THE GHERKIN

KRIPA PANJARI
BARCH1721
Contents
1. The Gherkin- Introduction
2. Architectural Aspects
3. Structural Aspects
4. The core
5. The Diagrid
6. Connections
7. The Cladding
8. The foundation
9. Construction process
10. Structural Stability
11. References
The Gherkin- 30 St Mary Axe (known previously as the Swiss
Re Building), informally known as The Gherkin,
Introduction is a commercial skyscraper in London's primary
financial district, the City of London.

Designed by Norman Foster

Completed in December 2003

Architectural aspects 180 meters tall.

The building has a circular plan and radial

geometry.

360° panoramic views

Fully glazed double skin facade

Its slender with increasing diameter upwards

and tapering top end.

The top of the building has a lens-like curved

glass in the observation deck.

Optimal shape of aerodynamics which allows

wind to go around it.

Punctures in the periphery of the round plan

allows for natural ventilation.
Architectural Dual power supply

aspects One person per 10 sq m design

criteria

Four-pipe fan coil air

conditioning system

2.75m floor to ceiling height

150mm raised floors

16 high-speed, high capacity

passenger lifts

1.5m planning grid

Use of the restaurant and

panoramic lounge bar
 The Gherkin building is constructed from more than 35
Structural km (21 miles) of steel, weighing a total of 10,000 tonnes.

Aspects Exoskeleton is a diagrid which horizontal loads and winds

loads

The core resits gravity load.

The floor plates are rotated by 5 degree.

Openable glass screen.
Perforated aluminium louvers (internal sun-screen).
A column casing of aluminium.
Façade frame of extruded aluminium.
The central core is required only to act under vertical load and
is free from diagonal bracing.

The internal structure of the building comprises conventional

steel beams and columns with composite profiled decking
floors.
The core The core is the primary system for transferring

vertical gravity loads to the foundation system.

● It is a rigid frame made up of moment connectected

steel members.

● The core also ensures that the horizontal hoop

system does not splay outward by acting as a tie back

from the diagrid.

● The core’s central, symmetrical placement within

the building does not allow torsion as an effect from

lateral loading.
The Diagrid
● The ‘diagrid’ responds to the building’s curved shape
and provides vertical support to the floors thus allowing
large internal column free office space.
● The produced node is prefabricated in the factory.
● The heart consists of a solid block of steel of 240 by 140
mm.
● A balanced diagrid structure is formed by generating a
pattern of intersecting columns spiralling in both
directions. The addition of horizontal hoops, which
connect the columns at their intersection points and
resist the forces arising from the curved shape, means
that the perimeter structure is largely independent of
the floors.
● The hoops also turn the diagrid into a very stiff
triangulated shell, which provides excellent stability for
the tower. This benefit of the diagrid means that the
core does not need to resist wind forces and can be
designed as an open-planned steel structure providing
adaptable internal space.
Connections
Connections 360 total nodes
● The nodes transfer loads both horizontally
and vertically
● The node itself is composed of three welded
steel plates

● The plates are

oriented at oblique
angles in
order to facilitate the
complex geometry of
the structure
● HSS - round sections
bolted to the plates in
order to facilitate the
diagrid structure
The cladding The building’s exterior cladding systems consists of full
glazed, double-skinned facade comprising approximately
of 5,500 flat triangular and diamond shaped glass
panels.(Profinder). These metal and glass prefabricated
panels are fixed to the diagrid.

The elements of the facade consist of:

● Operable glass screen
● Perforated aluminium louvers (internal sun-screen)
● A column casing of aluminium
● Facade frame of extruded aluminium

The glazing to the office areas consist of a double-glazed

outer layer and a single-glaze dinner screen. Sandwiched
in between is a central ventilated cavity which reduces
heating and cooling requirements.
Foundation
• 333 Piles
• 2.5 feet (750 mm) in diameter
• 98 feet (25 m) deep

Core column maximum design load: 33,266 kN

Total design capacity: 117,000 Tonnes
Because of site restrictions and in order to create a monolithic foundation, all piles and pile caps were poured in
one day.
Structural Design Life: The external cladding is to be designed and
constructed to withstand the severe exposure for a realistic
Capability time period. The external cladding should have a
minimum of: - 30 year serviceable life, within reasonable
schedule maintenance

Dead Loads – are the loads generated from the building

itself.

Wind Loads – Due to the shape of the building vortices,

which can generate strong gusts at the base of the
building, have been reduced. The shape also helps deflect
string winds around the building therefore causing less
stress on the external cladding.
Structural Ground Water – Due to Newcastle’s CBD location being
only a few meters above sea level, precautions are to be
Capability taken in regards to flooding. The building shall be
designed to meet AS1170.1:2002 Structural Design Actions
– Permanent, imposed & other actions.

Water Penetration: The external cladding system is to be

designed to resist water penetration from heavy
rain,windy conditions and during window cleaning. The
cladding standards are to meet AS4420.5:1996

Acoustic Performance: The external cladding is required to

protect the occupants from external noises entering the
building and to help maintain a good acoustic atmosphere
internally. The acoustic performance design is to me AS
1055.1-1997 Acoustic – Description and Measurements of
Environmental Noise – General Procedures.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30_St_Mary_Axe
https://www.thegherkinlondon.com/floor-plan-27/
https://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/place/951036-gherkin
https://www.slideshare.net/VikramBengani/the-gherkin-case-study
https://www.archinomy.com/case-studies/30-st-mary-axe-the-gherkin-london/
https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-1-4939-2493-6_488-3
https://arc239parametricism.wordpress.com/2014/03/22/the-gherkin-30-st-mary-axe/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09UKRwGf0Ek
https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/30-st-mary-axe/#construction
https://faculty.arch.tamu.edu/media/cms_page_media/4433/30StMaryAxe_1.pdf
https://www.slideshare.net/adadarmon/swiss-re-building-london
https://pdf4pro.com/view/30-st-mary-axe-faculty-webspaces-4bb8ae.html
http://faculty.arch.tamu.edu/anichols/courses/applied-architectural-structures/projects-631/Files/30%20St%2
0Mary%20Axe_barker_lawrence_lopez_teal_wendlandtPresent.pdf