Shard progress

Construction started in March 2009 on the Shard designed by Renzo Piano and is due for completion in 2012.

Shard building, July 2010,  by Cybermyth13.

Construction started with the central core  but the work was completed on the lower floors as the core increased in height. The 72-storey central core was finished in December 2010 and is 244 metres high.

The Shard, April 2012

The Shard has now risen to 87 storeys at 310 metres (1,016 ft) and is Europe’s tallest commercial building.

2012 Serpentine Gallery Summer Pavilion, Kensington Gardens, completion

The 2012 Serpentine Gallery Summer Pavilion, designed by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei, opened on i June 2012 in Kensington Gardens, London, UK.

Eleven columns characterising each past pavilion and a twelfth column representing the current structure  support a floating platform roof, which can collect rainwater. The pavilion's interior is clad in cork, a sustainable building material chosen for its unique qualities and to echo the excavated earth.


Below is a video of some of the preparation and completion of the pavilion:

Serpentine Gallery website.