The View from The Shard tourist attraction inside Renzo Piano's 310-metre London skyscraper opens to the public today and these new shots by photographer Nick Guttridge show just how tall the building is compared with the rest of London's skyline (+ slideshow).

The Shard was officially inaugurated in July 2012, but today marks the first time that the public can enter the 72-storey building and ascend all the way to the uppermost floor.

From this vantage point, 244 metres above ground, visitors are exposed to the elements and are faced with panoramic views stretching for over 40 miles.

Renzo Piano designed the mixed-use skyscraper in 2000 and it became the tallest building in Europe in 2011, before being overtaken at the end of 2012 by Moscow tower Mercury City.

Piano described the building as "a vertical city" in an interview with Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs before construction began, but explained that he was never concerned with breaking records. "Towers usually have a very bad reputation, and normally a deserved reputation, because they are normally a symbol of arrogance and power," he said. "All this is about doing a building that is not arrogant."

Since its construction, architecture critic Rowan Moore has labelled the building a "serious failure of planning". Meanwhile, an urban explorer posted pictures online of himself climbing its walls and UNESCO were prompted to reconsider the status of the nearby Tower of London and Palace of Westminster as recognised sites of historical significance.

Photographer Nick Guttridge shot the skyscraper from several points around London, including from the penthouse at the recently completed Neo Bankside and from Canary Wharf. For details of how to purchase limited edition prints, send an email to [email protected].

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