How It All Started

Formerly standing on that spot was Southwark Towers, but London-based entrepreneur Irvine Sellar decided to redevelop this building to build tall buildings. First off, let's divulge a little bit about Southwark Towers, the building that first stood in the spot of The Shard, as it is always important to be aware of the history of the things we love.

Southwark Towers was a high rise building at 32 London Bridge Street, designed by TP Bennett architects, overlooking London Bridge station, in Southwark, London. When it was demolished in 2008 it was the tallest building ever to have been demolished in the UK.

In 1998, London-based entrepreneur Irvine Sellar and his then-partners decided to redevelop the 1970s-era Southwark Towers following a UK government white paper encouraging the development of tall buildings at major transport hubs. Sellar flew to Berlin in the spring of 2000 to meet the Italian architect Renzo Piano for lunch. According to Sellar, Piano spoke of his contempt for conventional tall buildings during the meal, before flipping over the restaurant's menu and sketching a spire-like sculpture emerging from the River Thames.

In September 2007, preparations for the demolition of Southwark Towers began (Lane, 2007). However, later that same month, turbulence in the financial markets reportedly put the Shard's construction in jeopardy, threatening to render the project an example of the Skyscraper Index.

Reference:

http://www.building.co.uk/%E2%80%98imagine-that-you-are-on-level-80-and-you-want-a-sandwich-how-long-will-that-take-you?%E2%80%99/3094541.article