The Shard Inauguration

The tallest building in Europe lit up London with a lazer display last night. The Shard was officially opened yesterday.

Here are some facts and figures about The Shard.

The Shard is is 1016ft (309.6m) high.

The building reached its top height on June 19.

It has 11,000 glass panels.

There are 44 lifts, including double-decker lifts.

There are 306 flights of stairs.

The total floor space is 31.4 acres.

95% of the construction materials are recycled.

20% of all the steelwork is from recycled sources.

The design was influenced by the irregular nature of the site.

Each facet forms a shard, a plane of glass gently inclined inwards, rising towards the top.

The corners of the development are open and the shards do not touch, allowing the building to "breathe".

There are 72 occupiable floors.

The Shard will light up London's skyline tonight with a light and laser show to mark its official inauguration as Europe's tallest building.