Soaring dramatically over the night city, The Shard dwarfs everything in sight. The giant tower, pictured from a helicopter flying overhead, appears almost translucent as the sun sets on London.

Eighteen months into its construction, the concrete core of the new skyscraper is now officially 800ft tall, with 72 floors complete. At its full height of 1,017ft, it will be Europe's tallest building.


The tower, eesigned by world-famous architect Renzo Piano, is due to be finished next May and will consist of 82 storeys, with an observation gallery on the 72nd.

Aerial photographer, Jason Hawkes, 44, from Oxfordshire, who took these astonishing images, has been documenting the rise of the giant tower by London Bridge from the very beginning of its construction.


'I've been shooting the Shard since its conception and just can't wait to see it finished now,' he said.

'It's a great looking building, from above - but there are very strict rules about how close you can fly to structures in London, we are never closer than 750ft.

"And it's always really interesting to see the construction workers and how small they look relative to the building.

'On the whole people think the pictures of The Shard are amazing. The views from inside once it's completed are going to be staggering.'

The public viewing gallery will be the highest of its kind in the UK and will offer the best views of the nation's capital city possible from any building.

Progress: Aerial photographer Jason Hawkes, 44, from Oxfordshire has been recording the Shard's steady growth as part of a photo-project over the last five months