16 Facts About The Shard

The Shard's construction began in March 2009; it was topped out on 30 March 2012 and inaugurated on 5 July 2012.

The Shard was developed by Sellar Property Group on behalf of LBQ Ltd and is jointly owned by Sellar Property and the State of Qatar .

In July 2002, the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, ordered a planning inquiry after the development plans for the Shard were opposed by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment and several heritage bodies, including the Royal Parks Foundation and English Heritage.

The Shard is satisfied that the proposed tower is of the highest architectural quality.

The Shard Quarter is today jointly owned by the State of Qatar and Sellar.

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The Shard was inspired by the railway lines next to the site, the London spires depicted by the 18th-century Venetian painter Canaletto, and the masts of sailing ships.

The Shard proposed a sophisticated use of glazing, with expressive facades of angled glass panes intended to reflect sunlight and the sky above, so that the appearance of the building will change according to the weather and seasons.

The Shard was inaugurated on 5 July 2012 by the Prime Minister of Qatar, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, in a ceremony attended by Prince Andrew, Duke of York.

The Shard was overtaken by a fourth such tower in November 2012: the 339-metre Mercury City Tower.

The Shard was surpassed as the tallest European building outside Russia by the 310-metre Varso Tower, Warsaw, Poland in February 2021.

The Shard is the second-tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, after the 330-metre concrete transmission tower at Emley Moor.

In February 2013, The Sunday Times reported that the developers of The Shard were in negotiations to secure the first tenants of the building's 26 floors of office space.

In June 2015, Warwick Business School opened its new base in The Shard, occupying the same floor and was officially opened by the mayor of London, Boris Johnson.

The Shard offices were announced as fully let in October 2017, following lettings to Mitie and existing occupiers, Foresight Group, and Warwick Business School.

In December 2011, a group of recreational explorers calling themselves the Place Hackers evaded security and made their way to the top of the Shard building site, climbing one of the tallest cranes in the process.

The Shard's staff closed the tower's observatory and gave the women a safety briefing and other advice during their climb.