Chrysler Building vs The Shard
Chrysler Building (319 m) is 1.03× the size of the Shard (310 m).
The Shard is 97% of the height of Chrysler Building. The gap between them is 9.4 m (30.8 ft).
The comparison in numbers
| Thing | Size | In feet | Measured as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chrysler Building | 319 m | 1,047 ft | height |
| The Shard | 310 m | 1,016 ft | height |
What the scale shows
Chrysler Building (319 m) is 1.03× the size of the Shard (310 m). The gap between them is 9.4 m (30.8 ft). Both are buildings & towers, so the figures describe the same kind of thing.
Draw both on one baseline and the smaller one fills 97% of the frame while the larger one runs to the top. The two are close enough that the difference is easy to see side by side.
Read the rest — 8 more sections
What each figure means
The figure for Chrysler Building is its height (to the tip of the spire). The figure for the Shard is its height (architectural height).
Crossing them
Walking pace is 1.4 m/s, so crossing Chrysler Building's 319 m takes 3.8 minutes and the Shard's 310 m takes 3.7 minutes.
In people: Chrysler Building is 188 adults of 1.7 m tall, the Shard is 182.1. By size Chrysler Building is 14th of the 23 buildings & towers on this site and the Shard is 15th, so 1 place separates them in the ranking.
How to read these two figures
Before trusting any comparison, check what each number measures. The Chrysler Building is given as a height, to the tip of the spire. The Shard is given as a height, architectural height. Both are height figures, so putting them on one baseline is a like-for-like comparison, although the exact individual or convention still matters.
Building heights depend on the rule used: architectural height counts spires but not antennas, tip height counts everything. The basis is named with each figure.
Where the pair sits among all the sizes here
Across all 86 things on this site, the Chrysler Building is number 44 from the top and the Shard is number 45. No other item falls between them, so in this collection they are direct neighbours.
Because the collection spans 13 mm up to 1,392,700 km, a ratio of 107,130,769,231× from smallest to largest, the position of a pair says a lot: the pair sits in the middle of the range rather than at an extreme.
What the length ratio hides
A length ratio of 1.03× is easy to picture, but area and volume grow faster than length. If two objects had exactly the same shape, the Chrysler Building would have about 1.06× the surface or footprint of the Shard, and about 1.09× the volume. These two are not the same shape, so treat the figures as an upper bound for an imaginary scaled copy, not as a measurement of either one.
The drawing above shows length only. The Shard is drawn 97% as tall as the Chrysler Building, but the equivalent share of footprint would be only 94.2%, which is why the smaller one looks even slighter than the numbers alone suggest.
Time to cross each one
A sprinter holding about 10 m/s covers the Chrysler Building in 32 seconds and the Shard in 31 seconds. Sound, at about 343 m/s in air, takes 930 milliseconds for the larger and 903 milliseconds for the smaller. A jet cruising at 900 km/h needs 1.3 seconds and 1.2 seconds.
These times assume a straight line and constant speed, which no real crossing has, but they turn a number in metres into something the body understands. At any fixed speed the travel times keep the same 1.03× ratio as the sizes.
The same figures in other units
The Chrysler Building measures 319 m, which is 1,047 ft or 348.9 yards. The Shard measures 310 m, which is 1,016 ft.
The difference between them is 9.4 m (30.8 ft). In metres the smaller one is 309.6 against 319, so the 1.03× ratio holds in every unit; only the numbers on the ruler change.
Questions people ask about this pair
Which is bigger, the Chrysler Building or the Shard?
The Chrysler Building is bigger. At 319 m it is 1.03× the size of the Shard, which is 310 m.
How many times does the Shard fit along the Chrysler Building?
Less than twice: the Shard is 97% of the size of the Chrysler Building, so one fits with 9.4 m to spare.
Are the two figures measured the same way?
Yes in kind: both are height figures. The Chrysler Building is to the tip of the spire; the Shard is architectural height.
How does the gap look in people?
Taking an adult of 1.7 m, the Chrysler Building is about 188 people tall and the Shard is about 182.1. The gap of 9.4 m is 5.5 people.
Where do the numbers come from?
Each item has its own page that names the measurement and links to the Wikipedia article it was taken from. Some figures are rounded, and animals vary from one individual to the next, so treat them as representative values rather than records for every case.
How the sizes are taken. Each figure says what it measures — height, length, diameter or elevation — and for which individual or convention. Everything is drawn standing upright on one baseline so a single scale holds, including things that are long rather than tall. Values come from the linked Wikipedia article for each item.