Views of London. Different perspectives open different discussions.

On a quick visit to London this weekend, I had a chance to get to the View from the Shard; the 72nd floor of London’s newest and Europe’s tallest building. The view is staggering and I am sure will spawn a new meme of London panoramas. This view is made of two iPhone panos stuck together in Photoshop. Looking north from the Shard across the Thames, it is amazing how London’s historic landmarks have become invisible – Sothwark Cathedral (front left) was quickly surrounded by railway lines and Borough Market; St. Pauls plays second fiddle to Tate Modern; Tower Bridge and the Tower of London have disappeared under the glass and steel of the City of London.

On a different scale, New London Architecture (NLA) Centre for the Built Environment, provides a complete overview of what is happening in Greater London. The Pipers Central London Model is a 1:1500 scale model of central London from Paddington to The Royal Docks and from Battersea to King’s Cross with all the new and proposed buildings called out in white. The two views here are from over Hyde Park Corner looking east past Buckingham Palace to the London Eye, the Shard and the City of London, with Canary Wharf in the far distance. The other, bigger view is from the opposite direction with the Millennium Dome (remember the Millennium?) in the foreground and looking west over over Canary Wharf, the City, then central London in the distance.

Other stuff I learned: 80% of London’s carbon emissions come from its buildings, yet 40% of London is green space and Royal Parks cover 8 square miles, and the population is expected to grow from 8.3 to 10 million people in the next 20 years.