Commercial Union Assurance, Leadenhall Street and 30 St Mary Axe
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Commercial Union Assurance, Leadenhall Street and 30 St Mary Axe by Stephen Richards as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
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Image: © Stephen Richards Taken: 14 May 2011
The CU building is an assured 1960s tower by Gollins, Melvin, Ward & Partners in 1963-69. Apparently it was built from the top down so that lower floors are suspended from the top. It is twenty-eight storeys of curtain walling, originally with bronzed cladding, but reclad in 1992 after being damaged by the IRA bomb, and very much a child of the minimalist style fathered by Mies van der Rohe in the US. (GMWP pioneered this style in England.) It is currently known as St Helen's. The other building needs no description really, being one of the most distinctive, iconic (and ubiquitous) modern buildings in London. Also known as the Swiss Re Building and 'The Gherkin'. By Foster & Partners in 2003-04, with elegant glass bands spiralling around the exterior. In July 2014, the Gherkin's 505,000 square feet were put up for sale having gone into receivership after its co-owners, "a Mayfair-based investment bank and a German property investor, IVG Immobilien had run into problems related to currency issues". It is expected to sell for £600-650 million.
Image Location
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