Case Study 30 St Mary Axe



Case Study 30 St Mary Axe

Introduction

30 St Mary Axe is the name of the skyscraper that is located in the London's main financial district. The culmination of the building happened in December 2003. It is also known as The Gherkin, it was formerly known as Swiss Re-Building. It has 41 floors and the height of the tower is said to be around 180 meters. It is treated as one of the iconic landmarks as far as the architecture of the London is concerned.

Style of Construction

The overall construction of this structure was commissioned by the Swiss re-insurance company. The use of modern glass and steel was used to give shape to the structure. As far as the name “Gherkin” is concerned, even before the project was completed, it was able to attract the imagination of the general public in United Kingdom and they named it as “The Gherkin”.

Before the culmination of the project, it was subject to much criticism as people were cynical about the need of building such a high tech in the midst of the area that is being dominated by the low rise structures and some other historical structures. But 30 St Mary Axe has brought a change in the way Architecture is being carried out.

Structure of 30 St Mary Axe

When one looks at the structure of the St Mary Axe, it can be seen that it is somewhat unique to some of the other sky scrapers that are being constructed in some of the other arts of the world. While the structure of the 30 St Mary Axe is designed like a bullet, some of the previous high rise structure such as Seagram Building and Chrysler Building are somewhat different in their structures.

Chrysler Building

It was one of the tallest structures in the world, till Empire States Tower become the tallest building in the word in the midst of 1931. It is still the largest “brick” structure of the world. It provides us with the good insight about how some of the earlier structures were built in the early 20th Century. It is one of the buildings that has internal steel skeleton.

Usage of Steel in the Structure

The internal steel structure pretty much defines the bulky look of some of these structures. When you compare and contrast this structure to that of 30 St Mary Axe, it can be ...