30m Canaletto Artwork Graces Newly Revealed London Bridge Station Entrance

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire -02/21/12)- A 30 metre long reproduction of one of Canaletto's most famous River Thames scenes, and an inspiration for the design of The Shard, has just been unveiled at the newly transformed entrance to London Bridge Station.

The painting, "The Thames on Lord Mayor's Day" (before 1752), graces a temporary side wall at the new station entrance which was completed this week. Not only is it one of the images on which Renzo Piano drew inspiration for his designs for the Shard, but the original painting will be on loan to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich from 27 April 2012 onwards and forms part of an exhibition celebrating Her Majesty The Queen's Diamond Jubilee(i).

As a result passengers arriving at London Bridge Station today will have a double celebration. Not only do they get pleasure from the Canaletto masterpiece but they also get their first sight of the Station's on-going transformation into a 21st Century transport interchange as the new station entrance is revealed, designed to integrate with the glass facade of the Shard.

Sellar Property Group, on behalf of LBQ Ltd, which is creating a new quarter adjacent to the station that includes The Shard, Europe's tallest building, is close to completing the redevelopment of the concourse as part of wider regeneration works. The 50 million commuters and travellers who use London Bridge Station every year will now arrive and depart from a concourse that is, for the first time, light, modern and efficient.

Over the past year the transformation of the main station concourse has been taking shape with a new glass roof, new flooring and new realigned ticket barriers being completed. Now further hoardings have been dismantled, the new entrance and opening up of public realm as part of the multi-million pound redevelopment is revealed.

Sellar and principal contractor Mace worked closely to ensure the transformation was undertaken and completed without the need to close the main terminus. Work that includes removal and replacement of the old roof, previous ticket barriers, flooring and facades, the installation of a new customer information screen, CCTV system and new services rooms has all been achieved with the minimum of disruption to the travelling public. This has all been achieved in close collaboration with Network Rail, Transport for London, and the train operating companies using London Bridge station.

When London Bridge Quarter is completed the new station concourse will lead seamlessly into The Shard offices lobby, the public piazza and the newly created bus station. For the first time, London Bridge Station will be a fully integrated transport hub enabling passengers to flow effortlessly between bus, tube, taxi and pedestrian routes.

Irvine Sellar, Chairman of Sellar Property Group, said: "The London Bridge Quarter development has been a catalyst for the much needed modernisation of the station concourse which we are completing with the minimum of disruption to the travelling public. Bringing the station into the 21st Century not only makes life easier for current passenger traffic but will accommodate the planned expansion when the full Thameslink service becomes operational and as many as 75 million people use London Bridge Station every year.

"We are delighted to be able to display this famous Canaletto painting in such a prominent way and at the same time help celebrate The Queen's Diamond Jubilee," he added

London Bridge Quarter comprises The Shard, Western Europe's tallest building at 310m (1,016ft), The Place and a public piazza that links the two buildings, the station concourse and the new bus station.

The Shard will be Europe's only truly mixed-use skyscraper that will be accessible by the public. In addition to The Shard's 600,000 sq ft of office space, there will be three floors of restaurants and a five-star Shangri-La hotel on the mid-levels, 10 floors of residences and viewing galleries at the top.

The Place is a 430,000 sq ft head quarters office building that shares its construction and design DNA with The Shard.

London Bridge Quarter has been masterplanned and designed by the leading international architect Renzo Piano.

(i)Royal River: Power, Pageantry and the Thames sponsored by Barclays.

This unique exhibition at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, created to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen's Diamond Jubilee, features Canaletto's masterpiece, The Thames on Lord Mayor's Day - in the UK for the first time since 1752.

Opens 27 April 2012 - Guest Curator: David Starkey. Visit www.rmg.co.uk/royalriver

Image: London: The Thames on Lord Mayor's Day, Looking Towards the City and St Paul's Cathedral, before 1752, Canaletto, The Lobkowicz Collections, Czech Republic.

Picture Inclusions:

CANALETTO: A 30m Canaletto reproduction now graces the newly unveiled London Bridge Station entrance

http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/CANALETTO.jpg

RENZO PIANO AND IRVINE SELLAR: Renzo Piano, the architect (l) and Irvine Sellar, chairman of Sellar Property Group, developer of London Bridge Quarter in association with LBQ Ltd.

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STATION ENTRANCE: a view of the how the new station entrance will look from the public piazza.

http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/TRAINENTR2828.jpg

STATION CONCOURSE: how the new and near completed station concourse now looks.

http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/ELEVATEDPUBGROUND.jpg

http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/STATIONWHITECOL.jpg

Notes to editors:

Fact Sheet

 

--  The development area covers approximately 1.5m sq ft gross of mixed-use
    space. It comprises the Shard, a 1,016ft iconic skyscraper and The
    Place, linked by a stunning new piazza.

--  Completion of the Shard is scheduled for Summer 2012.

--  It offers high density vertical development on a major transport hub and
    will be the UK's first truly mixed-use tower, designed to interface with
    London on many levels.

--  The master architect, Renzo Piano, designed the Shard as a 'vertical
    city' that includes world class office space, an exclusive collection of
    residential apartments which will be the highest residential apartments
    in the UK, a 5-star (plus) Shangri-La Hotel and spa, restaurants and
    public viewing galleries.

--  192,000 sq ft (approx) of the Shard has already been pre-let to Shangri
    La (floors 34-52).

The Shard

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Level          Purpose                                       Square Feet
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2              Retail                                        5,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2-28           Grade A Office Accommodation                  595,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
31-33          Restaurant and mid level viewing              29,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
34-52          Shangri-La Hotel and spa                      192,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
53-65          Residential high level apartments             62,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
68-72          Viewing galleries                             15,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

--  The Place, also designed by Renzo Piano, sits alongside the Shard and
    benefits from a stunning roof terrace. At 17 floors, it offers an
    impressive 428,664 sq ft of office space making it a perfect corporate
    headquarters.

--  The building has been designed so that it appears to 'float' above the
    ground, liberating space and creating a vibrant public environment that
    leads onto the piazza.

--  Under plans drawn up by Renzo Piano the two buildings are integrated
    into one master planned project that will transform the presently
    unattractive public space outside London Bridge Station into a dynamic
    commercial and mixed use area.

--  Further station improvement will take place post Olympics as part of the
    Thameslink programme which completely transforms London Bridge Station
    and increases services.

--  The Shard is being developed by Sellar Property Group, a strategic real
    estate investment and development company owned by Irvine and James
    Sellar.

--  LBQ Ltd is the joint venture comprising the State of Qatar and Sellar.


The Team

Developer                          Sellar Property Group

Architect                          Renzo Piano Building Workshop

Principal Contractor               Mace

Project Manager                    Turner & Townsend

Quantity Surveyor                  Davis Langdon

Structural Engineer                WSP Cantor Seinuk

Services Engineer (Shard)          Ove Arup and Partners

Services Engineer (LBP)            WSP Buildings

Commercial Agents (Shard)          Knight Frank and Jones Lang LaSalle

Commercial Agents (LBP)            CBRE and Colliers International

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