30 St Mary Axe
Encyclopedia
30 St Mary Axe, the Swiss Re
Building (colloquially referred to as the Gherkin
), is a skyscraper
in London
's main financial district, the City of London
, completed in December 2003 and opened at the end of May 2004. With 40 floors, the tower is 180 metres (591 ft) tall, and stands on the former site of the Baltic Exchange
building, which was severely damaged on 10 April 1992 by the explosion of a bomb placed by the Provisional IRA
.
After the plans to build the Millennium Tower
were dropped, the current building was designed by Norman Foster
and Arup
engineers, and was erected by Skanska
in 2001–2003.
building, the headquarters of a global marketplace for ship sales and shipping information. On 10 April 1992 the Provisional IRA detonated a bomb close to the Exchange, severely damaging the historic Exchange building and neighbouring structures.
The UK government's statutory adviser on the historic environment, English Heritage
, and the City of London
governing body, the City of London Corporation, were keen that any redevelopment must restore the building's old façade onto St Mary Axe
. The Exchange Hall was a celebrated fixture of the ship trading company.
After English Heritage later discovered the damage was far more severe than previously thought, they stopped insisting on full restoration, albeit over the objections of the architectural conservationists who favoured reconstruction. Baltic Exchange sold the land to Trafalgar House
in 1995. Most of the remaining structures on the site were then carefully dismantled, the interior of Exchange Hall and the façade were preserved, hoping for a reconstruction of the building in the future. The architectural salvage, its eventual sale for £800,000 and move to Talinn awaiting reconstruction as the centrepiece of the city's commercial sector can be seen in the Baltic Exchange
listing.
In 1996 Trafalgar House submitted plans for the Millennium Tower
, a 386 metres (1,266 ft) building with more than 140000 sqm office space, apartments, shops, restaurants and gardens (it was this proposed building in 1996 that first attracted the "erotic gherkin" nickname later applied to the one actually erected). This plan was dropped after objections for being totally out-of-scale with the City of London and anticipated disruption to flight paths for both City
and Heathrow airports; the revised plan for a lower tower was accepted.
The tower's topmost panoramic dome, known as the "lens", recalls the iconic glass dome which covered part of the ground floor of the Baltic Exchange.
The gherkin
name was applied to the current building at least as far back as 1999, referring to that plan's highly unorthodox layout and appearance.
John Prescott
granted planning permission
to construct a building much larger than the old Exchange on the site. The site was special because it needed development, was not on any of the "sight lines" (planning guidance requires that new buildings do not obstruct or detract from the view of St Paul
's dome when viewed from a number of locations around London), and it had housed the Baltic Exchange
.
The plan for the site was to reconstruct the Baltic Ex. GMW Architects
proposed building a new rectangular building surrounding a restored exchange — the square shape would have the type of large floor plan
that banks liked. Eventually, the planners realised that the exchange was not recoverable, forcing them to relax their building constraints; they hinted that an "architecturally significant" building might pass favourably with city authorities. This move opened up the architect to design freely; it eliminated the restrictive demands for a large, capital-efficient, money-making building that favoured the client.
Swiss Re
's low level plan met the planning authority's desire to maintain London's traditional streetscape with its relatively narrow streets. The mass of the Swiss Re tower was not too imposing. Like Barclays Bank's former City headquarters
, the passerby is nearly oblivious to the tower's existence in neighbouring streets until directly underneath it.
, completed in December 2003 and opened on 28 April 2004. The primary occupant of the building is Swiss Re, a global reinsurance
company, who had the building commissioned as the head office for their UK operation. The tower is sometimes known as "Swiss Re Tower", although this name is not official.
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." The shafts create a giant double glazing effect; air is sandwiched between two layers of glazing
and insulates the office space inside.
Architects limit double glazing in residential houses to avoid the inefficient convection
of heat, but the tower exploits this effect. The shafts pull warm air out of the building during the summer and warm the building in the winter using passive solar heating. The shafts also allow sunlight to pass through the building, making the work environment more pleasing, and keeping the lighting costs down.
The primary methods for controlling wind-excited sways are to increase the stiffness, or increase damping with tuned/active mass dampers
. To a design by Arup, its fully triangulated perimeter structure
makes the building sufficiently stiff without any extra reinforcements. Despite its overall curved glass shape, there is only one piece of curved glass on the building — the lens-shaped cap at the very top.
On the building's top level (the 40th floor), there is a bar for tenants and their guests featuring a 360°
view of London. A restaurant operates on the 39th floor, and private dining rooms on the 38th. Whereas most buildings have extensive lift
equipment on the roof of the building, this was not possible for the Gherkin, since a bar had been planned for the 40th floor. The architects dealt with this by having the main lift only reach the 34th floor, and then having a push-from-below lift to the 39th floor. There is a marble stairwell and a disabled persons' lift which leads the visitor up to the bar
in the dome
.
The building is visible over long distances: from the north, for instance, it can be seen from the M11 motorway
some 32 kilometres (19.9 mi) away, while to the west it can be seen from the statue of George III in Windsor Great Park
.
Since its completion, the building has won a number of prestigious awards for architecture. In October 2004, the building was awarded the 2004 RIBA Stirling Prize
. For the first time in the prize's history, the judges reached a unanimous decision. 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. The building also featured in recent movies such as Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Sharon Stone's
Basic Instinct 2
and Woody Allen's
Match Point
and, rechristened the Spirit of London, became the spaceship centrepiece of Keith Mansfield's
2008 novel Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London
.
Since February 2010, Sky News
has broadcast its flagship business programme, Jeff Randall Live
, from a studio in the building.
In September 2006, the building was put up for sale with a price tag of GB£
600 million. Potential buyers included British Land
, Land Securities, Prudential
, ING
and the Abu Dhabi
royal family. On 21 February 2007, IVG Immobilien AG and UK investment firm Evans Randall completed their joint purchase of the building for GB£
630 million, making it Britain's most expensive office building.
Swiss Re
Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd , generally known as Swiss Re, is a Swiss reinsurance company. It is the world’s second-largest reinsurer, after having acquired GE Insurance Solutions. The company has its headquarters in Zurich...
Building (colloquially referred to as the Gherkin
Pickled cucumber
A pickled cucumber is a cucumber that has been pickled in a brine, vinegar, or other solution and left to ferment for a period of time, by either immersing the cucumbers in an acidic solution or through souring by lacto-fermentation.-Gherkin:A gherkin is not only...
), is a skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's main financial district, the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, completed in December 2003 and opened at the end of May 2004. With 40 floors, the tower is 180 metres (591 ft) tall, and stands on the former site of the Baltic Exchange
Baltic Exchange
The Baltic Exchange is the world's only independent source of maritime market information for the trading and settlement of physical and derivative contracts...
building, which was severely damaged on 10 April 1992 by the explosion of a bomb placed by the Provisional IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
.
After the plans to build the Millennium Tower
Millennium Tower (London)
London Millennium Tower was one of several ideas for the site of the former Baltic Exchange at 30 St Mary Axe, City of London that had been destroyed beyond repair by a Provisional IRA bomb blast....
were dropped, the current building was designed by Norman Foster
Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank
Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, OM is a British architect whose company maintains an international design practice, Foster + Partners....
and Arup
Arup
Arup is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom which provides engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of the built environment. The firm is present in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, East Asia, Europe and the...
engineers, and was erected by Skanska
Skanska
Skanska AB, is a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden, where it also is the largest construction company. The company's head office is in Solna, north of Stockholm.-History:...
in 2001–2003.
History
The building is on the former site of the Baltic ExchangeBaltic Exchange
The Baltic Exchange is the world's only independent source of maritime market information for the trading and settlement of physical and derivative contracts...
building, the headquarters of a global marketplace for ship sales and shipping information. On 10 April 1992 the Provisional IRA detonated a bomb close to the Exchange, severely damaging the historic Exchange building and neighbouring structures.
The UK government's statutory adviser on the historic environment, English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
, and the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
governing body, the City of London Corporation, were keen that any redevelopment must restore the building's old façade onto St Mary Axe
St Mary Axe
St Mary Axe was a medieval parish in London whose name survives on the street it formerly occupied, St Mary Axe. The church itself was demolished in 1561 and its parish united with that of St Andrew Undershaft, which is on the corner of St Mary Axe and Leadenhall Street...
. The Exchange Hall was a celebrated fixture of the ship trading company.
After English Heritage later discovered the damage was far more severe than previously thought, they stopped insisting on full restoration, albeit over the objections of the architectural conservationists who favoured reconstruction. Baltic Exchange sold the land to Trafalgar House
Trafalgar House (company)
Trafalgar House Public Limited Company was a British conglomerate with interests in property investment, property development, engineering, construction, shipping, hotels, energy and publishing...
in 1995. Most of the remaining structures on the site were then carefully dismantled, the interior of Exchange Hall and the façade were preserved, hoping for a reconstruction of the building in the future. The architectural salvage, its eventual sale for £800,000 and move to Talinn awaiting reconstruction as the centrepiece of the city's commercial sector can be seen in the Baltic Exchange
Baltic Exchange
The Baltic Exchange is the world's only independent source of maritime market information for the trading and settlement of physical and derivative contracts...
listing.
In 1996 Trafalgar House submitted plans for the Millennium Tower
Millennium Tower (London)
London Millennium Tower was one of several ideas for the site of the former Baltic Exchange at 30 St Mary Axe, City of London that had been destroyed beyond repair by a Provisional IRA bomb blast....
, a 386 metres (1,266 ft) building with more than 140000 sqm office space, apartments, shops, restaurants and gardens (it was this proposed building in 1996 that first attracted the "erotic gherkin" nickname later applied to the one actually erected). This plan was dropped after objections for being totally out-of-scale with the City of London and anticipated disruption to flight paths for both City
London City Airport
London City Airport is a single-runway airport. It principally serves the financial district of London and is located on a former Docklands site, east of the City of London, opposite the London Regatta Centre, in the London Borough of Newham in east London. It was developed by the engineering...
and Heathrow airports; the revised plan for a lower tower was accepted.
The tower's topmost panoramic dome, known as the "lens", recalls the iconic glass dome which covered part of the ground floor of the Baltic Exchange.
The gherkin
Gherkin
The gherkin is a fruit similar in form and nutritional value to a cucumber. Gherkins and cucumbers belong to the same species , but are from different cultivar groups....
name was applied to the current building at least as far back as 1999, referring to that plan's highly unorthodox layout and appearance.
Planning process
On 23 August 2000, Deputy Prime MinisterDeputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a senior member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not a permanent position, existing only at the discretion of the Prime Minister, who may appoint to other offices...
John Prescott
John Prescott
John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott is a British politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. Born in Prestatyn, Wales, he represented Hull East as the Labour Member of Parliament from 1970 to 2010...
granted planning permission
Planning permission
Planning permission or planning consent is the permission required in the United Kingdom in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or buildings. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title to that land or building , but will also need "planning...
to construct a building much larger than the old Exchange on the site. The site was special because it needed development, was not on any of the "sight lines" (planning guidance requires that new buildings do not obstruct or detract from the view of St Paul
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
's dome when viewed from a number of locations around London), and it had housed the Baltic Exchange
Baltic Exchange
The Baltic Exchange is the world's only independent source of maritime market information for the trading and settlement of physical and derivative contracts...
.
The plan for the site was to reconstruct the Baltic Ex. GMW Architects
GMW Architects
GMW Architects are an architectural practice based in the United Kingdom.-History:The practice was established in 1947 by Frank Gollins , James Melvin , and Edmund Ward and operated as Gollins Melvin Ward...
proposed building a new rectangular building surrounding a restored exchange — the square shape would have the type of large floor plan
Floor plan
In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan, or floorplan, is a diagram, usually to scale, showing a view from above of the relationships between rooms, spaces and other physical features at one level of a structure....
that banks liked. Eventually, the planners realised that the exchange was not recoverable, forcing them to relax their building constraints; they hinted that an "architecturally significant" building might pass favourably with city authorities. This move opened up the architect to design freely; it eliminated the restrictive demands for a large, capital-efficient, money-making building that favoured the client.
Swiss Re
Swiss Re
Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd , generally known as Swiss Re, is a Swiss reinsurance company. It is the world’s second-largest reinsurer, after having acquired GE Insurance Solutions. The company has its headquarters in Zurich...
's low level plan met the planning authority's desire to maintain London's traditional streetscape with its relatively narrow streets. The mass of the Swiss Re tower was not too imposing. Like Barclays Bank's former City headquarters
Lombard Street, London
Lombard Street is a street in the City of London.It runs from the corner of the Bank of England at its north-west end, where it meets a major junction including Poultry, King William Street, and Threadneedle Street, south-east to Gracechurch Street....
, the passerby is nearly oblivious to the tower's existence in neighbouring streets until directly underneath it.
Design and construction
The building was constructed by SkanskaSkanska
Skanska AB, is a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden, where it also is the largest construction company. The company's head office is in Solna, north of Stockholm.-History:...
, completed in December 2003 and opened on 28 April 2004. The primary occupant of the building is Swiss Re, a global reinsurance
Reinsurance
Reinsurance is insurance that is purchased by an insurance company from another insurance company as a means of risk management...
company, who had the building commissioned as the head office for their UK operation. The tower is sometimes known as "Swiss Re Tower", although this name is not official.
Insulated glazing
Insulated glazing also known as double glazing are double or triple glass window panes separated by an air or other gas filled space to reduce heat transfer across a part of the building envelope....
and insulates the office space inside.
Architects limit double glazing in residential houses to avoid the inefficient convection
Convection
Convection is the movement of molecules within fluids and rheids. It cannot take place in solids, since neither bulk current flows nor significant diffusion can take place in solids....
of heat, but the tower exploits this effect. The shafts pull warm air out of the building during the summer and warm the building in the winter using passive solar heating. The shafts also allow sunlight to pass through the building, making the work environment more pleasing, and keeping the lighting costs down.
The primary methods for controlling wind-excited sways are to increase the stiffness, or increase damping with tuned/active mass dampers
Tuned mass damper
A tuned mass damper, also known as an active mass damper or harmonic absorber, is a device mounted in structures to reduce the amplitude of mechanical vibrations. Their application can prevent discomfort, damage, or outright structural failure...
. To a design by Arup, its fully triangulated perimeter structure
Thin-shell structure
Thin-shell structures are light weight constructions using shell elements. These elements are typically curved and are assembled to large structures...
makes the building sufficiently stiff without any extra reinforcements. Despite its overall curved glass shape, there is only one piece of curved glass on the building — the lens-shaped cap at the very top.
On the building's top level (the 40th floor), there is a bar for tenants and their guests featuring a 360°
Degree (angle)
A degree , usually denoted by ° , is a measurement of plane angle, representing 1⁄360 of a full rotation; one degree is equivalent to π/180 radians...
view of London. A restaurant operates on the 39th floor, and private dining rooms on the 38th. Whereas most buildings have extensive lift
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
equipment on the roof of the building, this was not possible for the Gherkin, since a bar had been planned for the 40th floor. The architects dealt with this by having the main lift only reach the 34th floor, and then having a push-from-below lift to the 39th floor. There is a marble stairwell and a disabled persons' lift which leads the visitor up to the bar
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
in the dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
.
The building is visible over long distances: from the north, for instance, it can be seen from the M11 motorway
M11 motorway
The M11 motorway in England is a major road running approximately north from the North Circular Road in South Woodford in north-east London to the A14, north-west of Cambridge.-Route:...
some 32 kilometres (19.9 mi) away, while to the west it can be seen from the statue of George III in Windsor Great Park
Windsor Great Park
Windsor Great Park is a large deer park of , to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. The park was, for many centuries, the private hunting ground of Windsor Castle and dates primarily from the mid-13th century...
.
After completion
On 25 April 2005, the press reported that a glass panel two thirds up the 590 ft (179.8 m) tower had fallen to the plaza beneath on 18 April. The plaza was sealed off, but the building remained open. A temporary covered walkway, extending across the plaza to the building's reception, was erected to protect visitors. Engineers examined the other 744 glass panels on the building. The cost of repair was covered by main contractor Skanska and curtainwall supplier Schmidlin.Since its completion, the building has won a number of prestigious awards for architecture. In October 2004, the building was awarded the 2004 RIBA Stirling Prize
Stirling Prize
The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects...
. For the first time in the prize's history, the judges reached a unanimous decision. 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. The building also featured in recent movies such as Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Sharon Stone's
Sharon Stone
Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...
Basic Instinct 2
Basic Instinct 2
Basic Instinct 2, also known as Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction, is a 2006 German/British/American/Spanish thriller film and the sequel to 1992's Basic Instinct. The film was directed by Michael Caton-Jones and produced by Mario Kassar, Joel B. Michaels, and Andrew G. Vajna. The screenplay was by...
and Woody Allen's
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
Match Point
Match Point
Match Point is a 2005 dramatic thriller film written and directed by Woody Allen, and starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox and Penelope Wilton....
and, rechristened the Spirit of London, became the spaceship centrepiece of Keith Mansfield's
Keith Mansfield (writer)
Keith Mansfield, born in Scunthorpe, England in 1965, is an English writer and publisher. He is the author of the Johnny Mackintosh series of novels, has scripted several television programmes and is also the publisher for mathematics books at Oxford University Press.His first novel, Johnny...
2008 novel Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London
Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London
Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London is the first novel in a series of young adult books written by Keith Mansfield and published by Quercus...
.
Since February 2010, Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
has broadcast its flagship business programme, Jeff Randall Live
Jeff Randall Live
Jeff Randall Live is a business programme which is broadcast on Sky News in the United Kingdom at 19:00 from Monday to Thursday. It began on 24 September 2007 as a weekly show, and is hosted by the business journalist Jeff Randall...
, from a studio in the building.
In September 2006, the building was put up for sale with a price tag of GB£
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
600 million. Potential buyers included British Land
British Land
The British Land Company plc is one of the largest property development and investment companies in the United Kingdom. The firm switched to Real Estate Investment Trust status when REITs were introduced in the United Kingdom in January 2007. It is headquartered in London...
, Land Securities, Prudential
Prudential plc
Prudential plc is a multinational financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom.Prudential's largest division is Prudential Corporation Asia, which has over 15 million customers across 13 Asian markets and is a top-three provider of life insurance in mainland China, Hong...
, ING
ING Group
The ING Group is a global financial institution offering retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, asset management, and insurance services. ING is the Dutch member of the Inter-Alpha Group of Banks, a cooperative consortium of 11 prominent European banks...
and the Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
royal family. On 21 February 2007, IVG Immobilien AG and UK investment firm Evans Randall completed their joint purchase of the building for GB£
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
630 million, making it Britain's most expensive office building.
See also
- Landmarks of London
- List of tallest structures in London
- St Mary AxeSt Mary AxeSt Mary Axe was a medieval parish in London whose name survives on the street it formerly occupied, St Mary Axe. The church itself was demolished in 1561 and its parish united with that of St Andrew Undershaft, which is on the corner of St Mary Axe and Leadenhall Street...
- Heron TowerHeron TowerHeron Tower, also referred to as 110 Bishopsgate, is a skyscraper owned by Heron International in the City of London. It was completed in 2011...
, the tallest building in the City of London as of 2009. - Tower 42Tower 42Tower 42 is the second tallest skyscraper in the City of London and the fifth tallest in London overall. The original name was the National Westminster Tower, having been built to house the National Westminster Bank's International Division. Seen from above, the tower closely resembles the NatWest...
, the second tallest skyscraper in the City of London as of 2009 - Willis BuildingWillis Building (London)The Willis Building at 51 Lime Street, is a large office tower in London's main financial district, the City of London.Designed by architect Norman Foster and developed by British Land, it stands opposite the Lloyd's building and is tall, with 26 storeys...
, another of Norman Foster's buildings - Torre AgbarTorre AgbarThe Torre Agbar is a 38-storey tower located between Avinguda Diagonal and Carrer Badajoz, near Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, which marks the gateway to the new technological district of Barcelona, Spain. It was designed by French architect Jean Nouvel in association with the Spanish firm B720...
, a similar-shaped building in BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
External links
- Norman Foster's site about the project — including Quicktime movies illustrating the design process.