London Bridge Tower, ”The Shard of Glass”, is designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano. Standing at 310 m tall the 83 storey tower is destined to be the tallest building in Europe.
The first 37 floors will provide public areas and amenities with office space above. At mid-height there will be public viewing areas and an intermediate plant level, above which the tapering profile will house an hotel, private apartments and, near the top, a public viewing gallery offering panoramic views over London.
Strong track record
WSP won the contract to provide structural design for the project against strong competition from the world’s leading companies. The technical solution demonstrates our ability to design a building that is economical and financially viable from a structural point of view as well as supporting the basic architectural concept.
As designer of some of the world’s high profile tall buildings, our track record and references further increased the client’s confidence in our capability to deliver the project.
Design for maximum space, minimum construction cost and optimum safety
A hybrid form of structure is adopted, with composite steel construction at commercial levels and post-tensioned slab construction at hotel and residential levels. The design provides a high level of structural robustness, with a number of safety-related innovations including state-of-the-art blast protection and structural fire engineering design. The building’s unique lateral bracing system consists of an efficient core and a high level outrigger truss to mobilize the entire building perimeter. It also uses the concrete mass at the upper levels of the building to dampen the building’s acceleration during high winds.
“The height, form and excellent design quality of the London Bridge Tower make it a world-class building that will attract visitors from around the world and bring investment and jobs to Southwark.”
Paul Evans, Director of Regeneration, London Borough of Southwark
Project information
Client: Teighmore Ltd
Size: 83 storeys; 93 000 sq m
Value: N/A
Status: construction commenced 2006