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30 St Mary Axe
Nigel Young / Foster + Partners

30 St Mary Axe Swiss Re Headquarters

London’s first ecological tall building and an instantly recognisable addition to the city’s skyline, this headquarters designed for Swiss Re is rooted in a radical approach − technically, architecturally, socially and spatially. Forty-one storeys high, it provides 46,400 square metres net of office space together with an arcade of shops and cafés accessed from a newly created piazza. At the summit is a club room that offers a spectacular 360-degree panorama across the capital.


Generated by a circular plan, with a radial geometry, the building widens in profile as it rises and tapers towards its apex. This distinctive form responds to the constraints of the site: the building appears more slender than a rectangular block of equivalent size and the slimming of its profile towards the base maximises the public realm at street level


Environmentally, its profile reduces wind deflections compared with a rectilinear tower of similar size, helping to maintain a comfortable environment at ground level, and creates external pressure differentials that are exploited to drive a unique system of natural ventilation.


Conceptually the tower develops ideas explored in the Commerzbank and before that in the Climatroffice, a theoretical project with Buckminster Fuller that suggested a new rapport between nature and the workplace, its energy-conscious enclosure resolving walls and roof into a continuous triangulated skin. Here, the tower’s diagonally braced structure allows column-free floor space and a fully glazed facade, which opens up the building to light and views.


Atria between the radiating fingers of each floor link vertically to form a series of informal break-out spaces that spiral up the building. These spaces are a natural social focus – places for refreshment points and meeting areas – and function as the building’s ‘lungs’, distributing fresh air drawn in through opening panels in the facade. This system reduces the building’s reliance on air conditioning and together with other sustainable measures, means that it uses only half the energy consumed by a conventionally air-conditioned office tower.

Swiss Re

Swiss Re

Project When the Architect Foster and Partners were designing the entrance on the world renowned Swiss Re building in London, they called upon Boon Edam Limited for an elegant and environmentally sealed entrance lobby.


The use of revolving doors in the entrance façade has helped in creating London’s first environmentally sustainable Skyscraper by reducing the amount of energy lost through typical entrance solutions such as manual or automatic swing, sliding and folding doors.


Product Working directly with Skanska, the Main Contractor on the project and in conjunction with Schmidlin, the Curtain Walling Contractor, Boon Edam Limited supplied and installed four Crystal Tourniket revolving doors.


The Crystal Tourniket, which is the original all glass revolving door, is both aesthetically pleasing and energy efficient and complements the entrance screen and building façade.


The Crystal Tourniket is available as a manual or automatic door supplied in a wide range of surface finishes and glass options.

Brand description
Royal Boon Edam International BV Boon Edam is leading the field when it comes to supplying top quality revolving doors, high security doors and speed gates to customers across the world. We are a third generation, Dutch family business who pride ourselves on our knowledge and dedication to this specialised market. From the moment you talk to us about your entry vision, all the way through the decision making process until after sales and service – you are in safe hands with us. Our promise is our commitment to making you feel welcome and secure, and our mission is to help you make a decision that adds value to you and your business. Our Boon Edam Experience takes you on a journey to find the ideal answer to your entry requirements. Discover more about the company, and the path that firmly secures our position as The Entry Experts: 1. CAREFULLY TAILOR-MADE We offer custom solutions on standardised products, and can therefore add exclusive value to the entire customer experience. These are not just words – they are sincerely supported by the many testimonials and real life experiences of our friends and partners. 2. PROVEN RELIABILITY We have been in the entry sector for more than 140 years. This history has left behind a legacy of successful projects which, to this day, we are still proud of. Our products stand the test of time, and continue to offer a safe, welcoming experience. Many of our clients are long-standing, and they stay loyal to us because of our reliability, and the mutual trust we nurture in our project partnerships. 3. ON-TREND CRAFTSMANSHIP We are not a cold conveyor belt in a sterile factory, mass producing products. Our colleagues and customers are fiercely loyal, and many have been with the business for decades. We think in terms of efficient flow, safety, user comfort, energy preservation, technology, innovations and real people. 4. STRONG CONNECTION We can confidently say that we cover every corner of the globe. Furthermore, our Global Export division not only partner with our distributors, but also offer direct sales and service to every territory. This means that we are able to provide you with a fast and local experience, wherever you are. We are always close at hand to ensure your sales and service needs are met. We are, most importantly, people helping people. 5. TRUSTED PARTNERSHIPS Our abilities cover all phases of a project, from design and engineering through to manufacture, installation culminating with service and maintenance. We partner with our clients every step of the way, to guarantee that the end result is worthy of the premium Boon Edam brand. 6. SECURE INVESTMENT Beyond the initial cost of your purchase, we care about your return on investment (ROI). Our experts can help you make an educated decision considering factors such as energy savings and CO2 reduction. Security is something that is high on everyone’s radars in these times and we are proud to be able to offer scalable and flexible solutions for this critical area. Regardless of your level of security requirement, we have the perfect product and plan to make it easy for you.
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30 St Mary Axe (Swiss Re)

30 St Mary Axe (Swiss Re)

Arup engineers realised the building’s radical form through the creation of an efficient external diagrid system of intersecting steel sections around the tower’s perimeter.


30 St Mary Axe also known as ‘The Gherkin’ is the second tallest building in the city of London. The building’s tapered circular form was designed to provide maximum, internal column free of fice space with minimum external visual bulk, and to create a new public city plaza. The perimeter diagrid is formed from intersecting steel tubes that frame the six spiralling light wells, it is an integral part of the ventilation strategy that allows the building to operate without ventilation at certain times of the year . Arup used extensive 3D computer modelling to determine the size of the steel frame. It enabled the steel contractor to generate information needed to produce the 10,000 tonnes of steel in the buildings. This made the process of going from drawing board to fabrication as simple as possible for the varying floor sizes.

Brand description
We shape a better world We are an independent firm of designers, planners, engineers, consultants and technical specialists offering a broad range of professional services. Through our work, we make a positive difference in the world. We shape a better world. Founded in 1946 with an initial focus on structural engineering, Arup first came to the world’s attention with the structural design of the Sydney Opera House, followed by its work on the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Arup has since grown into a truly multidisciplinary organisation. Most recently, its work for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing has reaffirmed its reputation for delivering innovative and sustainable designs that reinvent the built environment. Arup brings together broad-minded individuals from a wide range of disciplines and encourages them to look beyond the constraints of their own specialisms. This unconventional approach to design springs in part from Arup’s ownership structure. The firm is owned in trust on behalf of its staff. The result is an independence of spirit that is reflected in the firm’s work, and in its dedicated pursuit of technical excellence. A better way The power to influence the future of the built environment carries with it a weighty responsibility. Many of Arup’s projects leave a legacy to subsequent generations: a legacy that outlasts any one individual. With 10,000 projects going on at any one time, Arup is doing the best possible job for current and future generations. Putting sustainability at the heart of its work is one of the ways in which Arup exerts a positive influence on the wider world. Put simply, Arup people are driven to find a better way. Arup’s independent ownership structure gives conviction a place in its decision-making, alongside the needs of clients and commercial imperatives. The result is clear-sighted, thoughtful decisions about its priorities as a business and as a member of society. Arup influences many people’s lives through its projects. Shaping a sustainable future – particularly through the urban environment – will be one of the greatest challenges in the 21st century. Arup is rising to the challenge: investing in research, innovating and creating better solutions for its clients and the wider world. “…our lives are inextricably mixed up with those of our fellow human beings, and that there can be no real happiness in isolation…” Ove Arup, 1970. A people business Arup brings together professionals from diverse disciplines and with complementary skills, on a uniquely global scale. The depth of expertise and the sheer numbers of specialists allow Arup to take on complex, strategic projects that no other firm could have delivered. The UK’s first international high speed railway, High Speed 1, also known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, is just one example – completed on time and on budget. Clients trust Arup’s people to question a vision as well as help to realise it. Arup’s commitment to a sustainable approach to all its projects is both enshrined in a formal sustainability policy and embraced personally by the individuals that together make up the firm. Arup’s ownership structure actively reinforces this approach and holds the firm accountable to its own people for its independent approach, and to its social and corporate responsibility. Arup has a healthy mix of people with very different perspectives and from many cultures, working together, learning from each other and generously sharing their knowledge and ideas. International team-working is the stuff of everyday life for its people, who take advantage of the skills networks within the firm that allow easy collaboration between colleagues who may be on opposite sides of the world, but are working on the same or similar projects. Talented people join Arup for the opportunity it provides to work on some of the world’s most exciting projects, to develop a specialism of their own or simply to find their niche. The chance to work with some of the world’s leading experts, the range of professional opportunities, and the support and freedom for innovation means that Arup remains a magnet for many of the world’s most talented engineers and designers. Making a difference Arup’s work in the built environment leaves a significant legacy to subsequent generations. This power, to design and influence the built environment, carries with it a responsibility to do the best possible job for current and future generations. Putting sustainability at the heart of its projects is one of the ways in which Arup exerts a positive influence on the wider world. Investing in research and development is another: without such investment, innovation can be stifled. Without the capacity to innovate, our ability to combat the effects of climate change and other global issues would be compromised. Corporate responsibility is not simply a policy at Arup, but a way of w
Products applied in Commercial , Cultural , Educational , +6
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