Renzo Piano Analysis

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Renzo Piano is a well-known architect, best known for his phantasmagoric architectural masterpiece, the Shard in London that constitutes a major landmark in α big city like London. Designed in 2000, it is the tallest building in the United Kingdom, while being for a while Europe’s tallest tower. It lost its title to the Mercury City Tower in Moscow in 2012 which is Europe's tallest building.
As Renzo Piano said “I don’t believe it is possible to build a tall building in London by extruding the same shape from bottom to top. It would be too small at the bottom and too big at the top. Likewise, symbols are dangerous. Often tall buildings are aggressive and arrogant symbols of power and ego, selfish and hermetic. The tower is designed to be a sharp and light presence in the London skyline. Architecture is about telling stories and expressing visions, and memory is part of it. Our memory is permeated by history.” The architect and the developer have made the London Bridge Tower, as The Shard was previously known, one of the most discussed buildings of London over the last 10 years.
The Southwark Towers, a 1970s office block, were located originally on the Shard's current site. The head of Sellar Property group Mr. Sellar and Renzo Piano had a meeting in 2000 as Mr. Sellar wanted to redevelop the Southwark Towers which eventually were demolished in 2008. Renzo Piano created the first design of the Shard in a Berlin restaurant. He stated ‘’I was quite attracted by the idea of… not really of making a tall building, but the idea of making a mixed-use tower – a vertical city.’’ The design of the Shard of Glass was finalized as a mix use, 310 meters tower.
There are many towers in the United Kingdom, like the Beetham Tower in Manchester ...

... middle of paper ...

...ies on the Shard, office workers are offered the possibility of taking a break away from the homogenous steel and concrete offices, enjoying natural air and light. Another winter garden feature is the operable windows providing for ventilation. These winter gardens have the advantage of bringing nature into the heart of the building through the abundance of natural vegetation, in spite of being in an enclosed greenhouse environment.
Although sustainability is being referred to in terms of efficiency, utility or responsibility, I would argue that it can also be about elegant design. Architects and designers can both proceed to innovations and consider the impact of their buildings on their surroundings. They can contribute to the improvement of the environmental impact of their city, with elegance and efficiency being the main features of their work.

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