Within a stone's throw of two skyscrapers nicknamed the Cheesegrater and the Gherkin, the curvy office high-rise project designed by Foggo Associates is officially named 70 St. Mary Axe. But it also has a moniker, Can of Ham, because of its resemblance to the traditional tinned meat.
The form was strategically developed to reduce the building's footprint at the street level, while creating traditional office floor plans. “We wanted to give back space to the public realm around the base of the building,” David Warrender, director at Foggo Associates, told Dezeen.
But the project's unique shape presented major engineering challenges. To achieve the expansive open floor plans, project plans skipped traditional columns and instead relied on cellular beams that span the 40 feet (12 meters) between the concrete core and the faceted steel columns of the building's curved facade. This required absolute precision—the core was built to a tolerance of just 0.47 inches (12 millimeters). Any greater variation would prevent the vertical steel structure from anchoring properly.
On the environmental front, vertical shading fins and glazed double wall cladding reduce solar heat gain, while borehole thermal energy storage and energy piles help reduce carbon emissions. Adding extensive bicycle parking and showers in the building's basement helped the project team achieve a gold rating from the WELL Building Standard.
PROJECT
70 St. Mary Axe
LOCATION
London, England
BUDGET
£135 million
BEST IF USED BY
Originally granted planning approval in 2008, the project team had to halt construction until 2015 because of the financial crisis. The project was completed late last year.