fund said today it had agreed to provide a funding facility to London Bridge Quarter, the Jersey-registered holding company that is developing the Shard and a second adjacent development called London Bridge Place.

The extent of the loan has not been disclosed but it is thought to be significant given that the estimated construction costs could be as high as £1bn. Qatari Diar, headed by John Wallace in the UK, has not taken an equity stake in the development but will take a seat on the board of directors of the company.

London Bridge Quarter is an international joint venture owned equally by Qatar Islamic Bank, Qinvest, Qatar National Bank, Barwa International and Irvine Sellar. Sellar Property Group is also the development manager.

Demolition and site clearance of The Shard site will be completed next month and demolition and site clearance will start on the London Bridge Place site in March 2009.

Construction on both sites is expected to start next year with practical completion in 2012.

A spokesman for Qatari Diar said: ‘This further financial commitment by Qatari Diar to London’s real estate market underscores our conviction that, despite its current challenges, London remains one of the most important real estate markets in the world and it is one in which we have an ongoing interest. We take a long term view of all of our investments here and remain confident of their successful outcome.’

A spokesman for London Bridge Quarter said: ‘Obtaining this new facility, which is a major part of our overall financing requirement, enables the programme for completion of The Shard and its sister building London Bridge Place to remain on programme for completion early in 2012.’

wjfox2004

Dec 16, 2008, 1:30 PM

Some recent pics, by fitz44 of SSC -

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa278/fit3xl/shard002.jpg

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa278/fit3xl/shard003.jpg

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa278/fit3xl/shard006.jpg

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa278/fit3xl/shard007.jpg

TANGELD_SLC

Dec 23, 2008, 8:23 AM

WOW this thing is gorgeous! I think it's going to be my favorite high-rise in London! :D
:banana:

Fabb

Dec 23, 2008, 8:05 PM

Good news with the qatari company !

photoLith

Dec 23, 2008, 8:13 PM

What was the building they are tearing down?

wjfox2004

Jan 28, 2009, 9:17 PM

Demolition has almost finished.

A brief mention in this evening's London Paper -

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/wjfox2005/London_general/LBT/londonpaper1.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/wjfox2005/London_general/LBT/londonpaper2.jpg

wjfox2004

Feb 14, 2009, 11:36 AM

Demolition is almost finished. Piling is due to commence next month, with a core rising towards the end of this year.

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa278/fit3xl/120109077.jpg

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa278/fit3xl/120109071.jpg

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa278/fit3xl/120109080.jpg

It's certainly attracting attention from the public. :)

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa278/fit3xl/120109073.jpg

All photos by fitz44 of SkyscraperCity.

NYguy

Feb 14, 2009, 12:35 PM

^ That last pic reminds me of the view of the WTC construction from the World Financial Center.

wjfox2004

Feb 14, 2009, 1:30 PM

Here's a new rendering, showing the train/bus station and surrounding area:

http://i43.tinypic.com/kcxbvo.jpg

wjfox2004

Feb 22, 2009, 10:16 AM

This might be getting some neighbours:-

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/construction_and_property/article5780235.ece

http://i44.tinypic.com/a9sqvr.jpg

wjfox2004

Feb 22, 2009, 8:58 PM

The Shard appears to be officially under construction now... a piling rig has appeared on site. :banana:

Photos by Nihil Dicit of SSC:

http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/qq194/nihildicit/29Feb09Pics018.jpg

http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/qq194/nihildicit/29Feb09Pics019.jpg

scalziand

Feb 22, 2009, 10:59 PM

That's interesting to hear about the 'spires' although that kind of height seems unlikely for that location. Hope they make it through the review process. :)

Also good to hear that the Shard is 'officially' under construction by our standards.

Dale

Feb 23, 2009, 1:20 AM

Woot!

Question: did I imagine this, or is Guy's Hospital up for a reno ?

wjfox2004

Feb 23, 2009, 12:43 PM

Question: did I imagine this, or is Guy's Hospital up for a reno ?

It's rumoured to be undergoing a major redevelopment - which could include demolition of the tower.

Personally, I'd rather they kept the tower and just clad the whole thing in solar panels.

NYguy

Feb 23, 2009, 1:53 PM

This might be getting some neighbours:-

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/construction_and_property/article5780235.ece

http://i44.tinypic.com/a9sqvr.jpg

Those would be amazing skyline additions. A different image for London.

FrancoRey

Feb 23, 2009, 5:05 PM

Finally! Well done for London! I am very excited to see this tower add its flair to the City's skyline. I hope it too will become yet another recognizable landmark in this great city. :cheers:

NYguy

Feb 24, 2009, 12:48 PM

Sprinkle in a little NIMBYism...
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23650923-details/Spare+London%E2%80%99s+skyline+yet+another+episode/article.do

Spare London’s skyline yet another episode of these faulty towers

Simon Jenkins

LONDON towers policy is in chaos. Boris Johnson, elected on a pledge to stop the plague of towers promised by his predecessor, Ken Livingstone, now wants towers everywhere. Hazel Blears, who has permitted towers that Johnson wanted stopped, is now stopping ones he wants built, notably two giants in Wandsworth and Ealing. There is no policy, no one in charge and certainly no ounce of aesthetic judgment.

Erectile disorder seems the occupational disease of London mayors. Within months of taking office, Livingstone, who had backed "affordable cottages" on the South Bank and refused to move into his Foster-designed "testicle", was rooting for symbols of his potency across the capital. He moved into Foster's eerie structure and returned from an early visit to Manhattan believing that only skyscrapers could demonstrate his civic virility.......

shakman

Feb 24, 2009, 2:37 PM

So this highrise is not under construction as of yet. It is still in demolition phase.

Why I say this is due to the fact that other strucures in the proposal section cannot be moved until their foundation work starts.

With that said, why is this in U/C section? Is this receiving "special treatment"?

shakman

Feb 24, 2009, 3:56 PM

[SP]Neo

Feb 25, 2009, 10:55 PM

good news for this nice&tall tower. how long do we have to wait for the first floors? 6 months or even more?

marcus1990

Feb 27, 2009, 5:01 PM

from the independent 25/02/09

In a rare "shard" of light piercing the gloom of the building industry, construction of the 80-storey Shard tower will go ahead at London Bridge next month.

The necessary demolition has been completed, and LBQ – which owns the whole £2bn development of which the Shard is just the first phase – has signed a building deal with Mace Group.

The overall London Bridge Quarter regeneration scheme covers a 2 million sq ft area and includes office, residential and retail developments, as well as a hotel.

Salah Mohamad Jaidah, the chairman of LBQ, said: "We are very pleased to have reached the stage where everybody has the confidence to move this project forward in such a strong manner. The investors in LBQ have great confidence that the Shard will be completed on schedule in what are very difficult economic conditions."

The Mace Group deal only applies to the Shard. A separate contract will be let for London Bridge Place, the 610,000 sq ft office site adjacent to the tower.

wjfox2004

Feb 27, 2009, 8:06 PM

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/3989/shard3ug8.jpg

Photo credit: Medo, SSC

wjfox2004

Feb 27, 2009, 8:09 PM

Neo;4110043']
how long do we have to wait for the first floors? 6 months or even more?

April/May 2010.

wjfox2004

Mar 1, 2009, 5:23 PM

A diagram showing how the floors are divided -

http://i44.tinypic.com/ilatf7.gif

speedy1979

Mar 1, 2009, 6:45 PM

I am pleasantly surprised to see that this tower is under construction. This building has been on the drawing board a really long time. I first saw the design for this tower in an architecture book I forget the name of it but this book predates the NY Times and the Bank of America buildings.

HyperPower

Mar 2, 2009, 12:13 AM

Finally in construction mode, the hard part is over.

howardroark

Mar 2, 2009, 3:01 AM

Shard'ed in my pants.

FrancoRey

Mar 2, 2009, 4:28 AM

Is this building still supposed to be 87 floors? That seems like a lot for a tower of only slightly over 1,000 feet (office included). I think I could only count 75 floors or so on the diagram. :shrug:

wjfox2004

Mar 2, 2009, 8:20 AM

Zerton

Mar 2, 2009, 9:18 PM

This might be getting some neighbours:-

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/construction_and_property/article5780235.ece

http://i44.tinypic.com/a9sqvr.jpg

This article clip looks really futuristic. With the Foster building and the pink haired lady it looks like it could be from some London sci-fi movie. I guess the future is now.

wjfox2004

Mar 4, 2009, 5:57 PM

A panorama I took this afternoon:

http://www.willfox.com/images/skyscrapers/lbt/construction/pano040309.jpg

wjfox2004

Mar 4, 2009, 5:58 PM

And a video...

http://www.willfox.com/videos/skyscrapers/shard/1.wmv

It's about 16mb. Make sure you watch this in "full screen" mode. :)

wjfox2004

Mar 16, 2009, 8:10 AM

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cbf878e4-11c9-11de-87b1-0000779fd2ac.html

Shard reaches for the sky amid office sector gloom

By David Fickling

Published: March 16 2009 02:00

Construction of western Europe's tallest building will begin in London today amid the gloomiest market for commercial building in decades, thanks to backing from a group of Qatari banks.

Designed by Renzo Piano, the Shard of Glass will tower 1,016ft above London Bridge station and stand nearly three times as high as St Paul's Cathedral.

The developers hope to avoid comparisons with One Canada Square, which it will overtake as the UK's tallest building when it is completed in 2012. The 800ft centrepiece of Canary Wharf was finished in the depths of the last recession in 1991 but remained part-occupied for most of the 1990s, leading to the collapse of its Canadian developer Olympia & York.

"This will be a landmark building and we've already let out 40 per cent of it," said Bernard Ainsworth, project managing director.

New orders in the non-residential building sector in the three months to the end of January came to just £2bn, compared with £4.1bn in the same period last year, according to recent data from the Office of National Statistics.

By comparison, the development cost of London Bridge Quarter alone is priced at £2bn, with £650m in contracts put out to tender so far.

"This is one of the few shows left in town now," said Chris Cole, chief executive of WSP, the structural engineer on the project.

Financial backing will be provided by a consortium of four Qatari banks - QInvest, Qatar National Bank, Qatari Islamic Bank and Barwa - as well as UK-based property developers Sellar. They came in after European lenders, including Credit Suisse and Hypo Real Estate, withdrew following the onset of the credit crunch in 2007. Hypo was bailed out by Germany's central bank last October.

Construction companies have been focusing on work for the public sector and regulated utilities, with hopes attached to projects such as the Olympics site, Crossrail and the widening of the M25.

But Derek Tordoff, director-general of the British Constructional Steelwork Association, said any stimulus from public projects would be blunted by their comparatively small scale next to the massive but ailing commercial sector.

"Everyone thinks the Olympics is the saviour of the construction industry but there will be more steel going into [the Shard] this year than into the entire Olympics site," he said.

One major public sector client has already bought into the Shard project: Transport for London will lease about 20 per cent of the total floor space, while a Shangri-La hotel will take up another 20 per cent. But the remaining 60 per cent is unlet.

Fears about the outlook for the office rental market meant that most new office projects were being called off, said Bill Page of Jones Lang Lasalle. That gave some hope of a supply-led recovery, although rents fell at double-digit rates last year and, he added, would continue to do so this year and next, before levelling off in 2011 and only starting to rise again in 2012.

"Most people just don't want to develop into this market," he said.

NYguy

Mar 26, 2009, 5:00 AM

http://raisingtheroof.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/race-on-to-build-tallest-tower-in-europe/?scp=7&sq=construction&st=cse

Race is on to Build Tallest Tower in Europe

By Kevin Brass
March 24, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/images/blogs/raisingtheroof/Shardnight.jpg

http://www.nytimes.com/images/blogs/raisingtheroof/shardaerial.jpg

Last week construction started on the Shard of Glass, a Renzo Piano-designed tower destined to remap the London skyline. When completed the tower will be 310 meters tall (about 1,016 feet)—three times as high as St. Paul’s Cathedral, it is often noted–which will give it bragging rights as the tallest building in western Europe.

The Shard will beat out the 259-meter (about 850-foot) Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt, the current tallest building in western Europe. But it will be about 50 meters shorter than Moscow’s Federation Tower, which is currently under construction.

However, the Shard may not hold even the western Europe record for long. In Paris, developers have already announced plans for the Hermitage Plaza, twin towers designed by Foster + Partners, which are planned to hit 323 meters (about 1,060 feet), a full 13 meters taller than the Shard.

Of course, there are a variety of mega-towers on the drawing board that would dwarf both the Shard and Hermitage.

The competition for the world’s tallest tower starts these days with the Burj Dubai, currently under construction, which is at 688 meters (2,300 feet) and growing (and the developers are vague about the ultimate height). Last year details were unveiled for the Nakheel Tower, which is designed to be one-kilometer tall (1,000 meters), but that project is stalled for at least a year.

Meanwhile, plans have already been announced for the Shanghai Tower, which will be China’s tallest at 632 meters (2,072 feet). The Russia Tower in Moscow, another Foster + Partners project, is slotted for 600 meters (about 1,969 feet). And the Santiago Calatrava-designed Chicago Spire is slotted to be 609 meters (2,000-feet)—but right now it’s nothing more than a hole in the ground.

Beyond the can-you-top-this contest, the Shard’s ability to move forward while so many other projects have stalled is a victory for the developer, the Sellar Property Group. (A London Times profile of chairman Irvine Sellar can be found here.). The project was floundering last year, until a group of Qatar-based investors jump-started the project.

Scheduled for completion in 2012, the Shard is the centerpiece of a £2 billion regeneration of the London Bridge Quarter, which includes a variety of residential commercial and office space.