High Art in the Sky: How Mr Doodle Transformed London’s Tallest Tower
Rising over eight hundred feet above London Bridge, Renzo Piano’s glass spire stands as an undisputed marvel of modern engineering. The vertical city remains a triumph of contemporary architecture, casting its sharp, crystalline shadow across the ancient meanders of the Thames. Yet, step inside the high-speed lifts bound for the upper observation decks, and the mood shifts entirely. The crisp, slightly sterile elegance of London’s tallest landmark has been given an utterly joyful, anarchic jolt.
The elevated observation space on Level 69 of The View from The Shard handed its expansive glass panels and pristine walls over to Sam Cox, universally known as Mr Doodle. Famous for his obsessive, hyper-focused style that he calls Graffiti Spaghetti, Cox has spent years covering everything from entire houses to luxury cars in dense, monochrome imagery. Born in Kent, the artist famously began his journey doodling on his bedroom walls as a child, eventually building a global phenomenon where every blank surface becomes a canvas for sprawling, continuous lines.
His installation, titled Doodles with a View, brought a staggering burst of spontaneous energy to what is usually a coolly refined space. Working under the cover of darkness while the capital slept, Mr Doodle completed the incredible transformation in just two nights. Armed with custom black paint pens, he worked methodically across the high altitude glass. Where visitors once quietly gazed out toward St Paul’s and the faraway hills of Kent, they now find themselves enveloped in a maze of squiggly characters, swirling patterns, and playful creatures that squirm across the floor-to-ceiling glass.
The juxtaposition is brilliant. Outside, London is a sprawling tableau of grey slate, historic Portland stone, and winding asphalt veins. Inside, Mr Doodle’s signature thick lines dance across transparent surfaces, framing iconic landmarks like Tower Bridge and Big Ben in quirky, hand-drawn loops. The building itself is packed with quirky secrets, from the fact that eleven thousand glass panels cover its exterior to its position as the highest venue in Western Europe. Surprisingly, ninety five percent of the construction materials used to build the spire were recycled, blending heavy eco-conscious engineering with high design.
Ascending higher to Level 72, the open-air sky deck introduces another layer to the experience. Out in the open elements, where the wind whips off the river and the city hums far below, the playful doodle motifs frame the clouds themselves. The shards of glass at the apex do not actually touch, allowing the building to breathe with the weather, which makes the open-air gallery feel intensely connected to the skies. There is a delicious irony in taking something as delightfully lowbrow and spontaneous as street art and elevating it to three hundred meters above the pavement.
Visiting the attraction is seamless, with standard adult entry tickets generally starting around thirty two pounds when booked online in advance. The viewing platforms welcome visitors daily from ten in the morning until ten at night, offering brilliant daylight vistas as well as glowing evening panoramas of the city lights. Reaching the site could not be easier, as London Bridge Station sits directly beneath the tower, offering direct access via the Northern and Jubilee underground lines alongside major national rail links.
The Shard has always offered a breathtaking narrative of London from above, but this artistic takeover added a vibrant human pulse to the sky-high drama. Instead of merely admiring the cityscape from a distance, visitors spend as much time leaning close to the glass, tracing the tiny figures and hidden jokes woven into the penwork, as they do spotting distant monuments. It proved to be a rare collaboration that enhanced both the host and the artist, showing that even the most formidable glass giant benefits from a touch of playful soul.
Last but definitely not least - our guide Chris was the best guide we could've asked for.
