The Gherkin - London by martinjansenphotography

30 St Mary Axe (widely known informally as "the Gherkin" and previously the Swiss Re Building) is a skyscraper in London's main financial district, the City of London, completed in December 2003 and opened in April 2004.[2] With 41 floors, the tower is 180 metres (591 ft) tall[1] and stands on a street called St. Mary Axe, on the former site of the Baltic Exchange, which was extensively damaged in 1992 by the explosion of a bomb placed by the Provisional IRA.[2][6] After the plans to build the Millennium Tower were dropped, 30 St Mary Axe was designed by Norman Foster and Arup engineers,[7] and was erected by Skanska in 2001–2003.[1] The building has become an iconic symbol of London and is one of the city's most widely recognised examples of contemporary architecture.[8] via 500px http://j.mp/1n64S0a