Geograph - photograph every grid square

A 72-storey office building and hotel, constructed from 2009-2012 as the centre of the London Bridge Quarter development on the South bank of the Thames. The skyscraper is, at 310m tall, for a while the tallest building in the European Union and the 45th tallest building in the world. It is the second tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom after the 1,084 ft (330.4m) Emley Moor transmitting station.

The tower was designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, and cost £450 million. The Government of Qatar financed the building and its Prime Minister declared it open on 5 July 2012. It opened to the public in February 2013.

For views of and from the Shard after opening, see Link

The official website is Link

See also the Wikipedia entry at Link

London Bridge Station consists of two parts, the main station (platforms 8 - 16), which is the terminus for Southern services from Kent, Sussex and South London, and the through section (platforms 1 - 6) with trains continuing on to Charing Cross, Blackfriars or Cannon Street. Platform 6 is the busiest platform in Europe.
It is the oldest of the London terminal stations, being openied on December 14th 1836 by the London and Greenwich Railway.
A longer history can be found at Link

The River Thames rises at Thames Head in Gloucestershire on the slopes of the Cotswolds and flows generally eastward to its mouth near Southend in Essex. At 215 miles long it is one of the longest rivers in Britain. It is one of the most important rivers in Britain. Link

A bridge has existed at or near this point since Roman times. It was historically the tidal limit of the River Thames, but with river management this has now moved upstream to Teddington. The present bridge dates from 1973. It is 262 metres long in three spans and carries the A3 road.
Wikipedia: Link

The 180 metre tall sky scraper at 30 St Mary Axe, London was designed by Lord Foster (Foster and Partners) and opened in 2004.

Offices fill the 40-storey 48,000 metre floor space. Constructed in a thin-shell structure and thousands of flat glass panels. The building's distinct curved shape gave it its nick-name The Gherkin. It building has also been known as The "Swiss Re" Building, after the reinsurance firm which occupies it, and commissioned the building for their head offices.