The Shard, as it is known, has brought about much debate for its futuristic design and the expensive apartments in a part of town that is facing economic challenges.
"Towering 310 metres over the south bank of the River Thames, the Shard already dominates London like no other building, its spire sometimes obscured by cloud in the British capital's often overcast skies," writes reporter Maria Golovnina. The building is 95 stories high, has a price tag of £435 million and was designed by hot architect of the moment Renzo Piano. The interior spaces are not yet completed and won't open until next year, but the building is already facing criticism.
Jonathan Jones, the art critic at The Guardian, says "The Shard is grotesquely out of scale with other London landmarks: it is so big that it demands a massive skyscraper forest around itself."
Decide for yourself by watching this video of The Shard under construction:
Read the full story: Futuristic Shard has Londoners fired up
Friday Eye Candy: London From Above
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After the Shard, London's Skyline Gets Shafted
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Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
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Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
Nation's most wind-powered state turns to coal as data centers increase energy demand
For the first time in decades, Iowa has increased its generation of coal power.
Boston has spent millions making the Green Line more accessible — and there’s no end in sight
While the city has invested millions into expanding and adding platforms to the Green Line to make it more accessible, new train cars set to arrive next year will be too tall for disabled passengers to board without raising the current platforms.
Idaho may see an 18% drop in federal surface transit funding — the largest estimated cut in the US
Transit systems in rural communities are much more reliant on federal funding to provide their services.
How ‘post-disaster gentrification’ alters neighborhoods after natural calamities
After hurricanes, fires or other calamities, the original residents of a community are often replaced by younger, wealthier residents.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello