The Shard, Europe's tallest building, unveiled in London The Shard rises above London - timelapse video Link to this video Europe's tallest building has been officially unveiled in central London. The Shard's tapered design and glass panelling have already made the skyscraper one of the capital's most noticeable landmarks. Just yards from the banks of the River Thames in Southwark, it seems to pierce the sky as it shoots more than 1,000ft into the air. The tower, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, has 72 floors which can be occupied, and will contain offices, exclusive residences, a luxury hotel, restaurants and a viewing gallery. There are a further 15 levels which make up the "spire" - six of which have the potential to be used, with the other nine exposed to the elements. The 1,016ft (309.6m) skyscraper was inaugurated by the prime minister of Qatar, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani, and the Duke of York, Prince Andrew. Andrew said after pressing a black button to mark the unveiling: "I'm extremely pleased to see that this is going to give this quarter of London a huge new boost. And I hope that the people who will come and work here and live around here will truly appreciate not only the hard work that the entire team have put together, but also they'll recognise the relationship and investment that has been put in by both the UK and Qatar. And I'm sure that we would all be extremely glad if this could be repeated in a number of other areas across the UK.