1. THE GHERKIN

3. NAMES The Gherkin has not only one name. It’s also called : 30 St Mary Axe (it’s the official name) Swiss Re Building ”Gherkin” has its source from the shape of this building, in Polish it means korniszon. ;)

4. LOCATION 30 St Mary Axe is placed in London in the City of London (financial and business district). We can see this huge skyscraper from a very long distance. Gherkin is a great attraction to see during journey on the Thames. It’s nearby the Tower and the Tower Bridge.

5. TECHNICAL INFORMATION CONSTRUCTION: 2001 – 2003 OPENED: the end of May 2004 NUMBER OF FLOORS: 42 HEIGHT: 180 meters FLOOR AREA: 47,950 square meters DESIGN: Norman Foster ARCHITECT: Foster & Partners STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Arup CONTRACTOR: Skanska

6. HISTORY It stands on the previous site of the Baltic Exchange building, which was seriously damaged on 10 April 1992 by the explosion of a bomb placed by the IRA. The decision to build Gherkin was made after dropping the idea of constructing Millenium Tower.

7. PLANNING PROCESS The first plan was to reconstruct Baltic Exchange. The Government didn’t want to build anything too large which could cover St. Paul’s dome. Although in 2000 Deputy Prime Minister gave permission to construct a building much bigger than the old one.

8. CONSTRUCTION The Gherkin is a kind of ecology construction. The building uses energy-saving methods which allow it to use half the power a similar tower would typically consume. Gaps in each floor create six shafts that serve as a natural ventilation system for the entire building even though required firebreaks on every sixth floor interrupt the "chimney."

9. DESIGN It is naturally ventilated as fresh air is drawn up through spiralling light wells so reducing the need for air conditioning and central heating. The light wells and the building's shape maximise the amount of natural light throughout so cutting down on the use of artificial light. Incidentally, the shape of the building and the light wells also allow views across the City from deep inside.

10. PURPOSE OF BUILDING Gherkin is used for offices. Nearby is large plaza available for all people, not only workers. You can find a few restaurants and a winebar there. People can sit at a table and enjoy fantastic view above their heads.

11. AFTER CONSTRUCTING 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.

12. OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF 30 ST MARY AXE 30 St Mary Axe has it own website. www.30stmaryaxe.com www.30stmaryaxe.com If you want to know more you can find there really interesting information about this building, its purpose, services and many other things like photos etc.

13. FUNNY THINGS ABOUT GHERKIN Working as a plumber during construction, a man earned more than working as a history teacher in Poland. ;) Windows of Gherkin are washed traditionally to 35 level. Upper service use hydraulic cherry picker.

14. INTERESTING This huge cucumber has enough glass to cover 5 football pitches! At any one time 378 people can be vertically transported through 30 St Mary Axe at speeds up of 6 meters per one second.

15. PHOTOS – OUTSIDE

16. PHOTOS - OUTSIDE

17. PHOTOS - INSIDE

18. THE END BIBLIOGRAPHY: www.wikipedia.org www.30stmaryaxe.com www.google.pl Book about London ”Discover London” my own knowledge ;) THANKS FOR WATCHING KALINA KUBICA IIe