A glimpse at the tallest building in Europe
The Shard towers over all buildings in London. It’s pyramid shape makes it a marvelous sight. Internet Photo.
What you need to know:
Racing into the sky, London’s latest addition to its rich infrastructure, The Shard, stands boldly in the skyline. Europe’s tallest building is a glass tower that will blow you away.
On that Thursday night (July 5), all roads led to The Shard (formerly known as the London Bridge Tower). The unveiling of Europe’s tallest building attracted scores from all over the city. The Shard’s momentous inauguration ceremony was rounded off with a laser light show that lit up London. The timing for the launch of a 1,016ft taller glass tower came ahead of the official opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on July 27.
My colleagues and I had come from the East End of London to visit Michael Holman, a retired journalist, his wife and his 91-year-old mother. Michael lives in Mile End, an exquisite neighbourhood. But his mother lives in Edinburgh. At about 10pm (midnight in Uganda), we decided to join the bandwagon. We took a train to St Pauls Cathedral, where the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer took place on July 29, 1981 and crossed to London Bridge to join the crowd witnessing the unveiling of The Shard. The tubes (underground trains) ferried people from across London to the banks of River Thames to mark the occasion in style.
Breathtaking moment
Prince Andrew joined Boris Johnson and the Prime Minister of Qatar, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, to unveil the building on a pompous night that saw thousands gather around the waterway to catch a glimpse of the magnificent building. People drunk themselves silly, smoked tobacco, kissed their loved ones and others took photographs with The Shard in the background- all to celebrate the outside completion of this exceptional building.
At 1,016ft (309.6metres), The Shard is more than 150ft taller than its nearest rival, the Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt, the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany. The Shard was designed by Renzo Piano, the Italian architect who drew up the plans for the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and funded by the Qatar National Bank.
The Times Newspaper, where I am having a stint quoted the governor of Qatar’s central bank, Abdullah Saoud al-Thani, saying that the tower was a visual emblem of his country’s investment in the UK. The ceremony was held to mark the last of the finishing touches on the tower’s exterior, though the inside will not be finished until next year. “This is great,” Charlie Hamilton, a resident of Notting Hill, who had turned up to witness the event said. “The tallest building in Europe is here in London, here in Britain that is great. This is going to be yet another tourist attraction and another reason for me to smile.”
Glass wonder
When completed, the building will house flats, offices, restaurants, a viewing gallery and a hotel, with six spare storeys and a further nine open to the elements at the tower’s apex. The Shard is the most eye-catching part of the 2M sq ft redevelopment on the south bank of London Bridge. The Shard will join other famous tourists attractions in London like the London Eye, the second tallest wheel in the world
Advance tickets went on sale the day after the openning for visitors to take a lift 800ft up the tower, already higher than any other building in London. The view from The Shard will open on February 1, next year, and tickets will cost £24.95 (about Shs96, 000) for adults. Others call this building “Shard of Glass”-
Since The Shard’s construction was financed by Sharia-Compliant Investment, which forbids earning money through interest payments, the tower’s tenants are subject to certain conditions. For example, most banks and companies associated with either the gambling or alcohol industries are unlikely to receive permission to lease space in a building which is backed by Islamic finance.
It is believed that The Shard and its neighbouring building, the Place, may together be worth up to £2.5 billion when they are fully completed. Sources in London said that Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera is set to move its headquarters to the Shard. It’s certainly a new landmark, the architect and developer hope will blend well with the city’s history-steeped skyline.
