New Building - The Shard

The Shard - Europe's tallest building, officially opened with a laser show in London.

The Shard (also referred to as the Shard of Glass,Shard London Bridge or the London Bridge Tower) is a skyscraper in London, England and opened on 5 July 2012.

"Just in time for the London Olympics 2012 the Shard Building stood in all its glory 309,6m high in the sky, and being the tallest building in Europe and also the second-tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, after the 330-meter (1,083 ft) concrete tower at the Emley Moor transmitting station.

The Shard replaced Southwark Towers, a 24-story office block built on the site in Southwark in 1975. Renzo Piano, the Shard's architect, worked with the architectural firm Broadway Malyan during the planning stage. The tower has 72 habitable floors, with a viewing gallery and open-air observation deck – the UK's highest – on the 72nd floor, at a height of 245 metres (804 ft). The Shard was designed with an irregular pyramidal shape from the base to the top, and is clad entirely in glass. Its structure was completed in April 2012."   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shard

"Twelve lasers and 30 searchlights lit up the night sky, to celebrate the external completion of The Shard - the tallest building in Europe. Green lasers and streams of light stretched out from the 95 story building - which is 1,016ft high / 309,6m - on London's Southbank."

"The lasers reached across to landmarks including the London Eye, the Gherkin and Tower Bridge

The show, observed by the Duke of York and the Qatari prime minister, was the finale to The Shard's inauguration celebration. The display was set to two pieces of classical music, performed live by the London Philharmonic Orchestra."

"The building is owned by LBQ Limited, comprising the State of Qatar (the majority shareholder) and Sellar Property Group, with non-equity funding by Qatar National Bank.

"The building is made up of 11,000 glass panels. The finished building provides 31.4 acres of space. There are 44 lifts and eight escalators to transport people to the 72 occupiable floors. The Shard is illuminated against the night sky and creates an incredible picture."