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The Shard Facts & Worksheets

The Shard is the tallest building in the United Kingdom, and is also referred to as Shard of Glass, Shard London Bridge, and formerly known as the London Bridge Tower.

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The Shard is the tallest building in the United Kingdom, and is also referred to as Shard of Glass, Shard London Bridge, and formerly known as the London Bridge Tower. The Shard is a supertall skyscraper that has 95-storeys.

See the fact file below for more information on The Shard or alternatively, you can download our 23-page The Shard worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

HISTORY

  • The lead architect and designer of The Shard was Renzo Piano.
  • The Shard began its construction in March of 2009.
  • The Shard finished its construction on March 30, 2012.
  • The Shard was inaugurated on July 5, 2012.
  • The Shard became fully operational by November of 2012.
  • The View From The Shard is a popular tourist attraction that offers visitors views from the highest floors of the skyscraper: floors 68, 69, and 72—this breathtaking attraction was officially opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony, led by Mayor of London Boris Johnson, on February 1, 2013.

ARCHITECTURE

  • Renzo Piano, the head architect of The Shard, planned it to be a spire-like sculpture that seemed to appear or have emerged from the River Thames, the second-longest river in England where the construction site is near.
  • A spire is a standing structure or a building that is tapering and conical in shape. Spires could be often seen on churches.
  • The depictions of spires done by Venetian painter Canaletto, inspired Renzo Piano while designing The Shard.

CONSTRUCTION

  • The Shard is the first building in the United Kingdom where the top-down method of construction is applied, where foundations are dug while the core is built up.
  • Preparations for the construction began in February of 2009, when mobile cranes and a small piling rigs arrived on site.
  • Full construction of the Shard began on March 16, 2009.
  • The Shard was part of the concurrent London Bridge project, and in May, demolition work on the New London Bridge House started.
  • In late November of 2010, the construction of the building had reached the 68th floor.
  • This was a significant moment since it had ended One Canada Square’s 18-year reign as the tallest building in Britain.
  • The concrete core of the building had reached its top, the 72nd floor, in early 2011. By that time, it was already 244 metres high.
  • The steel structure was finished up to the 72nd floor on March 30, 2012, reaching a height of 306 meters.
  • On July 5, 2012, The Shard was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of Qatar, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, in a ceremony attended by Prince Andrew, Duke of York.

FAST FACTS

  • Aside from being the tallest building in the United Kingdom, it is also the tallest building in the European Union, and the sixth-tallest building in Europe.
  • The Shard is called by its name for the reason that it was modeled to look like a shard of glass. Speaking of glass, the Shard’s exterior has over 11,000 glass panels.
  • It’s total area is 56,000 square meters.
  • The Shard comes in as the second-tallest free-standing structure (a structure that is standing that can’t be a building), with the Emley Moor Transmitting Station coming first.
  • The site of The Shard replaced a 24-storey block building called the Southwark Towers in 1975.
  • Six women climbed up the building walls in July 2013 to draw national attention to their advocacy against the oil company, Shell’s plan to drill the Arctic for oil.
  • There was a fox that was found on the 72nd floor of The Shard while it was being constructed. The fox found by construction workers was given the nickname Romeo, probably by a staff member. Romeo was believed to have survived on leftover food by the workers.
  • The Shard has a penthouse or an apartment at the top, it is 224 meters high with two floors or storeys.
  • The penthouse is compared to a seven-bedroom mansion.
  • How much does it cost? According to some reports, the penthouse might cost up to £50 million or $77 million.
  • A restroom is located inside The Shard at an altitude of 244 meters above London, where the bird’s eye view is clearly seen – giving you the feeling of being on top of the world.
  • Viewing floors 68, 69, and 72 each have its corresponding motif or attractions.
  • Cloudscape is featured on floor 68, where different types of clouds in London are featured.
  • Interactive telescopes are to be found on floor 69.
  • Floor 72 has a more of an open-air motif so the elements in high places can be experienced.
  • The elevators (referred to as lifts in English cities such as London) travel smoothly but fast – they travel 6 meters per second, fast enough to feel the air on your ears.

The Shard Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about The Shard across 23 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use The Shard worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Shard which is the tallest building in the United Kingdom, and is also referred to as Shard of Glass, Shard London Bridge, and formerly known as the London Bridge Tower. The Shard is a supertall skyscraper that has 95-storeys.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • The Shard Facts
  • Learning About London
  • A Clear Timeline
  • Is It True?
  • Skyscraper Seeing
  • Buildings in Britain
  • Big News, Tall Building
  • Word Jumble
  • Feels From Up High
  • Viewing Areas
  • The Shard Poem

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Link will appear as The Shard Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, September 17, 2019

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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