The Gherkin

By. Dyllan Jones

WHat is The Gherkin?

30 St Mary Axe (informally known as The Gherkin and

previously as the Swiss Re Building) is a commercial
skyscraper in London's primary financial district, the City of
London. It was completed in December 2003 and opened in
April 2004. With 41 storeys, it is 180 metres (591 ft) tall and
stands on the former sites of the Baltic Exchange and
Chamber of Shipping, which were extensively damaged in
1992 by the explosion of a bomb placed by the Provisional
IRA in St Mary Axe, the street from which the tower takes its
name.
After plans to build the 92-storey Millennium Tower were
dropped, 30 St Mary Axe was designed by Norman Foster
and Arup Group and it was erected by Skanska, with
construction commencing in 2001.

TRibute
I chose this building because of
its interesting features and
design in architecture.
I also chose this building
because gherkin is the name of
a type of pickle.

Construction
The building was constructed by Skanska, completed in
December 2003 and opened on 28 April 2004.

The building is visible over long distances: From the north,

for instance, it can be seen from the M11 motorway, some 32
kilometres (20 mi) away, while to the west it can be seen
from the statue of George III in Windsor Great Park.

cost
138 million (plus land cost of 90.6 million).
Adjusted for inflation: 206 million (plus land cost of 144 million).

Thats about $147 million US dollars (plus land cost of $94.4 million).

Adjusted for inflation: $220 million (plus land cost of $154 million).

What is its purpose?

The primary occupant of the building is Swiss Re, a
global reinsurance company, which had the building
commissioned as the head office for its UK operation.
The tower is thus sometimes known as the Swiss Re
Building, although this name has never been official and
has more recently fallen out of favour, since the
company's main headquarters is in Zurich and the
Gherkin name has become more popular.

Materials
The gherkin is made of the
same materials of other modern
buildings.

The gherkin is just made with

these materials in a different
way so that it is energy
efficient.

dimensions
47,950 square metres (516,100 sq ft).
41 floors.
180 metres tall (591 ft).

Fun Facts

Location St Mary Axe,

London, EC3
United Kingdom Coordinates 513052N 000449W
Construction started 2001 Completed 2003 Opening 28
April 2004
Cost 138 million (plus land cost of 90.6 million)
Adjusted for inflation: 206 million (plus land cost of
144 million)

On the building's top level (the 40th floor), there is a

bar for tenants and their guests, featuring a panoramic
view of London. A restaurant operates on the 39th
floor, and private dining rooms on the 38th.[18]

completion
Since its completion, the building has won a number of awards for
architecture. In October 2004, the architect was awarded the 2004 RIBA
Stirling Prize. For the first time in the prize's history, the judges reached
a unanimous decision. In December 2005, a survey of the world's largest
firms of architects published in 2006 BD World Architecture 200 voted
the tower as the most admired new building in the world. However, Ken
Shuttleworth, who worked for Foster and Partners on the design of the
building, said in 2011 that he believed the style was now out-moded: "I
was looking at the glass all around and , 'Why on earth did we do that?'
Now we would do things differently".The building featured in recent
films such as Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Russell Crowe's A
Good Year, Sharon Stone's Basic Instinct 2, and Woody Allen's Match
Point and, rechristened the Spirit of London, became the spaceship
centrepiece of Keith Mansfield's 2008 novel Johnny Mackintosh and the
Spirit of London.

Sustainable Design
The primary methods for controlling wind-excited sways
are to increase the stiffness, or increase damping with
tuned/active mass dampers. To a design by Arup, its fully
triangulated perimeter structure makes the building
sufficiently stiff without any extra reinforcements. Despite
its overall curved glass shape, there is only one piece of
curved glass on the building the lens-shaped cap at the
apex.

The building uses energy-saving methods, which allow it to

use half the power that a similar tower would typically
consume.