http://raisingtheroof.blogs.nytimes....ruction&st=cse
Race is on to Build Tallest Tower in Europe
By Kevin Brass
March 24, 2009
Last week construction started on the Shard of Glass, a Renzo Piano-designed tower destined to remap the London skyline. When completed the tower will be 310 meters tall (about 1,016 feet)—three times as high as St. Paul’s Cathedral, it is often noted–which will give it bragging rights as the tallest building in western Europe.
The Shard will beat out the 259-meter (about 850-foot) Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt, the current tallest building in western Europe. But it will be about 50 meters shorter than Moscow’s Federation Tower, which is currently under construction.
However, the Shard may not hold even the western Europe record for long. In Paris, developers have already announced plans for the Hermitage Plaza, twin towers designed by Foster + Partners, which are planned to hit 323 meters (about 1,060 feet), a full 13 meters taller than the Shard.
Of course, there are a variety of mega-towers on the drawing board that would dwarf both the Shard and Hermitage.
The competition for the world’s tallest tower starts these days with the Burj Dubai, currently under construction, which is at 688 meters (2,300 feet) and growing (and the developers are vague about the ultimate height). Last year details were unveiled for the Nakheel Tower, which is designed to be one-kilometer tall (1,000 meters), but that project is stalled for at least a year.
Meanwhile, plans have already been announced for the Shanghai Tower, which will be China’s tallest at 632 meters (2,072 feet). The Russia Tower in Moscow, another Foster + Partners project, is slotted for 600 meters (about 1,969 feet). And the Santiago Calatrava-designed Chicago Spire is slotted to be 609 meters (2,000-feet)—but right now it’s nothing more than a hole in the ground.
Beyond the can-you-top-this contest, the Shard’s ability to move forward while so many other projects have stalled is a victory for the developer, the Sellar Property Group. (A London Times profile of chairman Irvine Sellar can be found here.). The project was floundering last year, until a group of Qatar-based investors jump-started the project.
Scheduled for completion in 2012, the Shard is the centerpiece of a £2 billion regeneration of the London Bridge Quarter, which includes a variety of residential commercial and office space.