Saturday, 25 February 2012

Shardenfreude: The shadow of the Shard


If the Shard at London Bridge is 320m tall, then when the sun is at its lowest (on the winter solstace: 15.1deg) it will cast a shadow of around 1.15km. That means its darkness will touch the area of the city roughly covered by the map above, sweeping across from Southwark Bridge to the Bank of England, Leadenhall Market, Fenchurch Street and the Tower of London, reaching into St Katherine Docks.
Hours could be marked off along the embankment on the opposite side of the river, creating a vast, extended sundial.
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4 comments:

  1. Kirsten Alicia5 March 2012 at 04:08

    I like this idea!

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  2. Bristol Book Publishing5 March 2012 at 04:19

    I don't think people realise how much darkness is cast by buildings. Part of this video clip comes from the Shard works in progress. -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeWz5XEVCFg

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  3. guillermos6 March 2012 at 02:16

    Who can you talk to about making this happen? Great idea. As the hour struck on momentous occasions people could assemble at the appropriate spot along the embankment waving placards/drinking champagne.

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  4. Bristol Book Publishing6 March 2012 at 06:45

    I can't find a figure for the angle of the sun at the March equinox, but if it is midway between winter (15.1 deg) and midsummer (61.9deg), it should be 38.5deg. That would give a shadow of 410 metres, whichshould clip the City bank at midday. We could go for a midday party on March 22 – assuming the sun was shining.

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