London skyline showing the Shard Poster

Looking down the Thames river in London toward Tower Bridge, on the right you can see The Shard under construction. The Shard (also referred to as the Shard of Glass, Shard London Bridge or the London Bridge Tower is a skyscraper in London. Standing 309.6 meters (1,016 ft) high, it was topped out on 30 March 2012 and inaugurated on 5 July 2012. The Shard is the tallest completed building in Europe, and is also the second-tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, after the 330-meter (1,083 ft) concrete tower at the Emley Moor transmitting station. The Shard replaced Southwark Towers, a 24-storey office block built on the site in Southwark in 1975. Renzo Piano, the Shard's architect, worked with the architectural firm Broadway Malyan during the planning stage. The tower has 72 habitable floors, with a viewing gallery and open-air observation deck – the UK's highest – on the 72nd floor, at a height of 245 meters (804 ft). The Shard was designed with an irregular pyramidal shape from the base to the top, and is clad entirely in glass.