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30 St Mary Axe, London

30 St Mary Axe is located in London's financial district. The building was completed in December 2003 and was then open for use in May 2004. The building stands at 591 feet tall. It has 40 floors and 516,100 sq ft of floor area. It has been given the nickname of "The Gherkin" because of its shape.

30 St Mary Axe, London

Description

30 St. Mary Axe (known as The Gherkin) in London not only provides a unique design for skyscrapers, but surpasses being efficient, elegant, and economical for the city of London. Since December of 2003, London’s skyline in the financial district has changed drastically. Standing 591 feet tall, and weighing around 70,000 tonnes, 30 St Mary Axe has made quite a name for itself. The designer Sir Norman Foster has designed many amazing structures, but this might be his best one yet.

The building from the outside is quite impressive, outside and in. Although it is not the highest building in London, it makes up in its visual appearance. Unlike usual glass facades that have only one shade of glass, the Gherkin has two shades in a particular pattern which gives the building a twisting effect. The designers have also traded in the regular rectangular panels with triangle and diamond shaped panels. Each floor is offset from the one below by five degrees, except for the sixth floor, which they were not allowed of offset, for fire safety reasons. This adds to the buildings visual spiral effect. The final look of this building is like nothing ever seen before. It really shows that skyscrapers are not all about height but rather have an artistic purpose.

The buildings main use is for office space; although the top floor has a bar and restaurant. Although it might might be hard to get a reservation or a drink at the restaurant and bar, it is said that you get am amazing view of London from the top. On the base level the building is actually lightly sunken into its surrounding plaza. You get it into the building by very small bridges. The architects and engineers choose this design, so it would be able to catch the runoff the building causes. This is also where they keep the flood lights, which get illuminated at night.

Cost

The structure cost an estimated €200,000,000 or $266,260,443. The building was finished in 2003. The building was privately owned by Swiss Reinsurance Company. In September of 2006 the building was put up for sale for £600,000,000 or $956,822,465. On February 21, 2007 both Evan Randall (a UK investment firm) and IVG Immobilien AG made a joint purchase of £630 million or $1,004,663,589, making it to be the most expensive office building in Britain.

Building Design

The load path follows that of the diagonals. With the glass facade you are able to see where these diagonals are. This is not only the load path but the only stiffness the building needs to resist wind loads. Since there are so many diagonal braces (stiffness) along the outside of the building the inside can remain column free (with the exception of the elevators). When wind test were done on a model of the structure, that the wind deflected to the ground level was reduced compared to a standard sky scrapper. The shape of the building also has a large effect on the wind loads. Since it has a curving shape, the wind is able to move around the building easily, instead of not being able to move and therefore going to the ground.

The building is made out of steel, with a glass facade. The building was very efficient in terms of material. Every chance the builders had, they used recycled materials. Designers could have done whatever they wanted with this lot. They could have gone big, like New York, but they wanted to do something different and creative. They surely did this, with using minimal new material. In terms of efficiency in design, the designers of this building raised the bar in sustainability in skyscrapers. The building uses half the power a similar tower with that height would use. This is because there are gaps in each floor that create a natural ventilation shaft throughout the building.

After Completion

30 St. Mary’s Axe has instantly become a symbol of London’s financial district. Movies, filmed in London, made sure to get a few shots of the new skyline, while tourist come to see the building, and few are lucky enough to get to the top. What makes this building special is the design. Rather then making yet another rectangle skyscraper, London choose to go in another direction. You will most defiantly see this building on the television while London hosts the 2012 Olympics. The most appealing aspect of this building would be the glass facade. The different shades of glass, really defines its shape and makes for a visual masterpiece. This building is a symbol of the beginning of London’s new high rise buildings.

There seems to be a change in the 21st century skyscrapers. It does not seem like a race for the tallest building but instead of the most creative and inspiring building. London has constructed a plan to drastically change its skyline in the next years. These building will be far different from the normal skyline of New York, The financial district of London will be defined by its engineering and architectural ingenuity. 30 St Mary Axe objectively surpasses the definition of structural art Prof. David P. Billington defines as efficiency, economy, and elegance. The architectural community has taken note of this building and therefor it has received multiple prestigious awards.

References

Notes

http://www.emporis.com/building/30stmaryaxe-london-unitedkingdom http://www.londonarchitecture.co.uk/Building/731/30-St-Mary-Axe.php

Structural Art

30 St Mary Axe surpasses the definition of structural art, provided by Prof David P. Billington from Princeton University. Throughout the design process the building was to use minimal materials and reuse as much as possible. The building was designed so that energy costs would be low, and they clearly succeed in doing this, because the structure uses half the energy of other buildings similar in size. The buidling cost very little to what the building is worth. A small investment paid off well, because now it is the most expensive office building in London. This building has also become a major tourist attraction now, and in both the media (with the 2012 Olympics coming up) and entertainment. The restaurant on top of the building is doing extremely well because of the spectacular view, and people are coming from all around to see the building. What makes this building stand out is the form. With the diagonal bracing you are able to clearly see the skeleton of the building and how the loads are able to get to the ground. It was designed in such a way to provide enough stiffness of wind loads, without having to add stiffness. This building has truly become an icon in London, and will be one for a long time.