THE GHERKIN

              30 St Mary axe more commonly known as the Gherkin has a height of 179 meters or 587 feet. The Gherkin’s design is unique to its surroundings by having a zeppelin like structure. The main reason for its cylindrical shape is to re-direct oncoming wind flow to the building and use it a ventilation system for the whole building. What makes this building stand out other than its unusual shape is its energy usage, it is said that the Gherkin uses almost half of the energy that other buildings would use. The Gherkin makes use of it rounded shape by letting loads light and solar heat in through its windows. The inspiration for Gherkin could be easily mistaken for a missile, however the true inspiration came from venus basket sea sponge.The hexagonal skin structure of the sponge is able to diverge the load extremely well allowing the sponge to grow  to heights of and the cylindrical shape allows ocean currents to move gently around the sponge.