Earth Shard-ering Views

Hello Readers!

What a BEAUTIFUL day it is in London today!  The clouds are thin and wispy today, which means that Londoners have the rare chance to enjoy the blue skies.  As for me, I am currently sitting on a bench in Hyde Park – I just cannot get enough of it.  Now that winter is near, the squirrels are FAT, and their escapes from pursuing dogs become even narrower.  It’s quite entertaining to watch!

The Shard, ground level

The Shard, floor 72: open observation deck

Today was my last architecture trip and we went to the top of the Shard building!  At 306 meters (1004 feet) and 72 stories high, the Shard is the tallest building in the UK and Europe.  Going to the top was such a treat for my last week here in London because, after getting to know the city pretty well, it was just amazing to be able to see it from a seemingly impossible angle!  I saw more of St Paul’s at once than anywhere I’ve stood on the ground, the Globe Theater looked so tiny, the HMS Belfast (first ship to land at Normandy, France, towards the end of WWII) so grand, etc.  Because it is such a clear day today, we were able to see all the way out to Wembley Stadium in the northwest, with its iconic arch, Olympic Stadium to the northeast, Battersea Power Station to the south, Hyde Park / Notting Hill to the west, and the Thames Barrier WAY to the east.  As cool as the panorama was, being in really tall buildings gives me a bit of motion sickness because of how the building sways (some of my classmates were horrified to learn that all tall buildings are built to sway).  Plus, it didn’t help that floor 72 of the Shard is OUTSIDE!  Because the Shard, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, is made to look like a shard of glass sticking out of the ground, the ceiling of the top deck is semi-open to the elements, which meant it was quite windy and cold up there.

Hyde Park. Can you spot the Shard?

An aside: while most of the modern “skyscrapers” in London were built by Brits, namely Richard Rogers and Norman Foster, this massive addition to the skyline is by an Italian.  There are mixed feelings among Londoners about whether that adds to the identity of London as a world / international city or if it hinders the British feat of having the tallest building in Europe.  Plus, because buildings go up so quickly here, some locals didn’t even notice until it was finished, and are a bit indifferent to its presence.

Personally, I think the Shard is a bit plain … really, nothing spectacular.  It’s just not interesting in the way a Rogers or Foster building is, but Piano’s design won the competition.  The consolation is that when you’re up there looking at the panorama, you don’t actually have to see the Shard – you get to see all the more interesting buildings of London!




What am I looking at?!

Northwest view from the Shard

I will do my best to clearly indicate the major landmarks in these pictures ... if you don't know London, it all just seems like a big jumble!  Also, I apologize for any unclear pictures -- the window washers were MIA.

Northwest view: Pretty much smack-dab in the center of the photo is St Paul's Cathedral.  Starting from the bottom, the three bridges are the Cannon St train bridge, Southwark Bridge (pronounced Su-thuk), and Blackfriars Bridge.

North bank: the City, Tower of London, HMS Belfast

North bank: The tall building on the far left is what Londoners call the Walkie Talkie (from another angle it looks like a giant radio-ing device!).  Behind that building and to the right, the spiral/striped building is The Gherkin (built by Norman Foster), and one of my favorite buildings in London - certainly, it was the one I was most excited to see.  On the river is the HMS Belfast, and the Tower of London is on the far right of the photo on the north bank -- can you see the white rectangles? They are some of the many ice rinks assembled for London's holiday season!

Awesome story about the HMS Belfast ... King George VI really wanted to be aboard when the Belfast landed on Normandy, but Churchill convinced him that it was a bad idea for the Britain's monarch to do that.  Instead, Churchill fancied himself on the Belfast for the landing on Normandy.  It was President FDR who talked him out of that one -- not necessarily because it was irresponsible of the PM to do it (which it was), but really because Church was simply too fat!

West: Tower Bridge, City Hall, Canary Wharf

West: Tower Bridge is iconic and honestly hard to miss in this one.  You can also spot part of the Tower of London on the far left.  Across the Thames from the Tower of London is City Hall - it is round and looks a bit lop-sided.  The tall buildings in the center of the photo is Canary Wharf (see my previous post).  It's hard to tell, but the Thames bends around Canary Wharf and creates a peninsula (Isle of Dogs) ... you may see that it continues beyond the tall buildings.  It may be too hard to tell from this photo, but the Thames Barrier (installed to help with flood control; the Thames is a tidal river) is visible.  I have not made it out there -- it's pretty far ... think of the Tube fare! -- but I hear it's really cool.

I hope you enjoyed these panoramas.  Thanks for reading and come back soon!