This used to be Britain's tallest building. It is 1 Canada Square, known colloquially as Canary Wharf. It's over 230 metres high and has 50 or so floors. With the opening of The Shard this year, which is nearly 50% higher again, it is just a tall office block; I still like it though. This building, unlike the Shard, fits the context of the area and doesn't stand out too much. The Shard is too tall, gaudy, looks unfinished due to it's strange roof and, crucially, just doesn't fit into the area it inhabits. There are an increasing number of 'landmark' buildings in London and most of them do a pretty good job of blending in with the city, but then maybe it's a contradiction in terms to have a landmark that blends in. In any case, the Shard is starting to get on my nerves a bit in the way that it impinges on every view of the city centre. I'm starting to have sympathy with Guy de Maupassant. It is said that he had dinner every evening on the top deck of the Eiffel Tower; when asked why he did this he replied: "It's the only place in Paris that you can't see the Eiffel Tower."
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