Another of the worlds technological marvels is the "Gherkin" in London, Its just another icon of the world that people will associate with a certain place, Here are a few facts about the "Gherkin".Each floor rotates 5 degrees from the last but the spiraling atrium's were not fully realized. They stop every six floors for fire safety reasons.
The only curved piece of glass on the entire building is the very top piece that crowns it.
The advantages of the shape are numerous, at the bottom it tapers in creating more ground space and allowing a new public plaza to build whilst circular towers also create less downdraft. Tapering at the top into the crown reduces wind resistance further.
The lifts can carry a maximum of 378 people at any one time reaching speeds of 6 meters a second.
The floor to ceiling heights are 2.75 meters, three centimeters more than is needed to have accommodated the worlds tallest man ever.
The building contains the highest dining space in London at 163 meters. The entire top floors are occupied by the company restaurant for Swiss Re.
The building weighs 70,000 tonnes, contains 333 piles in the foundations, 35 kilometers of structural steel at 11,000 tonnes, and 24,000 square meters of glass cladding.
The building is the winner of the 2005 RIBA Stirling Prize for Architecture and has become an instant hit with the public appearing prominently in Olympic 2012 promotions.
well my impression was, wow !what a huge vibrator :)
ReplyDeleteIt remind me of my college year, when I too obsess with all those Skyscrapers.
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