Shard London Bridge

Renzo Piano’s 72-story glass tower in London, expected to be the tallest building in Western Europe when it opens in 2012, employs a bold new method that could speed construction of tomorrow’s skyscrapers: Build the tower and dig the basement at the same time. A custom deep-diving rig put the tower’s structural columns into the ground before excavation took place, so one construction crew can dig the basement—which otherwise puts everything else on hold—while another installs elevators, staircases and mechanical fixtures on top of the columns. Engineer Bob Gordon of the Mace Group estimates that the technique will save seven months of construction time.
shardlondonbridge.com