Architecture and Design Atlas

How Space Is Shaped
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme

Switch Atlas

Buildings and Structures

30 St Mary Axe

Tall Buildings and Skyscrapers

30 St Mary Axe, previously known as the Swiss Re Building and nicknamed the Gherkin for its shape, is a commercial skyscraper in the City of London, London's primary financial district. Completed in December 2003 and opened in April 2004, the 41 floor, 180 meter tower stands on the site of the former Baltic Exchange and Chamber of Shipping, both extensively damaged in the 1992 Baltic Exchange bombing carried out by the Provisional IRA in St Mary Axe, the narrow street leading north from Leadenhall Street.

Facts
Building Type
Skyscraper 2
Location
London, England 2
Completed Year
2003 2
Completed Year
2004 3
Height (m)
180 2
Classification
Standing StatusSourced to the subject's own account
Standing 1
Building Type
Building Type (category)
Skyscraper 2
Connections

Designed By

Norman Foster, Architects and Designers

Designed by Norman Foster, widely known as The Gherkin.

Has Building Type

The Skyscraper, Concepts

Entity-backed identity for the building-type enum value this building already carries, resolved to an architecture concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The building-type fact itself stays on the building unchanged.

In Style

High-Tech Architecture, Styles and Movements

A landmark High-Tech architecture tower.

Uses Element

Insulated Glazing Unit, Architectural Materials

The diagrid facade is clad in diamond-patterned insulated glazing units, part of the towers passive ventilation strategy.

In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. 30 St Mary Axe (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30_St_Mary_Axe, lead section, completion sentence
    It was completed in December 2003 and opened in April 2004.
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30_St_Mary_Axe, lead section, floors/height sentence
    With 41 floors, it is 180 metres (591 ft) tall and stands on the sites of the former Baltic Exchange and Chamber of Shipping
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30_St_Mary_Axe, opening sentence
    30 St Mary Axe, previously known as the Swiss Re Building, is a commercial skyscraper in London's primary financial district, the City of London.
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30_St_Mary_Axe, opening sentence, backing the entity description
    30 St Mary Axe, previously known as the Swiss Re Building, is a commercial skyscraper in London's primary financial district, the City of London.
  • Entity description and the lead of the Wikipedia article
    30 St Mary Axe, previously known as the Swiss Re Building and nicknamed the Gherkin for its shape, is a commercial skyscraper in the City of London, London's primary financial district. Completed in December 2003 and opened in April 2004, the 41 floor, 180 meter tower stands on the site of the former Baltic Exchange and Chamber of Shipping, both extensively damaged in the 1992 Baltic Exchange bombing carried out by the Provisional IRA in St Mary Axe, the narrow street leading north from Leadenhall Street.
View the Source
2. Wikipedia
Wikimedia Foundation
3. Wikidata: 30 St Mary Axe
  • Wikidata Q191161, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
  • Wikidata Q191161, P571 claim (w-bbfill-artsarchag-0926)
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.