The Shard show
Variously described by the foaming commentariat as a spike through London's heart, a slash across its face and a metaphor for everything that's rotten about somethingorother, the Shard looks like a stunning crystalline giant from Telegraph Hill and a shimmering little church spire from Hilly Fields. For a building that is supposedly unavoidable for anyone in London, its impact on our views is remarkably modest.
The Shard at sunset from Hilly Fields (the little pointy thing above the tree in the middle)
34 comments:
I like it, as a shape it is v. simple, clean lines, when the sunlight catches it in the morning it looks awesome.
I prefer the Burj Khalifa though (which I've been to!)
Go to telegraph hill - way better view...
I don't mind teh Shard but I hope the walkie talkie doesn't get built.
The Walkie Talkie is already half built. The concrete core is at full height and the steelwork is many stories high.
I like The Shard and would have liked to see the view from the top. However, at £25 a shot to go to the viewing platform, I don't think we'll be looking down on Hilly Fields from the Shard any time soon.
For reference, not that it represents a good honest ride, but a fast track ticket on the London Eye is £25
Dress up smart and visit the hotel (floors 34 to 52). No the top, admittedly, but the views should still be stunning.
TfL had a chunk of space booked but either pulled out or the developers payed them a few quid to pull out. Shame, would have a liked day dreaming out the window while muching a tax funded HobNob.
"Brockley residents will be able to watch the laser show from the top of the Shard..."
Really? Do I need a ticket and a head for heights?
Of course, if there were any high public vantage points in Brockley then residents wouldn't have to go to neighbouring Telegraph Hill or Ladywell to view this spectacle, technically speaking
Is it just me that thinks the top looks unfinished? I’m sure I’m a philistine, but it looks to my simple mind like it should join up properly…
That's why it's called a shard, because it looks broken at the top. Otherwise it would be called The Point ;)
Hoist by your own cradle...
That's why it's called a shard, because it looks broken at the top. Otherwise it would be called The Point.
The Shard at sunset from Hilly Fields (the little pointy thing above the tree in the middle)
.....but from se4 it does look pointy not "shardy"
A shard of glass doesn't necessarily have a jagged look more of a point.
oh my god, kill me. this blogs comments are just getting worse and worse.
Funny Image - Mordor Via Bank
http://tomdanvers.com/labs/mordorviabank/mordor_via_bank.jpg
Or a sliver? A sliver of glass? Can't we all just get along?
went up to Blythe Hill and couldn't see a thing! Nice to see so many peeps sitting on the hill though.
London Bridge was the place to be this evening. Faboulous but short show. Like the Shard but the points made by Jenkins about it do ring true...
Underwhelming.
We also watched out for it at Blythe Hill Fields and saw nothing...zilch...nada....not a sausage etc.
It reminded me of the light show from Crystal Palace a few months ago - where IIRC no-one watching from (relatively) afar saw a thing.
Could it have been because of cloud cover?
couldn't see anything because of the cloud cover?
no, it was just a bit rubbish. we were on the millenium bridge and it wasn't that impressive from there either.
think it might have been impressive from the sky, shame i left the helicopter in the garage this evening!
all a bit of an anti-climax.
Ha ha ha, it was shit!!!!!
I had an extremely good view of it, but it looked as if all the lights were pointed towards north of the river and the wealthier districts.
The laser show was distinctly underwhelming, if the BBC video of it is anything to go by.
I agree the shard looks unfinished. The shard-iness of it should have been more exaggerated in the design. Instead it just looks a bit dog-eared. I still think it looks impressive though.
On Telegraph hill with maybe a couple of hundred other people waiting until 10.50 in case it was running late as we could not see a sausage. You'd have expected something. Nada. Zip.
Fantastic view of the city from the Upper Park at nigh though.
Likewise a hundred or so distinctly underwhelmed peeps on Hilly Fields at about 10ish last night.
Maybe cloud cover would have helped a bit - just the right degree of scotch mist would have picked up the laser lights nicely.
Even the BBC didn't think it worth showing. The final snippet from Kirsty Wark at the end of Newsnight was on the Shard opening and the laser display (so I thought, O good, might see something) - but what they had the credits going over was the time-lapse film of the Shard being built.
@ Ian - can you actually see the Shard well anyway from the Upper Park - I thought it was behind trees? There was anyway another disappointed gathering at the roundabout (to the puzzlement of passing vehicles).
P'raps it should be renamed 'the damp squib'.
Does anybody remember the red lazer they shot out of the Royal Observatory? That was pretty cool and went right across the river. Seems like 10 of those bad boys pointing at the Shard would have done the job, no?
Since somebody first mentioned the likeness to me, I can't get out of my mind a similarity between the Shard and Isengard. I appreciate that Isengard was an iron tower, but the shape - at least as Isengard is portrayed in the film - is extremely close.
And I have bad news for Anon@ 5 July 2012 13:56: the walkie talkie is already being built.
Isengard?
Minas Morgul surely?
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