In July 2002, the then- Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, ordered a planning inquiry after the development plans for the Shard were opposed by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment and several heritage bodies, including the Royal Parks Foundation and English Heritage. 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. Sellar flew to Berlin in the spring of 2000 to meet the Italian architect Renzo Piano for lunch.

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. The Shard is managed by Real Estate Management (UK) Limited on behalf of the owners. The Shard was developed by Sellar Property Group on behalf of LBQ Ltd and is jointly owned by Sellar Property (5%) and the State of Qatar (95%). The glass-clad pyramidal tower has 72 habitable floors, with a viewing gallery and open-air observation deck on the 72nd floor, at a height of 244 metres (801 ft).

The tower's privately operated observation deck, The View from The Shard, was opened to the public on 1 February 2013. Practical completion was achieved in November 2012. The Shard's construction began in March 2009 it was topped out on 30 March 2012 and inaugurated on 5 July 2012. WSP Global (structural engineers), Robert Bird Group (concrete temporary works), Ischebeck Titan on most floors 40+ (concrete support)

Jumper 2008 movie gallup park