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Western Europe’s tallest building, the Shard London Bridge, has been in the pipeline for longer than anyone can remember, but construction is finally beginning in London today, against a backdrop of economic gloom.

London Bridge stands to be put on the map with news that the construction of the cutting edge ‘Shard’ has begun on Monday March 16th.

The 28 year old Southwark Towers were demolished in December last year in order to make way for the brand new 1,016 foot ‘vertical city,’ which, once completed, will stand three times higher than St Paul’s Cathedral and will change the Capital’s skyline forever.

The brainchild of Italian Architect Renzo Piano, the Shard will include Europe’s first Shangri-La Hotel, five-star restaurants, public viewing gallery, offices, shops and the highest residential property in the UK.

The original design for this project, by Broadway Malyan, featured a circular tower of 87-storeys, 365-metres in height, but this was replaced by Piano’s shard of glass design and made slightly lower.

And, although planning permission for the Shard was granted in November 2003, the project has only just got the go ahead from all angles.

Back in 2007, the major Shard stakeholder, the Halabi Family Trust, was forced to sell its 80 per cent stake to Qatari investors (QInvest, Qatar National Bank, Quatari Islamic Bank and the developer Barwa Real Estate) for £75 million.

Now here we are in mid-March 2009 and despite a gloomy economic backdrop, the future for the Shard looks far sunnier thanks to backing from a group of Qatari banks, which has allowed its construction to commence.

Standing adjacent to London Bridge Railway Station, the urban village concept tower’s construction will be managed by the Mace Group and will form an integral part of the redevelopment of the area including Thameslink 2000 upgrades and Network Rail's project masterplan.

Like a giant chameleon, the Shard, which will use sophisticated glazing and angled panes to reflect sunlight and the changing patterns of the sky on the building, will change with the London weather and seasons.

It will also use energy-saving materials and techniques to ensure the building uses 30 per cent less energy than other high-rises of comparable dimensions.

On its completion in 2012, just in time for the London Olympic Games, the Shard will become the tallest building in the UK, overtaking One Canada Square.