Renzo  Piano

The Shard

              The location of THE SHARD influenced the design. She is situated at the focal point where public transit systems meet, which encouraged the idea of building a mixed-purpose structure that all people of London could enjoy. According to an interview with Renzo Piano, after the structure was inaugurated. The star architect expressed disappointment in the 25Pound/ticket cost to visit the observation deck. "25 is too much but in this town everything costs too much… I agree it is too expensive. Because one of the aims of this building is to give London back to the people and to be public”. The goal to build a multipurpose tower that could facilitate businesses, restaurants, personal residences would require plenty of space. Therefore the resulting outcome is a common office tower, which Renzo piano expressed his disgust for conventional towers and their designs. With all those features the design had to be slim and elegant, which a bulky sky-filling tower is not. A tower typically symbolizes power and arrogance and for this building to be received by Londoners, it had to be have a sharp subtle presence. The architect envisioned a structure made of low iron glass as to project a crystal appearance. Combined with the many angled glass panes; reflected light would change the appearance of the shard through time of day and seasons.