The Shard, also referred to as the Shard of Glass, Shard London Bridge and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a 95-storey skyscraper in London. Its construction began in March 2009; it was topped out on 30 March 2012 and inaugurated on 5 July 2012. It opened to the public on 1 February 2013. Standing 309.6 metres (1,016 ft) high, the Shard is the tallest building in the European Union, and the second-tallest in Europe, after the Mercury City Tower in Moscow.The Shard is also the second-tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, after the 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 glass-clad pyramidal tower has 72 habitable floors, with a viewing gallery and observation deck – the UK's highest – on the 72nd floor, at a height of 245 metres (804 ft)