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BUILDING |
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30 St. Mary Axe (Swiss Re Tower) - 'The Gherkin'
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DESIGNER |
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DESCRIPTION |
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| London's first ecological tall building |
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 London's first ecological tall building and an instantly recognisable addition to the city's skyline, this headquarters for Swiss Re is rooted in a radical approach − technically, architecturally, socially and spatially. Forty-one storeys high, it provides 46,400 square metres net of office space together with an arcade of shops and cafés accessed from a newly created piazza. At the summit - London's highest occupied floor − is a club room that offers a spectacular 360-degree panorama across the capital.
Generated by a circular plan, with a radial geometry, the building widens in profile as it rises and tapers towards its apex. This distinctive form responds to the constraints of the site: the building appears more slender than a rectangular block of equivalent size and the slimming of its profile towards the base maximises the public realm at street level.
 Environmentally, its profile reduces wind deflections compared with a rectilinear tower of similar size, helping to maintain a comfortable environment at ground level, and creates external pressure differentials that are exploited to drive a unique system of natural ventilation.
Conceptually the tower develops ideas explored in the Commerzbank and before that in the Climatroffice, a theoretical project with Buckminster Fuller that suggested a new rapport between nature and the workplace, its energy-conscious enclosure resolving walls and roof into a continuous triangulated skin. Here, the tower's diagonally braced structure allows column-free floor space and a fully glazed facade, which opens up the building to light and views.
Atria between the radiating fingers of each floor link vertically to form a series of informal break-out spaces that spiral up the building. These spaces are a natural social focus - places for refreshment points and meeting areas - and function as the building's 'lungs', distributing fresh air drawn in through opening panels in the facade. This system reduces the building's reliance on air conditioning and together with other sustainable measures, means that it uses only half the energy consumed by a conventionally air-conditioned office tower. |
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LOCATION |
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| Continent |
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Europe |
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| Nation |
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 United Kingdom |
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 England |
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London |
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 Greater London |
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| Town |
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 London |
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| Address |
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30, St. Mary Axe
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| Website |
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MAP |
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TYPOLOGY |
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ARCHITECTURE | Buildings for offices and professional practises
Offices
Vertical architectures
Skyscrapers
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CHRONOLOGY |
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Project |
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1997
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Realisation |
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2001 - 2004 |
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AWARDS |
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| 2004 |
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THE BUILDING IN CINEMA |
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| Title |
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| How much does your building weigh, Mr. Foster? |
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| Directed by |
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| Norberto Lopez Amado, Carlos Carcas |
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| Year of production |
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| Cast |
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| Norman Foster, Tony Hunt, George Weidenfeld, Richard Rogers, Bono, Deyan Sudjic, Paul Goldberger, Carl Abbott, Alain de Botton, Anish Kapoor, Richard Serra, Anthony Caro, Richard Long, Buckminster Fuller, Ben Cowd, Cai Guo-Qiang, Ricky Burdett, Spencer de Grey, David Nelson, Narinder Sagoo, Nigel Dancey, Loretta Law, Mouzhan Madidi, Stefan Behling, Jurgen Happ, Gerard Evenden
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| Building's role |
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| Annotations |
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Producer: Elena Ochoa
Executive Producer: Antonio Sanz
Writer & Narrator: Deyan Sudjic
Music: Joan Valent
Director of Photography: Valentin Alvarez |
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| Title |
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| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince |
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| Cast |
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| Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, Alan Rickman, Tom Felton, Helena Bonham Carter
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| Cast |
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| Russell Crowe, Albert Finney, Freddie Highmore, Marion Cotillard |
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| Cast |
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| Sharon Stone, David Morrissey, David Thewlis, Flora Montgomery |
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| Building's role |
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| Cast |
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| Norman Foster, Sara Fox, Peter Wynne Rees, Ken Livingstone |
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| Building's role |
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Protagonist
Documentary (89') about the construction of "The Gherkin" |
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| Cast |
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| Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox, Penelope Wilton, Ewen Bremner, James Nesbitt, Rupert Penry-Jones |
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| Building's role |
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BIBILIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES |
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| Patrick Gibson, "Forma fluens. L'architettura digitale contro il senso comune", Technology Review (edizione italiana) 2/2008, marzo-aprile 2008, "Scenari" p. 13 (10-17) |
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| Kenneth Powell, 30 St Mary Axe. A Tower for London, Merrell Publishers Ltd, London 2006 |
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| Philip Jodidio, Architecture in the United Kingdom, Taschen, Köln 2006, pp. 108-113 |
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| Decio Guardigli, "Totem metropolitano/Swiss Re Headquarters", L'Arca Plus 45, II trimestre/quarter 2005 [Doppia pelle/Double Skin], pp. 42-49 |
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| Justin McGuirk, "Swiss Re restaurant. Foster & Partners", Icon 22, april 2005, p. 115 |
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| Rita Capezzuto (ed.), Vittorio Pizzigoni, "Pelli strutturali?/Structural Skins?", Domus 878, febbraio/february 2005, pp. 42-43 (38-47) |
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| Decio Guardigli, "Un grattacielo eco-consapevole/Swiss Re Headquarters, London", L'Arca 197, novembre/november 2004, pp. 8-17 |
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| "30 St Mary Axe, London. Foster & Partners", GA Document 80, june 2004, pp. 84-95 |
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| James S. Russell, "In a city averse to towers, 30 St Mary Axe, the 'towering innuendo' by Foster & Partners, is a big ecofriendly hit", Architectural Record 6/2004, june 2004, pp. 218-227 |
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| Valentina Croci, "Nuovi scenari ecosostenibili/New Eco-Sustainable Scenarios", Ottagono 167, febbraio/february 2004, p. 145 (140-153) |
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| Richard Bryant/Arcaid (photo), "Un segno urbano/A new landmark", Domus 865, dicembre/december 2003, pp. 84-87 |
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| Richard Bryant/Arcaid (photo), "Foster a Londra/Foster in London", Domus Grattacieli/Skyscrapers, supplemento a/supplement of Domus 865, dicembre/december 2003, pp. 14-17 |
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| "Foster & Partners. Sede londinese della Swiss Re, Londra" in Next. 8. Mostra Internazionale di Architettura. 2002, Marsilio, Venezia 2002, "Torri" pp. 210-213 |
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"La torre e la città/The tower and the city", Domus 840, settembre/september 2001, "Servizi/Features" pp. 36-101
Norman Foster, "Il grattacielo 'responsabile'/The responsible skyscraper", Domus 840, settembre/september 2001, "Servizi/Features" pp. 52-57 (36-101) |
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ADDITIONS AND DIGRESSIONS |
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June 20, 2006
Coinciding with Architecture Week (the national public celebration of contemporary architecture), Royal Mail had issue a set of 6 stamps depicting the most modern of modern British Architecture. |
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CLIENT |
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| Swiss Reinsurance Company |
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DIMENSIONAL
DATA |
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| Height |
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| Surface |
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STRUCTURES |
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STAFF |
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| Project |
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| Foster & Partners, London |
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| Design team |
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| Norman Foster, Ken Shuttleworth, Robin Partington, Paul Scott, Simon Reed, Geoff Bee, Ian Bogle, Michael Gentz, Rob Harrison, Chris Kallan, Jürgen Kuppers, Paul Leadbeatter, Stuart Milne, Jacob Norlov, Jason Parker, Sebastian Schoell, Michael Sehmsdorf, Tim Walpole-Walsh, Helen Yabsley |
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| Systems |
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| Hilson Moran Partnership Ltd |
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| Quantity surveyor |
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| Project management |
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RWG Associates
Van Densen & Associates
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CREDITS |
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 Photos © Nigel Young / Foster + Partners
Drawings © Foster + Partners
Text edited by Foster + Partners
Courtesy of Foster + Partners
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