At 72 floors high, London’s newest skyscraper – The Shard – will tower above anything in south London. In fact, it will be the tallest building in Europe. Set for completion in late 2011, the glass sides are steadily creeping upwards, forever changing London’s built environment in the process. This selection of photographs illustrate the building’s current development stage.

The Tower of London may be one of London’s oldest buildings, but it now has an ultra-modern backdrop.

Taken from Southwark Bridge. Despite not yet being complete, the Shard is already towering over south London’s built environment.

The view from Southwark Street, London SE1.

Despite south London beginning to turn residential, the Shard is still in sight.

The building will contain residential, retail and office units, with the bottom of the building becoming the new London Bridge station.

Taken from the southern end of London Bridge.

This view from More London shows architectural contrast in both height and style.

Taken from the rooftop of the One New Change shopping centre near St Pauls.