An icon for the City of London. Norman Foster's Swiss Re tower in London
The tower at 30 St Mary Axe, designed by Norman Foster for the Swiss Re insurance company, is undoubtedly the most iconic building to have been built in London in recent years: the unmistakable tapering profile visible for miles around has redesigned the city’s skyline and given Londoners a new landmark.
Affectionately nicknamed “The Gherkin” the tower features in numerous film sets. In 2004 it won the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize for the best building within the European Union, and soon came to symbolise the wave of architectural renewal that has been sweeping through London for some years now.
Triangular surface.
The entire building is clad in glass triangles spiralling around the support structure. This distinctive motif is repeated in the interior spaces identifying with the huge white diamonds on the building’s glazed exterior. The P500 partition walls were used in communal and circulation spaces as well as in the offices..
The internal spiral.
The partition walls installed in the atriums spiral down through the building, rotating 5° on every floor. Chosen for their technological content, in line with the ethos of the building, and their high technical performance, they are also used to define the office spaces
Both in and out
The P500 partition walls are fitted with l manually operated internal Venetian blinds (also used in the glazed exterior). Yet another example of how the synergy between the architectural project and interior design integrated the building’s exterior and interior.
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