The tallest building in western Europe has had its official inauguration.     

                        

Renzo Piano's Shard is a 310m (1,016ft) tapering steel structure in the heart of the London borough of Southwark, The skyscraper will house offices, apartments, restaurants and a hotel, as well as a public viewing platform, which is due to open in February 2013. But the structure has divided opinion amongst commentators.

The Shard is 1016ft high, with 11,000 glass panels covering the area of eight football pitches.There are 44 lifts, including double-decker lifts and 306 flights of stairs, a flat on the shard will be around £50 million.