Emporis Skyscraper Award judges said of The Shard: "A Skyscraper that is recognised immediately and which is already considered London's new emblem"

Irvine Sellar, The Shard’s developer and joint owner approached architect Renzo Piano and he made a sketch on a menu of his idea and Sellar agreed to his "design".

Sellar said of the Shard: "The vision for the Shard was to create an architecturally striking vertical city incorporating retail, offices, hotel, apartments, restaurants and a public viewing gallery."

His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah Bin Saoud Al Thani
Governor of Qatar Central Bank said of The Shard at its opening in July 2012:

"Standing 95 storeys tall at almost 310 metres, the Shard will be one of the tallest buildings in Western Europe."

A million people visited the Shard's viewing platform in its first year.

Taking inspiration from the spires of London churches and the masts of tall ships depicted by the 18th-century Venetian painter Canaletto, architect Renzo Piano designed The Shard as a spire-like sculpture emerging from the River Thames.

It is situated on the South Bank of the Thames next to London Bridge Station and close to the very popular Borough Market.

Stock Photo by Paddy Bergin.