Uploaded on 2015-05-02 by VickiLonghurst

[1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14305793907939092.jpg **The Shard – London’s tallest building and the globalisation of construction** The Shard is a great example of the globalisation of the construction process. The tallest habitable building in London and the European Union since 2010, it was designed by an Italian architect, Renzo Piano, who was inspired by the railways of London and the paintings of London Spires by Italian artist Canaletto and who first met with the financiers of the project in Berlin. Jointly owned by Sellar Property ( a London-Based company founded by a Brit, Irvine Sellar, with property interests throughout the UK and Europe) and the state of Qatar; it represents the recent trend of State-funded investment by Middle Eastern oil economies. The Shard was constructed by Mace Group Ltd which operates in over 70 countries and has 5 international hubs, in London, New York, Johannesburg, Hong Kong and Dubai/Doha. The design of the Shard was influenced by the global terrorist events of September 11th 2001and was one of the first tall buildings to be re-designed following the publication of the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) report into the collapse of the World Trade Centre twin towers in New York. 95% of construction materials used in the Shard are sourced from recycled materials including 140,000 blocks of lignacite, a composite material made from sand, wood particles & cement. The wood comes from off-cuts from the building industry in the Eastern counties in the UK. This demonstrates that some elements of the construction process remain local in an effort to reduce the Shard’s carbon footprint. Each pane of glass (enough to cover 8 football pitches) including the specially designed industrial doors, was cut in The Netherlands. 20% of the steel used in construction of the Shard was recycled and is predominantly found in floors 1-41 and in the spire. The steel was produced by UK-based company Severfield, which produces steel in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and in India.