30 St Mary Axe

30 St Mary Ax is a 180-meter skyscraper with a characteristic cone shape, located in the financial district of London - City. He is also known as Swiss Re (because the Swiss Re Reinsurance Society is based there) and Gherkin, which means cucumber / gherkin in English. The project has won many awards, including the Stirling Award from the Royal Institute of British Architects.

The building was designed by Norman Foster, the creator of such projects as the Millennium Bridge in London, the Metropolitan office and shopping center in Warsaw or the Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt. It stands on the site of an office building that was destroyed on April 10, 1992 as a result of the Irish Republican Army bombing.

The skyscraper is an ecological building. Its shape reduces lateral wind pressure and eliminates the phenomenon of drafts at street level, which often accompanies tall buildings. A special double façade properly insulates the building, ensuring the right temperature in summer and winter.