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 St.  Mary  Axe,  London  

DESCRIPTION  
•  Architects:  Norman  Foster  and  Ken  
Shu5leworth  
•  Year  completed:  2003  
•  Nickname:  The  Gherkin.  
•  The  building  stands  on  the  former  site  of  
the  BalEc  Exchange  which  was  bombed  
in  a  terrorist  a5ack  by  the  IRA  in  1992,  
damaging  the  building  badly.  
•  The  building  stands  at  180  meters  and  
has  41  stories.  
•  Floor  area:  500,000  sf  
•  It  is  one  of  London’s  most  recognizable  
pieces  of  contemporary  architecture.  
 POLITICALLY  
•  The  Gherkin  played  a  key  role  in  the  
recent  evoluEon  of  the  City  of  London,  an  
independent  city–state  within  Greater  
London  which  follows  the  lines  of  the  
ancient  Roman  walls.  
•  The  City  is  the  world's  leading  center  of  
internaEonal  finance.  The  local  authority  
is  the  City  of  London  CorporaEon  and  the  
chief  posiEon  is  the  Lord  Mayor.    
•  Prior  to  this  building,  construcEon  in  “The  
Square  Mile”  had  kept  to  a  height  limit  so  
as  not  to  compete  with  the  dome  of  St.  
Paul’s  on  the  skyline.                                              
•  This  building  was  a  departure  from  that  
rule  and  ushered  in  a  plethora  of  new  
skyscrapers  in  the  area.  
•  This  building  projected  the  power  of  the  
internaEonal  financial  corporaEons  to  
dominate  the  civic  and  spiritual  life  of  the  
City.  
 ECONOMICALLY  
•  The  cost  of  the  project  was  around  £138  
million  plus  land  costs  of  £90.6  million.  

•  The  project  was  privately  funded  by  

Swiss  Re,  (short  for  Swiss  Reinsurance  
Company  Ltd)  based  in  Zurich,  
Switzerland.  It  is  the  world’s  second-­‐
largest  reinsurer.    

The  current  owner,  billionaire   •  Reinsurance  is  when  mulEple  insurance  

companies  share  risk  by  purchasing  
Joseph  Safra,  has  been   insurance  policies  from  other  insurers  to  
charged  with  bribery  and   limit  the  total  loss  the  original  insurer  
corrupEon  in  Brazil.   would  experience  in  case  of  disaster.  

•  The  reinsurance  business  is  part  of  

Wholesale  Financial  Services,  and  the  
company’s  size  represents  a  
convergence  in  that  economic  sector,  
consistent  with  globalizaEon  and  
financialisaEon  trends.  

•  The  building  was  purchased  in  2006  for  

£600  million  giving  the  original  
proprietors  a  profit  of  more  than  £300  
million  and  making  it  the  most  expensive  
office  building  in  Britain.      
 SOCIALLY  
•  The  Gherkin  is  within  walking  distance  of  
many  key  Underground  staEons.  It  is  in  an  
old,  dense  part  of  London  mostly  occupied  
by  financial  services.  
 
•  The  ground  level  has  a  few  shops  where  
everyday  people  which  pass  the  structure  
can  buy  coffee,  have  a  glass  of  wine,  etc.    
 
•  The  footprint  is  round,  creaEng  some  plaza  
space  around  the  building  to  gather,  unlike  
the  Eghtly  spaced  older  buildings.  
 
•  The  building  serves  the  corporate  employees  
that  work  in  the  offices.  It  is  not  a  public  
building  that  everyone  can  enter,  except  to  
eat  at  the  39th  floor  restaurant,  go  to  the  
40th  floor  bar  or  for  special  events  such  as  
Open  House  London.  Advance  bookings  are  
required  and  security  is  strict.  
 
•  The  top  floor,  once  a  restaurant  open  to  the  
public,  now  caters  only  for  private  events.    
 TECHNOLOGICALLY  
•  The  Gherkin  has  a  steel  exoskeleton  which  
carries  the  load  on  the  outside  of  the  
building.  It  does  not  require  any  interior  
supporEng  columns.  Wind  loads  are  diffused  
by  the  curved  diagonal  spiral  shape.  
 
•   In  order  to  compensate  for  the  lack  of  space  
on  the  top  floor  for  elevator  equipment,  the  
building  has  elevators  which  go  up  to  the  
34th  floor  and  then  another  set  which  
conEnue  up  to  the  39th  floor  using  a  push  
from  below  system.  

The  Exoskeleton  
 ENVIRONMENTALLY  

•  The  building,  uses  many  forms  of  

technology  such  as  passive  solar  heaEng  
for  the  winters,  double  glazing  on  
windows,  and  lighEng  shams  to  reduce  
energy  costs.  

•  Inspired  by  the  sea  sponge,  engineers  

were  able  to  dramaEcally  increase  
structural  strength  and  reduce  energy  
requirements  by  construcEng  open  
shams  between  each  floor  to  venElate  
the  building  and  allow  passive  heat  and  
sunlight  to  penetrate  deep  into  the  
building.  The  building  consumes  just  
half  the  energy  of  a  tradiEonally-­‐built  
tower  of  similar  size.  

•  The  Gherkin  can  adjust  to  London’s  

weather  by  the  use  of  a  computerized  
system  that  opens  and  closes  the  blinds  
depending  on  the  temperature  and  
where  the  sun  is.    

•  The  energy  saving  soluEons  have  led  to  

a  50%  reducEon  in  energy  consumpEon.