London apartment buyers with high hopes will soon be able to tower above their peers.
The Shard, which is under construction on the south bank of the Thames, is offering the highest residences in the city. Apartments will occupy floors 53 to 65 in the tower, which will be western Europe's tallest building.
The Renzo Piano-designed structure will dominate the London skyscape at 310 metres, dwarfing the former London champion, the 235-metre One Canada Square. The Gherkin, perhaps London's most striking building, is a relatively puny 180 metres.
The Shard, which is short for "shard of glass", will be a striking new addition, and part of the £2 billion (Dh11.9bn) London Bridge Quarter redevelopment project, which is backed by a consortium of Qatari investors, including Qatar Islamic Bank and Barwa, the Qatar property company.
The apartments will sit on top of the Shangri-La Hotel, which will occupy floors 34 to 52 in the tower. A viewing galley offering panoramic 360-degree views of the city will cover floors 68 to 72 while offices will occupy floors 2 to 26. The penthouse will be 224 metres above the ground, giving the owner an unobstructed opportunity to look down on every other homeowner in the city.
No prices have been set yet for the apartments, nor have any details been released on how the floors will be configured, says a spokesman for the project. The apartments will cover about 62,000 square feet, he said.
The exterior of the building is scheduled for completion next year, in time to show off for the Olympic Games in London. But it could be another year before the apartments are ready for tenants.
While The Shard will be the tallest building in Europe, it is dwarfed by the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, which measures 828 metres. And Dubai will soon boast the two tallest pure residential towers in the world, the Pentominium, which will rise to 515 metres, and the Princess Tower at 414 metres.
kbrass@thenational.ae
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Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
