The London Shard Building, a landmark composed of 11000 glass flakes in London

The Shard Tower, also known as the London Bridge Tower, is a 72 story multifunctional skyscraper located next to London Bridge Station on the south bank of the River Thames.

This project was proposed by London Mayor Ken Livingstone in his urban vision plan, in response to his policy of encouraging high-density development in major transportation hubs in London.

This sustainable urban expansion project also relies on nearby public transportation facilities, which reduces the use of cars and helps alleviate traffic congestion in the city.

This is a comprehensive building that integrates residential, office, and retail stores, and is also a building that operates 24 hours a day.

The slender pyramid shape adopted by the building is also determined to meet its comprehensive characteristics: the ground floor of the building is for offices; The middle floor is for restaurants, public spaces, and hotels; The upper part is a private apartment.

The top floor of the building is a public observation deck, with a height of 240 meters, overlooking the entire London.

This design gradually narrows the spire at the top of the tower and eventually disappears into the air - this is a particularly important detail for Renzo Piano Building Workshop when designing the building, as it will make the building more eye-catching on the skyline of London.

The exterior of the building is composed of eight inclined glass curtain walls, while "fragments" define the shape and visual effect of the building, dividing the exterior walls into different sizes and reflecting light in unpredictable ways.

At the gaps or "cracks" between these fragments, natural ventilation can also be provided for the winter garden. The white glass used on the fragments gives the building a sense of lightness, and as the surrounding weather changes, the color and condition of the fragments also change accordingly.

A special technical solution is required in the design to ensure that the facade can control lighting and thermal radiation. The designer used a double-layer skin to solve this problem, allowing the exterior facade to generate natural ventilation and allowing the indoor blinds to automatically adjust to changes in light.

The logic is very simple: external blinds can effectively capture solar energy, but due to the difficulty of protecting the external blinds of high-rise buildings, an additional layer of glass curtain wall has been added here.

As part of the project, some sections of the London Bridge station have also been redeveloped, and the Shard Tower project has played a great role in promoting the reconstruction work of the surrounding area, now known as the 'London Bridge area'.