LONDON | London Bridge Tower (The Shard) | 310m | 1017ft | 72 f

[ILondon Bridge Tower - the "Shard of Glass"
Southwark

Height: 310m | Floors: 72 | Architect: Renzo Piano | Developer: Sellar Property Group

Links: UK Forum thread | Official website | Renzo Piano Building Workshop | Skyscrapernews listing | Station redevelopment

Notes:

• This landmark tower will be the first building in the UK to break the 1000 foot barrier. It will be nearly twice the height of the Gherkin,
  and one of the tallest buildings in Europe.
• London's first truly "mixed use" tower, the floors will be divided into a mixture of residential, office, hotel, retail and public space.
• Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the tower was structurally redesigned to improve stability and reduce evacuation times.
• The tower went through a lengthy public inquiry. It was approved by the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, on 19th November 2003.
• The total cost of the project is in excess of £1.2bn and includes major refurbishment of the neighbouring train and bus stations.
• The tower has two main tenants lined up - Shangri-La Hotels, who will be occupying floors 34-52 - and Transport for London who will
  take some of the office space.
• Financial issues plagued the tower for years, but were resolved in 2008 when four Qatari banks took an 80% stake
  in the project (buying-out both CLS and Simon Halabi). All funding and contracts were subsequently secured.

Current Status:
Under construction! Click here for a video of the schedule. The tower is scheduled for completion by May 2012. [/I]