Научно-исследовательская работа на тему :"30 St Mry Axe"

30 St Mary Axe ( The Gherkin )

• The building was constructed by Skanska, completed in December 2003 and opened on 28 April 2004. The primary occupant of the building is London headquarters of Swiss assurance company called “Swiss Re”

• The building uses energy-saving methods, which allow it to use half the power that a similar tower would typically consume. Gaps in each floor create six shafts that serve as a natural ventilation system for the entire building, even though required firebreaks on every sixth floor interrupt the "chimney". The shafts create a giant  double glazing  effect; air is sandwiched between two layers of  glazing  and insulates the office space inside.
• Architects promote double glazing in residential houses, which avoids the inefficient  convection  of heat across the relatively narrow gap between the panes, but the tower exploits this effect. The shafts pull warm air out of the building during the summer and warm the building in the winter using  passive solar heating .

• On the building's top level (the 40th floor), there is a bar for tenants and their guests, featuring a panoramic view of London

• The building is visible over long distances: From the North, for instance, it can be seen from the M11 motorway, some 32 kilometers (20 miles) away, while from the West it can be seen from the statue of George III in Windsor Great Park.