London Architecture

Top 20 Architectures

by Olivia Gibbs, Natalie Bloniarz & Emily Wilson

Comparing Architecture

Your Project Page Picture Caption

Upload an image of your own that captures the essence of this milestone, then replace the "ProjectPicture.jpg" above with the new image name. Replace "Your Project Page Picture Caption" above with your first and last name. Delete this whole paragraph beneath the Project Title and credit up til but not including the Table of Contents tag __TOC__.

Abstract

The paragraph should give a three to five sentence abstract about your entire London HUA experience including 1) a summary of the aims of your project, 2) your prior experience with humanities and arts courses and disciplines, and 3) your major takeaways from the experience. This can and should be very similar to the paragraph you use to summarize this milestone on your Profile Page. It should contain your main Objective, so be sure to clearly state a one-sentence statement that summarizes your main objective for this milestone such as "a comparison of the text of Medieval English choral music to that of the Baroque" or it may be a question such as "to what extent did religion influence Christopher Wren's sense of design?"

Introduction

I suggest you save this section for last. Describe the essence of this project. Cover what the project is and who cares in the first two sentences. Then cover what others have done like it, how your project is different. Discuss the extent to which your strategy for completing this project was new to you, or an extension of previous HUA experiences.

As you continue to think about your project milestones, reread the "Goals" narrative on defining project milestones from the HU2900 syllabus. Remember: the idea is to have equip your milestone with a really solid background and then some sort of "thing that you do". You'll need to add in some narrative to describe why you did the "thing that you did", which you'd probably want to do anyway. You can make it easy for your advisors to give you a high grade by ensuring that your project milestone work reflects careful, considerate, and comprehensive thought and effort in terms of your background review, and insightful, cumulative, and methodical approaches toward the creative components of your project milestone deliverables.

Section 1: Background

The Gherkin

The tall cigar or pickled shaped 180 meter building that lines the London skyline is The Gherkin. From the very beginning of the design it had been a controversy building. The new radical design of size and shape quickly gave it the nickname, 'the erotic gherkin'. Having been the location of previous bomb landings and in the middle of the financial district made it even more controversial when the first steel beam was erected only a month and a day after The World Trade Center in the fall of 2001. The previous building was the historic Victoria Baltic Exchange, built in 1903. While many pushed to salvage the building it was too expensive after it had been damaged in a terrorist bombing. That building was heavily damaged in by the Irish Republican Army in 1992. So, despite the rocky beginning to the Gherkin, today it is known as one of the head features in the London Skyline.

The Gherkin was commissioned by the Swiss Re Insurance Company with the goal of creating a landmark, and sure enough it has become one with the rounded top and what appears to be triangle windows but are really only rectangle window panes. It appears to be in a spiral and have rounded edges, but it actually all straight window panes. The five degree difference between each floor is what makes it appear to be spiraling. The top of the building, the dome top, is the only piece with a rounded piece of glass. The majority of the building is made out of glass. Ironically, it was designed by Mr. Shuttleworth who reported to the Telegraph in 2011 that 'he regrets his design of 30 St Mary Axe, the 40-floor City office block known as "the Gherkin", which won the Stirling Prize in 2004', thinking to himself about glass filling the entire building, Why on earth did we do that?'" believing there are better ways.

However, the Gherkin's unique shape allows more air to easily pass through creating a comfort area for pedestrians below unlike rectangle office buildings. Also the towers diagonally braced structural envelope allows column-free floor space and a fully glazed facade, which opens up the building to light and views.It is home to offices as rises forty-one stories and provides 76,400 square meters, which also include a shopping area and club on the top floors for those who work there can relax with a drink. The club room also offers a 360 degree panorama view of the city.
For more information about the current building follow their website: The Gherkin

Links

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mandrake/8598889/Architect-behind-the-Gherkin-says-he-has-finished-designing-strangely-shaped-edifices.html http://www.buildingthegherkin.com/ http://www.londonarchitecture.co.uk/Building/731/30-St-Mary-Axe.php http://www.bestbuildings.co.uk/commercial/the-gherkin/ Conn, David R. "Building the Gherkin." Library Journal, 1 Aug. 2007, p. 126. Biography in Context, libraries.state.ma.us/login?gwurl=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A168088996/BIC1?u=mlin_c_worpoly&xid=e5a35856. Accessed 11 May 2017.

St. Paul's Cathedral

Style

English Baroque

Designer

Designed and built by Christopher Wren.

Material

Portland stone, which is a type of limestone from the area of Portland in Dorset.

Date Built

Construction on this rebuilding of the cathedral started in 1675 and the cathedral was functionally complete in 1711.

Purpose/ function

Rebuilt from the earlier version of the cathedral that was heavily damaged in the Great Fire of London, it serves as a house of Anglican worship.

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London Eye

The London Eye is the largest cantilevered observation wheel at a hieght of 135 meters. Its style can be considered modern, it is a new take on the traditional ferris wheel. It was designed by Marks Barfield Architects as a part of a competition to best celebrate the turn of the century. The base of the London Eye is made of a steel A frame, and the wheel part of the London Eye is connected to the rim by cables. Because of these heavy duty materials the London Eye can withstand winds up to 50 miles per hour. It was Launched in 2000 to celebrate the millennium, with 32 capsules on it representing the 32 boroughs of London. Originally it was built to be a temporary structure, made so that they could dismantle it and move it. It was only supposed to be in its location for 5 years but it became such a tourist attraction and staple it is now a permanent addition to the London skyline.

The Royal Exchange

The first Royal Exchange was built as the center for trading stocks in London. It was built in 1566 by Thomas Gresham in the Neoclassical style and was opened by Queen Elizabeth I in 1571. In 1666 The Royal exchange was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, and a second site opened up in 1669. This building was designed in a Baroque style by Edward Herman. The second Royal Exchange was also destroyed by a fire in 1838, which leads us to the third and current Royal Exchange. In 1844 there was an architectural competition to deign the third Royal Exchange and Sir William Title wins, and builds it as its originally layout from the first Stock Exchange. He however added eight columns to the entrance, which was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. The building was opened by Queen Victoria in 1844. Since then the Royal Exchange has been home to stock trading, theater shows, and now a luxury shopping mall. The building was constructed out of concrete. http://www.theroyalexchange.co.uk/heritage/

Buckingham Palace

The Buckingham Palace we know today has been worked on by many architects including John Nash, Edward Blore, Aston Webb, William Winde,James Pennethorne, and Thomas Cubitt. It was built in the Neoclassical style. The first build was in 1703 and was later redone in the 1820s when King George wanted a renovation. The last major construction was in the 1840's so Queen Victoria could have more space for her family. The material used to construct the palace was Caen stone, which is usually reserved for important religious buildings. When John Nash did his renovation however the palace was refaced in bath stone. In 1913 the Palace was refaced again in Portland stone as one of the first acts of conservation. The Buckingham Palace was first considered Buckingham house and was not used for its now purpose as the home of the Royal Family until Queen Victoria.

Section 3: Deliverable

Additional Image

In this section, provide your contribution, creative element, assessment, or observation with regard to your background research. This could be a new derivative work based on previous research, or some parallel to other events. In this section, describe the relationship between your background review and your deliverable; make the connection between the two clear.

Interactive Map

https://maphub.net/bloniarzna/London-Architecture

Gallery

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Conclusion

In this section, provide a summary or recap of your work, as well as potential areas of further inquiry (for yourself, future students, or other researchers).

References

Add a references section; consult the Help page for details about inserting citations in this page.

Attribution of Work

For milestones completed collaboratively, add a section here detailing the division of labor and work completed as part of this milestone. All collaborators may link to this single milestone article instead of creating duplicate pages. This section is not necessary for milestones completed by a single individual.

External Links

If appropriate, add an external links section

Image Gallery

If appropriate, add an image gallery