The Gherkin, London A Modern Landmark in the Heart of the City
The Gherkin, London
A Modern Landmark in the Heart of the City
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London is a city where centuries of architecture sit almost on top of one another. Mediaeval churches, Victorian buildings and narrow old streets suddenly give way to glass, steel and some of the most recognisable modern buildings in Europe. Few demonstrate that contrast better than 30 St Mary Axe, better known simply as The Gherkin.
Completed in 2004, The Gherkin quickly became one of the defining features of London's modern skyline. Designed by Foster + Partners, the 180-metre building is instantly recognisable, not only because of its unusual curved shape but also because of the distinctive diamond pattern running across its glass exterior.
For a photographer, however, the building becomes much more interesting when you get close to it.
Looking Up
Photographing The Gherkin from street level gives an entirely different impression from the familiar distant views of the London skyline.
Standing directly beneath it, the building seems enormous. The curved exterior rises above you while the geometric framework appears to twist and change depending on where you stand.
It is one of those buildings where moving only a few metres can completely change the photograph.
The glass also makes every visit slightly different. Clouds move across its surface, neighbouring buildings appear distorted in the reflections, and patches of blue sky break through the darker sections of glass.
At times it becomes difficult to tell where the building ends and the reflection begins.
Old London and New London
One of the things I particularly like about this part of London is the contrast.
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The Gherkin is surrounded by buildings from completely different periods. Look in one direction and you are faced with one of London's most distinctive pieces of twenty-first-century architecture. Turn around and much older buildings, streets and details remain.
It is a reminder that London has never really had a single architectural identity.
The city continually rebuilds itself.
The Gherkin was constructed on the former site of the Baltic Exchange, which was badly damaged by an IRA bomb in 1992. The eventual redevelopment of the site produced something radically different from what had stood there before.
Rather than attempting to disappear into its surroundings, the new building did the opposite.
It became a landmark.
More Than a Nickname
It is difficult now to imagine London's skyline without The Gherkin.
The nickname has become so familiar that many people probably know it better than its actual address. Yet when it first appeared on the skyline, its shape was unlike almost anything else in the city.
Since then London has gained an extraordinary collection of new towers, each competing for its own piece of the skyline. Some are taller and others perhaps more dramatic, but The Gherkin still manages to stand apart.
There is an elegance to its design that has aged surprisingly well.
Photographing The Gherkin
I wanted these photographs to concentrate less on the traditional postcard view and more on the architecture itself.
The closer you get, the more abstract the building becomes.
Glass panels turn into patterns. Steel lines cross one another. Reflections create shapes that do not actually exist, while the curvature of the building constantly changes the perspective.
Some of my favourite views were simply looking upwards.
With a blue London sky behind it, the building can appear almost sculptural. In other photographs, reflections of clouds and neighbouring towers become part of the architecture itself.
That is what makes The Gherkin such an interesting building to photograph. There isn't really one definitive view of it.
A London Icon
More than two decades after its completion, The Gherkin no longer feels like the new arrival on the London skyline.
It has become part of London.
Perhaps that is the real measure of successful modern architecture. Something that once appeared radical eventually becomes so familiar that it is difficult to picture the city without it.
Among London's increasingly crowded collection of skyscrapers, 30 St Mary Axe remains one of the originals — distinctive, elegant and unmistakably The Gherkin.
By Daren Frankish
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