Once the option of rebuilding the old building was ruled out, either partially or completely, the options were opened to build a new one, without conservationist limitations. Furthermore, the site had certain advantages: it was located outside the central conservation area, it was not in the path of the sight lines (the protected sight lines that connect certain locations around London with St. Paul's Cathedral), and there were already several high-rise buildings nearby, such as Tower 42, the skyscraper at 99 Bishopsgate), or the Lloyd's Building.[11]

On the other hand, at this same time, the city of London was in tough competition with Canary Wharf to attract businesses.[12]​ The Canary Wharf business complex (Tower Hamlet county*), created in the mid-1980s, offered a large amount of office space in modern buildings, at more competitive prices. Canary Wharf is home to the 3 tallest buildings in the United Kingdom. On the other hand, regulations in central London were an inconvenience for the implementation of large corporate headquarters. Large companies abandoned their headquarters in the city to move to Canary Wharf, such as the banks Credit Suisse First Boston, Morgan Stanley and Barclays.[13]​ The dispute continued with movements of large companies in both directions.[14]​.

In 1996 Trafalgar House announced its plans to build the Millennium Tower, a gigantic skyscraper designed by Norman Foster, which if built would have been the tallest in Europe.[15] It was an 86-storey, 386 m high building, with more than 150,000 m² of office space, with a public viewing platform located 305 m high.[16] This project was abandoned. due to the opposition of English Heritage and the Civil Aviation Authority, which alleged that a tower of such height posed a danger to air navigation. After that failure, the site was sold to Swiss Re, which began working on the project for a lower tower, also with Foster.[17]​.

The final project was approved in 2000 by the Corporation of London, with the support of Mayor Ken Livingstone and English Heritage.[18] This permission was subject to approval by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.[19] On 23 August 2000, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, also acting as Secretary for the Environment, granted permission to construct the new building. Baltic Exchange opposed the decision, arguing that a matter of such historical and environmental importance should be discussed through a popular consultation.[20]​.

The Swiss Re met the authorities' desire to maintain the traditional style of London with its relatively narrow streets. Swiss Re's mass was not too imposing. Like many buildings in the area, it is very difficult to notice the tower's existence if you are not close to it, but not directly under it. This schedule of standards and aims to create a common visual identity for the city: for example, building standards in New York have had a huge impact on the city compared to others with more conservative standards, such as London and Paris.

The building was built by Skanska, completed in 2004 and opened on April 28, 2004.

The building utilizes energy savings that allow it to use half the energy that a similar tower would typically consume, largely thanks to its Diagrid structure. The gaps in each floor create six shafts that serve as a natural ventilation system for the entire building although firebreaks are required on all sixth floors to interrupt the "chimney." The shafts create a giant double-acting insulating glass effect; The area is channeled through two layers of glass and isolates the office area inside.

Architects limited insulating glass in residential houses to prevent ineffective convection of heat, but Swiss Re exploited this effect. The shafts draw hot air out of the building during the summer and heat the building in the winter using passive solar heating. On the other hand, they also allow sunlight to pass through the building, making the work environment more pleasant, and lighting costs lower.

Most tall buildings achieve their lateral stability by a central structure or perimeter mast, or a combination of both. Typically, this means that they are designed to withstand high winds, but are too flexible to ensure occupant comfort. The main method to control wind deflection and make the structure more stable and increase the weight of ballast assets. With the help of Arup structural engineers, Swiss Re, has developed a triangular perimeter structure that makes the building sufficiently rigid without any additional reinforcements.

Despite its curvilinear shape, there is only one piece of curved glass in the building.[21]​.

On the upper level of the building (40th floor), there is a bar for tenants and their guests offering a 360° view of London. The restaurants operate on the 39th floor, and there are private rooms where you can dine on the 38th floor.

While most buildings have bulky elevator equipment on the roof of the building, this was not possible to use the pickle bar from a bar that had been planned for the 40th floor. The architects resolved by taking the elevator to the 34th floor, and then a marble staircase and a lighter elevator were placed to allow disabled access to take the visitor up to the dome bar.

The building is visible from very far away: for example, from the north, it can be seen from the M11 motorway about 20 miles away while to the west it can be seen from the statue of George III in Windsor Great Park.

The first owner of the building was the reinsurance company Swiss Re, which promoted the construction of the building to house its headquarters of operations in the United Kingdom. For this reason the building was known for some time as the Swiss Re Tower.

In an operation, the building was sold in 2007 to the German group IVG Immobilien, for the amount of 630 million pounds. The insurer, however, will continue to occupy half of the building until 2031.[22] The sale occurred shortly before the start of the 2008 financial crisis.

In 2004, the building was awarded the Stirling Prize, awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects and Architects Journal.[23]​[24]​.

The pickle's name first appeared in The Guardian newspaper in 1996, referring to its unorthodox profile, and this nickname was adopted by other media and the public. Due to the somewhat phallic appearance of the current building, it has also been popularly baptized by other names such as "the erotic gherkin" (erotic gherkin),[20]​ the "towering innuendo*",[25]​ and the "crystal phallus" (crystal phallus, in a play on words with the historical The Crystal Palace).[26]​.

The construction of the building was portrayed in the documentary Building the Gherkin, made by Mirjam von Arx.[27]​ The documentary, which was filmed between 2001 and 2004, was awarded at the Montreal International Art Film Festival.[28]​.

The building has been the setting for films such as Match Point and A Good Year.

The construction is also seen as the main setting in the first episode of the seventh season of Skins, a UK drama series, where Elizabeth "Effy" Stonem's character is employed as a secretary on a floor of the building.

• - Annex: Tallest buildings in Europe.

• - Annex: Tallest buildings in the United Kingdom.

• - Annex: Tallest buildings in London.

• - Phallic architecture.

• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on 30 St Mary Axe.

• - Official website.

• - Foster+Partners. Swiss Re HQ, 30 St Mary Axe.

• - Corporation of London. Extract from the Planning Register.

Once the option of rebuilding the old building was ruled out, either partially or completely, the options were opened to build a new one, without conservationist limitations. Furthermore, the site had certain advantages: it was located outside the central conservation area, it was not in the path of the sight lines (the protected sight lines that connect certain locations around London with St. Paul's Cathedral), and there were already several high-rise buildings nearby, such as Tower 42, the skyscraper at 99 Bishopsgate), or the Lloyd's Building.[11]

On the other hand, at this same time, the city of London was in tough competition with Canary Wharf to attract businesses.[12]​ The Canary Wharf business complex (Tower Hamlet county*), created in the mid-1980s, offered a large amount of office space in modern buildings, at more competitive prices. Canary Wharf is home to the 3 tallest buildings in the United Kingdom. On the other hand, regulations in central London were an inconvenience for the implementation of large corporate headquarters. Large companies abandoned their headquarters in the city to move to Canary Wharf, such as the banks Credit Suisse First Boston, Morgan Stanley and Barclays.[13]​ The dispute continued with movements of large companies in both directions.[14]​.

In 1996 Trafalgar House announced its plans to build the Millennium Tower, a gigantic skyscraper designed by Norman Foster, which if built would have been the tallest in Europe.[15] It was an 86-storey, 386 m high building, with more than 150,000 m² of office space, with a public viewing platform located 305 m high.[16] This project was abandoned. due to the opposition of English Heritage and the Civil Aviation Authority, which alleged that a tower of such height posed a danger to air navigation. After that failure, the site was sold to Swiss Re, which began working on the project for a lower tower, also with Foster.[17]​.

The final project was approved in 2000 by the Corporation of London, with the support of Mayor Ken Livingstone and English Heritage.[18] This permission was subject to approval by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.[19] On 23 August 2000, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, also acting as Secretary for the Environment, granted permission to construct the new building. Baltic Exchange opposed the decision, arguing that a matter of such historical and environmental importance should be discussed through a popular consultation.[20]​.

The Swiss Re met the authorities' desire to maintain the traditional style of London with its relatively narrow streets. Swiss Re's mass was not too imposing. Like many buildings in the area, it is very difficult to notice the tower's existence if you are not close to it, but not directly under it. This schedule of standards and aims to create a common visual identity for the city: for example, building standards in New York have had a huge impact on the city compared to others with more conservative standards, such as London and Paris.

The building was built by Skanska, completed in 2004 and opened on April 28, 2004.

The building utilizes energy savings that allow it to use half the energy that a similar tower would typically consume, largely thanks to its Diagrid structure. The gaps in each floor create six shafts that serve as a natural ventilation system for the entire building although firebreaks are required on all sixth floors to interrupt the "chimney." The shafts create a giant double-acting insulating glass effect; The area is channeled through two layers of glass and isolates the office area inside.

Architects limited insulating glass in residential houses to prevent ineffective convection of heat, but Swiss Re exploited this effect. The shafts draw hot air out of the building during the summer and heat the building in the winter using passive solar heating. On the other hand, they also allow sunlight to pass through the building, making the work environment more pleasant, and lighting costs lower.

Most tall buildings achieve their lateral stability by a central structure or perimeter mast, or a combination of both. Typically, this means that they are designed to withstand high winds, but are too flexible to ensure occupant comfort. The main method to control wind deflection and make the structure more stable and increase the weight of ballast assets. With the help of Arup structural engineers, Swiss Re, has developed a triangular perimeter structure that makes the building sufficiently rigid without any additional reinforcements.

Despite its curvilinear shape, there is only one piece of curved glass in the building.[21]​.

On the upper level of the building (40th floor), there is a bar for tenants and their guests offering a 360° view of London. The restaurants operate on the 39th floor, and there are private rooms where you can dine on the 38th floor.

While most buildings have bulky elevator equipment on the roof of the building, this was not possible to use the pickle bar from a bar that had been planned for the 40th floor. The architects resolved by taking the elevator to the 34th floor, and then a marble staircase and a lighter elevator were placed to allow disabled access to take the visitor up to the dome bar.

The building is visible from very far away: for example, from the north, it can be seen from the M11 motorway about 20 miles away while to the west it can be seen from the statue of George III in Windsor Great Park.

The first owner of the building was the reinsurance company Swiss Re, which promoted the construction of the building to house its headquarters of operations in the United Kingdom. For this reason the building was known for some time as the Swiss Re Tower.

In an operation, the building was sold in 2007 to the German group IVG Immobilien, for the amount of 630 million pounds. The insurer, however, will continue to occupy half of the building until 2031.[22] The sale occurred shortly before the start of the 2008 financial crisis.

In 2004, the building was awarded the Stirling Prize, awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects and Architects Journal.[23]​[24]​.

The pickle's name first appeared in The Guardian newspaper in 1996, referring to its unorthodox profile, and this nickname was adopted by other media and the public. Due to the somewhat phallic appearance of the current building, it has also been popularly baptized by other names such as "the erotic gherkin" (erotic gherkin),[20]​ the "towering innuendo*",[25]​ and the "crystal phallus" (crystal phallus, in a play on words with the historical The Crystal Palace).[26]​.

The construction of the building was portrayed in the documentary Building the Gherkin, made by Mirjam von Arx.[27]​ The documentary, which was filmed between 2001 and 2004, was awarded at the Montreal International Art Film Festival.[28]​.

The building has been the setting for films such as Match Point and A Good Year.

The construction is also seen as the main setting in the first episode of the seventh season of Skins, a UK drama series, where Elizabeth "Effy" Stonem's character is employed as a secretary on a floor of the building.

• - Annex: Tallest buildings in Europe.

• - Annex: Tallest buildings in the United Kingdom.

• - Annex: Tallest buildings in London.

• - Phallic architecture.

• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on 30 St Mary Axe.

• - Official website.

• - Foster+Partners. Swiss Re HQ, 30 St Mary Axe.

• - Corporation of London. Extract from the Planning Register.