April 2009 Archives

It's often claimed that you would be able to see the English Channel from the top of the Shard in London.

For a start all of Greater London will be visible and one will be able to see a number of British towns and cities from it including a distance of a record 72 miles to Southampton. Brighton and Canterbury to the south and Windsor Castle and Croydon are also expected to be visable in good clear conditions.

Lying to the north you'll be able to see to Cambridge and Colchester whilst the most westerly view will be Newbury and to the east Herne Bay giving you views of the Thames Estuary. The total area that is viewable is marked in green on the image.

Unfortunately, due to the lay of the land the Channel is not likely to be visible. A shame, but im sure the view will still be one to die for.

In tall buildings often conventional lifts are renowned for being slow and unreliable but this may soon be a thing of the past with destination double-deck lifts. The Broadgate Tower on the outskirts of the City of London will be the first tower in the world to use the destination double-deck technology.

Double-deck lifts comprise two passenger cars, one above the other, connected to a single suspension/drive system. The upper and lower decks can then serve two adjacent floors simultaneously, with passengers guided into the appropriate deck for their destination. Destination hall control allows passengers to book their destination calls on keyboards or touch screens located in the lobby.

The new technology could become hugely popular in a city like London which has limited opportunities to build large floor plate buildings within its densely developed confines. Although before mass integration, developers may want to wait and see how well the technology performs in the under-construction Heron Tower (46 floors) and The Shard of Glass (68 floors) which will both use the new technology.