Tower of Babel: Language no barrier for Shard workers

 
Diverse: workers from Albania to Australia and Bulgaria to Brazil contributed to The Shard's construction
10 April 2012

It will be finished in time for the Olympics by a "Team Shard" almost as diverse as competitors in the Games.

London's tallest skyscraper - all 1,017 feet of it when completed in June - is a testament to international cooperation with workers from Albania to Australia, Bulgaria to Brazil contributing to its construction.

Between 1,300 and 1,600 employees have been involved in building the £400 million tower.

Two-thirds of the workers are British and a further 20 per cent from other European countries, including Lithuania and Romania as well as France and Holland. The remaining 15 per cent are from all over the world.

Bart Lemmens, 26, is a quality assurance engineer from the Netherlands who joined the Shard team in June 2010. "While working in the Middle-East on a very large construction project I saw a picture of the Shard and I knew I had to get involved as it is one of the most interesting construction projects at this time," he said.

Simona Visinskyte, 23, Ramita Balconyte, 24, and Virginija Daraciene, 37, are all from Lithuania. Simona is an administrator for a logistics company working on the building and has been working at the Shard since May 2010. The other two are catering assistants, as is Russian Irina Pantuykhova.

"I thought maybe I would study here," Ms Visinskyte said. "But I found myself working in construction, and it was interesting seeing how from nothing people build massive skyscrapers."

Australian Tony Veal, 33, is a project manager. "I enjoy looking into the vast changes in history and technological advances over the years that have sculpted this great city," he said.

A spokesman for developer Sellar Property Group said: "There are many languages spoken by people working to build the Shard but this has not presented any issues."

When completed, the Shard will be almost double the height of St Paul's. It will have 44 lifts, offices and a hotel and be topped by a four-floor public viewing gallery.

A concourse and a piazza will be finished by next year and will link it to London Bridge station. It has been developed by Irvine Sellar, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano and constructed by Mace.

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