Swiss Re Tower
From Towrs
Contents |
Alternate Names
- 30 St. Mary Axe
- Swiss Re Building
- The Gherkin
Overview
The building that brought central London into the modern era of avant garde skyscrapers didn't come without controversy. Officially known as 30 St. Mary Axe, this building has been lovingly described as a lighthouse of 21st century architecture, and mocked as the "gherkin." When the Swiss Re insurance company commissioned the building, it intended it to be a landmark. Mission accomplished. Though its height is far less than other London skyscrapers, its prominent location, peeking up from behind the Tower of London, has landed it supporting roles in dozens of feature films, and millions of tourist snapshots.
The building is stunning in appearance -- a festival of dark and light glass with spandrels serving as streamers circling it like an Olympic dancer. Rectangular glass panes are forsaken for triangles and diamonds, and with each floor offset from the one below by five degrees, the building appears to work itself into a spiral like a pile of clay on a potter's wheel. The result is stunning and smooth. Even though the building appears round, the glass facade is actually all made of flat panels. The only curved piece of glass is the lens that tops the structure.
Inside, the building's utilities are gathered around a circular central core, which results in a doughnut of uninterrupted floor space for tenants. There are three elevator cores with double-height elevators servicing four distinct zones. Transfers are made through the main lobby as well as three sky lobbies.
Outside, the building has some interesting design features. Among them, the fact that the building is slightly sunken in its plaza, and an indented ring surrounds the building. The size of the indention corresponds to the building's drip line, so it catches rain running off the building and washes it inward. Access to the building is over very small bridges over this trough to the main doors. In addition to serving as a runoff basin, the indention holds recessed flood lights which illuminate the building from below.
Though the building is spectacular, it is far from harmonious with its neighbors. Even though the shockingly modern Lloyd's of London Headquarters is just a few blocks away, 30 Saint Mary Axe is nestled in a neighborhood of quietly decaying townhouses and churches. This is an area that has stood silently for eight hundred years as London grew up around it. The insertion of a sparkling curved skyscraper in its midst is startling to unsuspecting pedestrians ambling along the narrow streets. The building that used to be on this site was the historic Victoria Baltic Exchange, built in 1903. That building was heavily damaged in a terrorist bombing executed by the Irish Republican Army in 1992. Preservation groups pushed to save the building, but the damage was too extensive and the cost too great to save it.
Statistics
- Designed by: Foster and Partners
- Architect: Sir Norman Foster
- Type: Skyscraper
- Stories: 41
- Construction start: 2000
- Construction completed: 2004
- Maximum height: 180 meters / 591 feet
- Maximum width: 57 meters / 187 feet
- Cost: €200,000,000.00
- Address: 30 Saint Mary Axe, London, EC3 England
- Neighborhood: The City
Notes
- The top of the building is occupied by a private club and restaurant for people who work in this building. It is also occasionally rented out for private events.
- The building was designed to use recycled or recyclable materials whenever possible.
- The building uses open windows and natural ventilation to reduce energy costs.
