SM&W Contribution
Shangra-La Hotels and Resorts, a five-star international hotel group, opened a new hotel in London’s landmark skyscraper, The Shard. Designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, the Shard stands 309 meters (1,000 feet) tall with 89 floors and is the tallest building in Europe. It takes 26 seconds to travel from the ground floor to the hotel’s 35th-floor lobby. The project included 202 guestrooms, three bars and restaurants, event spaces, a fitness center, a luxury spa and an infinity pool.
Because of the hotel’s location on floors 34 through 52, the project required careful coordination with the design team, owner and landlord. Our team’s primary challenge involved acquiring appropriate space for the cable backbone, which ran from the basement to the 52nd floor.