The Shard Tower in London

[teuchter]

I'm not a big fan of it myself really. Somewhat over-designed, but compromised at the same time.

 

[SF-02]

The GLA building was supposed to use high quality glass - that was Fosters intention. Due to cost cutting cheap drab grey glass was used. Makes the building look dreary and is to the detriment of the whole building.

 

[IMR]

Bollocks.

But the Shard is not going to be as classy as the Chrysler building, now is it? And it's not going to be as interesting-looking as the Lloyds building either.

The best that can be said is that it won't look as bad as the Guy's Hospital tower.

 

[teuchter]

Guys tower is sort of bad in a good way though...

 

[skyscraper101]

But the Shard is not going to be as classy as the Chrysler building, now is it? And it's not going to be as interesting-looking as the Lloyds building either.

The best that can be said is that it won't look as bad as the Guy's Hospital tower.

Nah, it will look cool.

I don't think the Chrysler building is all that attractive anyway. It does have a classy 20s feel to its design which is good but it doesn't look particularly impressive now compared to some of more modern designs of the late 20th century and beyond. When 1 World Trade Centre is complete, it will be further eclipsed in the NY skyline.

The problem with New York is that there are so many skyscrapers that they have to be taller and and taller to get prominence. Were it not for the heights of the empire state, Chrysler building and the former WTC, it would just look like mellay of nondescript tall towers. The fact that we have a more spacious city and a relatively new interest in constructing skyscrapers means that our skyline will take on an interesting form, combining old (parliament, st. pauls, tower bridge etc) with new (gherkin, 1 canada square, London eye, shard, city hall etc) in a cool fusion of old and new.

 

[IMR]

Guys tower is sort of bad in a good way though...

The gorilla/robot jawline near the top is pretty weird, the best and worst feature at the same time.

 

[hipipol]

The skyline of london now has two tall centres, the City and the other one on the Isle of Dogs - this a think makes it more interesting to look at from the surrounding hills

Cant find any projections of what it will look like when all the planned now towers are complete though(100 and 110 Bishopsgate, Shard, etc)
Each individual project shows the completed building against a skyline that does not include their new rivals!!

I wonder why?

 

[lang rabbie]

The GLA building was supposed to use high quality glass - that was Fosters intention. Due to cost cutting cheap drab grey glass was used. Makes the building look dreary and is to the detriment of the whole building.

Whether it was Norman Foster or Ken Shuttleworth who actually designed it, they should have known full well what they were going into in the original Government "competition" to select a site for City Hall - which paired architects with site owners/developoers.

I suspect the original concept designs for a wholly transparent building would not have met the energy efficiency targets for the building, let alone the cost that the developer was willing to put into the site in return for the rent they were guaranteed from the new GLA.

One other major reason why City Hall looks even less attractive now is that it was the first part of More London to be built. It originally stood alone, with the sky visible through the building skin on all sides, making it appear light and bright.

There is now a wall of building to the south, and the mediocrity of all of the Foster office's entire More London designs can be appreciated without the distraction of sunlight.

 

[cybertect]

A couple of pics of the site today

 

[DJWrongspeed]

The best that can be said is that it won't look as bad as the Guy's Hospital tower.

Guy's is cool i rekon, what a great shape, i used on my radio blog to infer Southwark.

The shard is defo taking a long time to rise up. Looking at how near it is to the station it does seem weird that it got planning permission, what will the ground floor area around there really look like. Doesn't it impinge on any future rail improvements ?

 

[IMR]

Guy's is cool i rekon, what a great shape, i used on my radio blog to infer Southwark.

It's a distinctive shape but IMO not a good one at all for a hospital. Plus the concrete is really grubby-looking.

They might as well stick 'Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter' over the way in.

 

[IMR]

I don't think the Chrysler building is all that attractive anyway. It does have a classy 20s feel to its design which is good but it doesn't look particularly impressive now compared to some of more modern designs of the late 20th century and beyond. When 1 World Trade Centre is complete, it will be further eclipsed in the NY skyline.

The Chrysler building ought not to be eclipsed by other newer buildings just because they happen to be taller. But unfortunately the first thing people usually want to know about a proposed skyscraper is 'How tall will it be?'

I really don't want London to become the site of such an arms race between competing capitalist totem poles.

 

[skyscraper101]

I'm going to New York tomorrow. I'm hoping that I'll get a good look at how 1 World Trade Center (Freedom Tower) is developing.

 

[ExtraRefined]

I really don't want London to become the site of such an arms race between competing capitalist totem poles.

Not likely IMO, the Burj Dubai has that fight won by a huge margin - it's more than three times taller than Canary Wharf (One Canada Square for the pedants).

 

[cybertect]

I haven't noticed it to be in a particularly bad state. But I haven't really been by it recently.

Complain to Boris. If Kew Gardens can keep their greenhouses clean, then the GLA ought to be able to do the same.

It does get cleaned at least once a week.

One half of the Parkside Kiosk (café) built adjacent to the GLA building a couple of years ago provides parking for the cherrypicker that they use to clean it.

 

[quimcunx]

Apparently Shunt is still open, til November.

 

[kyser_soze]

Not likely IMO, the Burj Dubai has that fight won by a huge margin - it's more than three times taller than Canary Wharf (One Canada Square for the pedants).

Which also, FWIW, continues the hostorical trend of 'Worlds Tallest Building' being topped out just as it's host economy collapses!

Empire State Building
Sears Tower
Canary Wharf (OK, not tallest in world, tallest in Europe)
Petronas Towers

 

[ovaltina]

It's a distinctive shape but IMO not a good one at all for a hospital. Plus the concrete is really grubby-looking.

They might as well stick 'Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter' over the way in.

All London hospital tower blocks look like that (except UCLH). I love the way they plonked the Royal Free's brutal 70s tower block in the middle of chocolate box twee Hampstead village - little reminder that they're not in Hampshire after all, they're in London.

 

[hipipol]

The Chrysler building ought not to be eclipsed by other newer buildings just because they happen to be taller. But unfortunately the first thing people usually want to know about a proposed skyscraper is 'How tall will it be?'

I really don't want London to become the site of such an arms race between competing capitalist totem poles.

You seem to have little experience of the Socialist Totem poles.......

The system built hell holes they punted people into in the 60s

Not a party matter I'm, afraid

Its boys toys and all that more primitive bollocks

 

[cybertect]

Some proper steel has been erected in the last few days. Concrete being poured this afternoon.

 

[teuchter]

If that's the steelwork proper, things should start happening pretty quickly now.

 

[Crispy]

phwoar construction porn

 

[lang rabbie]

If that's the steelwork proper, things should start happening pretty quickly now.

Isn't there an animation somewhere on the web showing the construction process - IIRC they have to build a separate bit of the structure to support the temporary crane to be able to build the main lift core.

 

[London_Calling]

That construction site is impossibly compact.

Can you imagine the delivery lorries once they get up a head of steam.

 

[Crispy]

There is zero space on site that is not in the footprint of the building. What they're doing is casting the ground floor slab so it can be used as a depot and storage yard, while the basements are excavated below and the tower is raised above. clever stuff.

 

[cybertect]

Third tower crane going up today and I had my fisheye lens with me...

You can see the tube running across the site delivering concrete from the mixer lorry to a slab being cast.

The mobile crane (a Liebherr LTM 1500) being used for its erection is almost worthy of Thunderbirds - 84m telescopic boom capable of lifting 500 tonnes up to 145m with an additional lattice jib

 

[Boris Sprinkler]

I think they should call it the Shart.

You know. Like a wet fart.

 

[teuchter]

They haven't built the crane on the right very straight have they.

 

[kyser_soze]

That crane looks like the best kids toy ever

 

[cybertect]

They haven't built the crane on the right very straight have they.