The Shard / WSP / London

The Shard  

The Shard is the tallest building in Western Europe. The 306 m high iconic tower has redefined the London skyline and is already an international symbol for London.

• Architects:  Renzo Piano Building Workshop
• Location:  London, England, United Kingdom
• Client:  Sellar Property Group
• Design Collaborator:  Adamson Associates (Toronto, London)  
• Consultants: ARUP (structure & services); Lerch, Bates & Associates (vertical transportation); Broadway Malyan (consulting architect); Davis Langdon (cost consultant); Townshend Architects (landscape)   
• Project Completed:  2012
• Design Team Phase One (2000-2003):  J. Moolhuijzen (partner in-charge), N. Mecattaf, W. Matthews with D.Drouin, A.Eris, S.Fowler, H.Lee, J.Rousseau, R.Stampton, M.van der Staay and K.Doerr, M.Gomes, J.Nakagawa, K.Rottava, C.Shortle; O.Aubert, C.Colson, Y.Kyrkos (models)  
• Consultants Phase One (2000-2003):  ARUP (structure & services); Lerch, Bates & Associates (vertical transportation); Broadway Malyan (consulting architect) 
• Design Team Phase Two (2004-2012):  J.Moolhuijzen, W.Matthews (partner in-charge), B.Akkerhuis, G.Bannatyne, E.Chen, G.Reid with O.Barthe, J.Carter, V.Delfaud, M.Durand, S.Joly.  
• Consultants Phase Two (2004-2012):  WSP Cantor Seinuk (structure); ARUP (building services); Lerch, Bates & Associates (vertical transportation); Davis Langdon (cost consultant); Townshend Architects (landscape); Pascell+Watson (executive architect for the station)  

The Shard, also known as the London Bridge Tower, is a 72-storey, mixed-use tower located beside London Bridge Station on the south bank of the River Thames. This project was a response to the urban vision of London Mayor Ken Livingstone and to his policy of encouraging high-density development at key transport nodes in London. This sort of sustainable urban extension relies on the proximity of public transportation, discourages car use and helps to reduce traffic congestion in the city.

A mix of uses - residential, offices and retail - creates a building that is in use 24 hours a day. The slender and pyramidal form of the tower was determined by its suitability to this mix: large floor plates at the bottom for offices; restaurants, public spaces, and a hotel located in the middle; private viewing gallery. 240 m above street level. This arrangement of functions also allows the tower to taper off and disappear into the sky - a particularly important detail for Renzo Piano Building Workshop given the building's prominence on the London Skyline.

Eight sloping glass facades, the "shards" define the shape and visual quality of the tower, fragmenting the scale of the building and reflecting the light in unpredictable ways. Opening vents in the gaps or "fractures" between the shards, provide natural ventilation to winter gardens.

As structural engineer, WSP was responsible for the design of The Shard and the team was on site throughout its construction. Their priority was to design a building that would be economical and financially viable from a structural point of view, while adhering to the architectural concept of the project, and to deliver it rapidly and safely.

Working closely with the architect, developer and the contractors (Mace) developed innovative new construction techniques which enhance the distinctive architecture and arc appropriate to the different uses of the building.

1. Top-down construction. This technique - a world first - allowed the first 23 storeys of the 72-storey concrete core and much of the surrounding tower to be built before the basement had been fully excavated. This saved four months on the complex build programme.
2. Innovative use of materials. This tower is effectively three separate structures - a steel - frame building for the first 40 floors, a post-tension concrete frame up to level 72, then a steel spire to complete the shape to the equivalent of level 95. The use of concrete in the centre of the building had a number of benefits.
3. It provided damping at the upper levels to minimize lateral acceleration and thus control the sway of the building in the wind. This solution also eliminated the need for a tuned mass damper, thus freeing up an additional residential floor.
4. It meant that overall floor depths could be shallower, allowing for a further two floors within the total building height.
5. Prefabrication and pre-assembly of the 500 tonne, 66 metre steel spire to minimize the risks of working at such an unprecedented height.
6. The Shard is 306 metres, almost a third of a kilometre.
7. It is 95 storeys tall, with level 72 the highest habitable floor.
8. Its exterior is covered by 11,000 glass panels - equivalent in area to eight football pitches.
9. The building is served by 44 lifts, some of which are double-decker.
10. The length of wiring in the building, 320 km would stretch from London to Paris.
11. At the busiest point during its construction, 1,450 workers from 60 countries were helping to build The Shard.
12. Lifts in The Shard travel at speeds of up to 6 metres a second.