Irvine Sellar, Shard developer passes away aged 82

The vision behind the Shard at London Bridge, Irvine Sellar has sadly passed away at the age of 82 after a period of short illness.

His son James, who has worked alongside his father for the past 20 years, will take over running of the Sellar Group, according to the statement released by the company.

Sellar will be remembered by his wife, three children and five grandchildren and his architectural legacy will continue through the buildings he helped create.

His most famous work, the Shard, dominates the London skyline and in its short life span has become a cultural icon of London and Great Britain overall. In memory of Irvine and as a celebration of his work, here are some fascinating facts about the Shard!

It is 306 metres tall, briefly held the top spot for the whole of Europe before two buildings in Moscow overtook it within a year!

The average lift speed is 6 metres per second

The Shard is made up of 11,000 glass panels on its exterior

The area of the glass façade is 56,000 sq metres (602,779 sq ft), which equals eight football pitches.

Construction workers found a fox near the top, on the 7nd floor

95% of the construction materials are recycled.

20% of the steelwork is from recycled sources.