black and white photography by rob gardiner.

Nicknamed ‘The Gherkin’ or ‘The Cigar’, it is formally known as ‘The Swiss Re building’ or ‘30 St Mary’s Axe’. Norman Foster’s latest building, which has quickly become an icon of the London skyline, looks to me more like a huge glass Hindenburg, the wrong way up. You reach the cockpit at the top in a few seconds (one writer said it reminded him of a James Bond set). Built on the site of where an IRA bomb went off many years ago, it dominates the skyline. Buildings this tall and few and far between in London.

Completed in 2003, the building is not designed to be viewable to the public. (From the inside, that is). Even the restaurant near the top is for employees only. Such a shame. This is not New York - Londoners are not used to seeing wide vistas of their city from a great height. There should be some law that insists on public access to such places. Anyway, I was lucky enough to visit the top and an unoccupied (for now) working floor. Apologies to those on slow modems, but here are eight of the photographs of the Gherkin.

Above, the shimmering Thames at sunset. St Paul’s Cathedral is clearly visible, as is the BT Tower (long closed to the public, after an IRA bomb went off) on the right.

Like a set from James Bond.

Tower bridge spanning the Thames, the Castle in front of it, and then the ancient City of London.

Above - what can I say? Triangles are great.

In the distance Canary Wharf, where London’s tallest buildings reside. But on the outskirts, most of us feel they are just pretenders.

Tower 42 on the right, and St Paul’s in the centre.

From on top (click for larger image):

And inside:

For an outside view, I’ve previously posted this image:

If you are not a fan of modern architecture, then for this week, this blog is not for you. Few architects achieve fame in the general population, but Norman Foster has achieved it in London. Foster and Partners designed the Millennium Bridge, a cleaned up Trafalagar Square, Canary Wharf Station, British Museum Great Court, Wembley Stadium, The ‘Gherkin’, and City Hall. In short, he redesigned much of the skyline of London over the last decade.

As part of Open House London this weekend, I visited three of his buildings: 1 More London Place, City Hall, and 30 St Mary’s Axe (The Gherkin - a 4.5 hour queue!). These buildings have been rarely, if ever, opened to the public. I’ll be posting images of the others later, but here is probably the least photogenic - 1 More London Place.

As much as the buildings themselves were interesting, it was watching other people enjoy the buildings that was the real surprise. Several people at this building were amazed, as they had “never seen a modern office building before”. Number 1 on their list of queries was “where are the filing cabinets?”

More than 40 feet underground in suburban London lies one of the great secrets of World War II. The British government decided after the first world war that should a similar war happen again, it would be prudent to have a second secure location for the most senior ministers to escape to and continue running a war.

For these alternate Cabinet War Rooms (codename “PADDOCK”), they chose Dollis Hill, a sleepy part of north-west London notable only for the drab Post Office Research Centre where many of the nations technological achievements were made (the first electronic computer, Colossus, is said to have been invented here). Paddock was a bomb-proof facility over three floors, 22 rooms underground, big enough to house more than 200 staff, and intended to be able to run a major war from. It was not until 1997, when a housing development company bought the land, that the public was informed of the location of the bunker. A deal was struck - the housing development could go ahead, but the bunker was not to be demolished. Custodianship was granted on the proviso that the bunker is opened to the public once or twice a year. A group known as Subterranea Britannica look after the bunker.

Churchill held the first Cabinet meeting at the bunker in October 1940, “We held a Cabinet meeting at PADDOCK far from the light of day, and each Minister was required to inspect and satisfy himself about his sleeping and working apartments. We celebrated this occasion with a vivacious luncheon, and then returned to Whitehall.” It is fair to say that he was not impressed with the facility. “The accommodation at Paddock is quite unsuited to the conditions which have arisen,” he wrote. “Paddock should be treated as a last resort.”

Visiting the bunker, you can not help but notice the absurdities. A secret secure bunker situated underneath an important communications target. It was built to withstand the biggest bombs of the day, but water leaks in everywhere. There are no toilets underground. Although 200 staff could work in the bunker, the kitchen is barely the size of a typical modern household kitchen. Yet it has a large map room, cabinet room, sleeping quarters for Churchill, separate areas for Army, Navy, and Air force. A room is dedicated for BBC broadcasts (rumour has it that the actor David Niven was to impersonate Churchill’s voice in broadcasts, should anything happen to the Prime Minister).

Thankfully, the Sub Brits have only partially restored the bunker. Much of the water has been pumped out, but the floors are still slippery, handrails slimy, and rooms smelly. Long stalagtites of calcium hang from the ceiling, the concrete giving up its raw materials. It is all very surreal. This is Churchill’s quarters. This is where the war cabinet met after the Battle of Britain. This is where the BBC would broadcast. These doors protect against mustard gas. Mind your head on the way out.

On the day I visited, a good twenty to thirty others made the trip down. One fellow was on his third visit, and had brought his own flash light. A young couple posed for digital photographs of each other in the map room. Some older folk, who must have been children during WWII, visiting for reasons of nostalgia I assume. We took the opportunity to see some almost-forgotten history.

Want more photographs? Here is most of the rest of my roll: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.