There are apartments, and then there are homes that shift the way you experience the city – Shard Place belongs firmly in the latter camp. Designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop – the same architectural powerhouse behind The Shard and the Pompidou – this new residential landmark delivers 176 rental-only apartments.
Ranging from studios to expansive three-bedroom homes, each space is engineered for urban living without the urban friction: light, calm, and meticulously attuned to wellbeing. Floor-to-ceiling glazing floods every room with daylight; triple-aspect vistas frame London’s restless skyline as if it were your own private cinema; and the 20 distinct layouts ensure no two homes feel alike.
Architecturally, Piano’s fingerprints are everywhere. Shard Place is formed of two intersecting volumes – a slender 100-metre tower paired with a southern block – both seemingly suspended 16 metres above the ground. This elevated framework creates 13,000sq ft of public realm beneath, a rare pocket of openness in one of the busiest districts in the capital.
The rooftop
Low-iron glazing, faceted façades and naturally ventilated winter gardens continue the studio’s long-standing obsession with light, transparency and the subtle choreography between indoors and out. It’s a confident, elegant piece of city-making from one of the discipline’s greats.
Inside, the aesthetic rigour continues. State of Craft has furnished every apartment with a design language that mirrors the architecture: clean lines, natural materials, tactile surfaces. Two interior palettes – Bermondsey and Borough – offer residents a choice of mood. Handmade furnishings sit alongside pieces from Cassina, B&B Italia and Fredericia, while optional upgrades such as Beaumont & Brown linens and curated ProCook kitchenware layer in additional comfort.
The apartments
Art is treated not as decoration but as part of the building’s cultural fabric. More than 1,000 works curated by Richeldis Fine Art appear throughout: paintings by Lawrence Calver and Carla Cascales, ceramics by Rhian Jones, large-format photography by Chiara Zonca, and atmospheric pieces by Nicolas Feldmeyer.
The amenities are where Shard Place pushes into rarefied territory. Set across three levels and totalling 12,000 sq ft, they redefine what lifestyle-led renting can look like in London. At the summit, the city’s highest outdoor swimming pool delivers an extraordinary moment: a sun deck in the sky with London unspooling beneath.
The amenities
A double-height orangery and library open onto a south-facing terrace with views of St Paul’s; a 12-seat private dining room, 15-seat cinema and full wellness suite complete the offering. Specialist operators Educated Body will curate a programme of wellbeing events to bring it all to life.
Add 24-hour concierge, security, on-site maintenance, car-club membership, bicycle storage and optional housekeeping, and Shard Place becomes less an address than a proposition: elevated living, executed with precision. With prices from £700 per week, apartments are available to rent via both JLL and Knight Frank.
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See: jll.com; knightfrank.co.uk
