A BEACON for MODERN LONDON "We Woke up at the Beginning of the New Century and Finally Discovered That the Earth Is Fragile and Must Be Defended
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A BEACON FOR MODERN LONDON "WE WOKE UP AT THE BEGINNING OF THE NEW CENTURY AND FINALLY DISCOVERED THAT THE EARTH IS FRAGILE AND MUST BE DEFENDED. THE FIRST THING TO DEFEND IS LAND. THERE IS A NOSTALGIC, ALMOST ROMANTIC IDEA THAT IT IS MORE ECOLOGICAL TO MAKE A SMALL BUILDING – FORGET IT: THAT IS THE WORST WAY TO CONSUME LAND. THIS IS THE REASON THAT CITIES GROW. IT IS MORE SOCIALLY CORRECT TO INTENSIFY THE CITY AND FREE UP SPACE ON THE GROUND. THE CITY IS FRAGILE AND VULNERABLE, SO WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL." RENZO PIANO Architect of The Shard CONTENTS CONTENTS 10 Irvine Sellar on how he developed The Shard 14 Renzo Piano’s architectural philosophy A BEACON FOR MODERN LONDON AN INSPIRING PLACE TO WORK A VIBRANT NEIGHBOURHOOD 08 26 56 London Bridge is on the rise as the Workplace design expert Professor Exploring the cultural, culinary and location for 21st-century businesses, Jeremy Myerson on the ways The Shard shopping renaissance of the London with The Shard confirming its status meets all the criteria for a productive Bridge neighbourhood and inspired workforce 10 58 58 Dining at Hutong 32 Inspiring office spaces Irvine Sellar, developer of The Shard, 32 Edible delights from the market stalls on realising the vision of a Vertical City The inspiring office layouts and design of Borough Market to award-winning features that make The Shard a great restaurants and fashionable bars AN ICONIC DESIGN place to work 60 14 44 A diverse range of shopping, from global Renzo Piano’s architectural philosophy Area schedule and technical fashion brands, via everyday essentials, behind the Vertical City specification for The Shard offices to independent artisans and boutiques 16 CONNECTIVITY 62 Wallpaper* editor-in-chief Tony Chambers Global cultural icons such as Tate calls The Shard ‘a building to love’ 50 Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe, plus The Shard’s location at London Bridge hidden artistic and theatrical gems A VERTICal CITY Quarter provides excellent transport links across the capital and beyond BEHIND THE SCENES 20 A new, upwards approach to creating an 52 68 integrated community of offices, shops, The upgrade of London Bridge station, The Shard’s ‘Vertical Citizens’ bars, restaurants, a hotel, apartments which will serve 75m passengers a year and public viewing galleries 74 Contacts 52 London Bridge station – a major transport hub 56 The vibrant neighbourhood around The Shard A BEACON FOR MODERN LONDON INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION OPEN FOR BUSINESS LONDON BRIDGE IS ON THE RISE AS AN EXCITING ALTERNATIVE TO MORE ESTABLISHED OFFICE LOCATIONS IN THE CITY AND WEST END – WITH THE SHARD CONFIRMING ITS STATUS Southbank is riding the wave of corporate Cross, Victoria, Shoreditch and Southbank establish themselves in an austere economy, 09 08 enthusiasm for locations that provide busi- have been demonstrable beneficiaries. they have become hotbeds of innovation and ness, social and transport infrastructure, born This form of regeneration is not unique to creativity, ready to support now proven neigh- from a shift in attitude towards delivering London. It is referred to as ‘Vancouverism’. bouring major UK and global brands. growth strategies that respond to the new Here, mixed-use, waterside development pro- Future growth is assured with enhanced economic cycle. It has led to the area being vided an alternative to suburbanisation, communication. Major investment in London termed ‘London’s Third City’, an environ- creating an environment often seen as one of Bridge station will, by 2018, increase capac- ment to compare with the neighbouring City the world’s most desirable. Similarly in New ity by 20 million. Much of this echoes the of London and City of Westminster. York, tech, media and creative industries have opening of the Jubilee Line extension, except The potential of the riverside location chosen districts such as Midtown South and focused this time upon improved north- was always apparent, but the significant catalyst Brooklyn, which share Southbank’s former south communication and connection with was the opening of the Jubilee Line extension industrial heritage and bohemian character. Crossrail, also in 2018 – integrated transport in 1999, linking the West End through to Within Southbank lie distinct areas, the our European neighbours would be proud of. Canary Wharf and Stratford, via new sta- easternmost of which is London Bridge. Emblematic of this rejuvenation is The Shard tions that included Waterloo, Southwark, Authentic to its core, the area abounds with and its sister, The News Building, which London Bridge and Bermondsey. While the vibrancy and energy that reflects the hun- together form London Bridge Quarter. Built stations were each architectural statements, dreds of new businesses that have sprung up with the help of Qatari investment, it repre- Southbank business was a major beneficiary: here in recent years. Only 20 years ago, imme- sents one of the biggest injections of overseas it now had improved east-west communi- diately surrounding areas such as Borough capital into the London property market. cation, and became a credible headquarters and Bermondsey were unloved. Since being One million square foot of office space location in its own right. adopted by a core of SMEs seeking to within the £2bn regeneration project is already More recently, the growth of London’s home to News UK and its brands, including economy has meant the central business dis- The Times, The Sunday Times, The Wall Street trict has had to expand beyond its traditional Journal, Dow Jones and HarperCollins. boundaries. Other global cities have grown “FURTHER PROOF OF Other occupiers extend far beyond the upwards to meet this demand, but oppor- media industries to the financial, legal, cor- tunities to do so in London have been much london’s stATUS porate, energy, health and education sectors. more scarce, most notably in the West End. AS A GLOBAL Such diversity provides further proof of So, progressive businesses have expanded into London’s status as a global business hub to non-traditional locations, ones that deliver BUSINESS HUB” rival New York and puts others with preten- work, leisure and living in a single place. King’s sions to that status in the shade. INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION ICONIC MOMENTS ‘Those phenomenal feats of engineering remind me of the famous images of workers on REALISING the Empire State Building’ THE VISION IRVINE SELLAR, THE SHARD’s DEVELOPER, DESCRIBES HOW HE PERSISTED IN THE FACE OF NAYSAYERS, GLOBAL CRISIS, GALES AND OTHER HUGE LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES TO COMPLETE HIS AMBITIOUS PLAN WORDS: IRVINE SEllaR It was always an ambitious idea: to replace 5,400 cubic metres of concrete – employing Southwark Towers, a nondescript 24-storey 700 lorry-loads, one every three minutes. Seventies office building by London Bridge Then there was the installation of the last station, with a 310m-tall, mixed-use tower. steel and high-level glass panels – phenome- The vision for The Shard was to create an nal feats of engineering that still remind me of architecturally striking ‘Vertical City’ incor- those iconic black-and-white images of work- porating retail, offices, hotel, apartments, ers completing the Empire State Building. restaurants and a public viewing gallery. The Today, The Shard is a living, dynamic idea was to create a diverse vibrant commu- building, full of energy. It sits proudly next nity, and provide multiple areas within which to its stunning sister building, The News 11 10 the public could experience the building and Building, now headquarters to News UK its magnificent views. And all of this astride and illustrious media brands: The Times, one of London’s major transport hubs. HarperCollins, Dow Jones and The Wall Street Originally, in November 1998, I acquired Journal. These two Renzo-designed buildings Southwark Towers, occupied by PWC, as an will be occupied by 12,500 people and are investment. Shortly thereafter the government already establishing a new vibrant community issued a White Paper encouraging high- called London Bridge Quarter. density developments close to transport hubs. I’m immensely proud that, throughout the As a result, I realised the site had major poten- The years that followed were tough. There challenges, we remained true to the original tial for a stunning development. We worked was a long and challenging planning process, vision of The Shard being a Vertical City with up some designs with local architects for a tall a high-profile public inquiry, and a global multiple and different occupiers, many of tower enabling us to sound people out. But economic crash that saw my initial business which will operate 24 hours a day, including what I really needed was a world-class build- partners exit and development finance from hotel, education, medical, tourist attraction, ing that would capture people’s imagination. a Swiss bank fall through. residential, retail, restaurants and offices. I arranged lunch with award-winning archi- I had some dark nights. Then I met rep- The vertical growth of London has been tect Renzo Piano to see what he thought. We resentatives of the State of Qatar and, after a much debated topic, and while there is met in Berlin and I showed him my designs. complex negotiations, The Shard’s future was divided opinion on London’s evolving skyline, He said: ‘You know, I hate tall buildings – finally assured with a partner that shared my one thing on which there is universal consen- they are arrogant, aggressive, like fortresses.’ vision to create a new landmark for London sus is the importance of quality architecture I thought it was going to be a short lunch. and simultaneously be the catalyst to revitalise in our cities. But there was something about the energy of one of the capital’s most historic districts. Outstanding architecture is the reason the railway lines and the beauty of the Thames The construction phase was exhilarating why a million people a year are visiting that appealed to him.