Shard scrutiny, don't hate the player.

Some how in my mind the opening of Renzo Piano's Shard in London has been over shadowed by the Olympics. Obviously, that is because the only British chat I am getting on all the feeds is Olympic based but I'm sad that there was not more fan fair here in the colonies, it's only the tallest building in Europe!

Well, you'll be glad to know that there are some people out there, other than Mark Kermode, commenting on things other than sport. Unfortunately it's not all good. Okay, after a bit of searching online it's apparent that it is getting annihilated in the popular and lefty press a like.

Hundreds of comments have been made about Renzo Piano’s Shard, even an interesting commentary about how it is the skyscraper for a post 9/11 world.

Essentially, it's a massive glass pyramid squished in to a quite irregular site plan on top of one of the busiest commuter hubs in London. Honestly, it's a freaking insane juxtaposition to the surrounding Victorian neighbourhood.



Although very much contemporary the building inspires thoughts of existing towering church spires and masts of ships that once anchored on the Thames. The conversation between light and elegant detail on the whole of this building is typical of Piano's work. The facade consists of huge glass facets incline inwards coming almost together at the top but not quite allowing the natural ventilation. On the one glance it's a wispy rendering that is harly there and on the other glance it's a slash on the face of the skyline that your gaze can not be drawn from.

I simulataniusly love and hate this building all at once. Its exclusive price tag could only be footed by Qatar royalty and the mixed use interiors, while they include everything from public sports centres to luxury office space, is easily our of reach of most of the country at an eye watering entrance fee of thirty bangers. Coupled with the fact that it has quite conveniently landed from Dubai on to a part of London that has no sway, money or power this project is for the 1% and kinda embodies what I hate about the current hot money building trend - just when we all hoped it was over.

It is also all the things I kinda love too. I feel a bit patriotic toward this beautiful behemoth. It is a joy of uunbridled optimism, radical technical achievement in the field and an adding of a visually lovely thing to a city at the mercy of faceless construction companies.  (not to forget the lasers...)

This building is planned as a “vertical city” to address London's growing population and incorporates innumerous facilities and opportunities. It's easy to understand the underlying aspirations of a building facing toward the future once you see past the arrogance of the 21st century statement building project from over seas. All we need is for people to stop being xenophobic, elitist and generally gurny and embrace everything a building like this has to offer.

Don't hate the player, change the game... or something along those lines...