The Shard (London, UK) - Architecture Prizes on Waymarking.com

The Shard, the tallest skyscraper in UK and European Union and a new landmark of London, is masterpiece of one of the most respectable contemporary architects, Renzo Piano...

Taking inspiration from the spires of London churches and the masts of tall ships depicted by the 18th-century Venetian painter Canaletto, Renzo Piano designed The Shard as a spire-like sculpture emerging from the River Thames. The slender pyramidal form was tuned to the mix of uses that the building contains; offices making use of the large floor plates on levels 4-28, and directly connected to the busy transport hub at ground level. Immediately above are three floors of restaurants and bars. The hotel occupies the central section of the building, with the residences above, where the building is slender enough for apartments to have views on all sides. The final floors accommodate the UK's highest public viewing galleries, 240 m above street level. The spectacular glass and steel spire at 95 storeys (310 m) high forms its summit, tapering off and disappearing into the sky - a particularly important detail for Piano given the building’s prominence on the London skyline.

Renzo Piano (born 14 September 1937) is an Italian Pritzker Prize-winning architect. Architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff said of Piano's works that the "...serenity of his best buildings can almost make you believe that we live in a civilized world." In 2006, Piano was selected by TIME as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He was selected as the 10th most influential person in the "Arts and Entertainment" category of the 2006 Time 100. In August 2013 he was appointed Senator for Life in the Italian Senate by President Giorgio Napolitano. [excerpted from wiki]