70 St Mary Axe
Seen from Bevis Marks
Alternative namesThe Can of Ham[1]
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeOffice
LocationSt Mary Axe,
London, EC3[2]
Coordinates51°30′55″N 00°04′46″W / 51.51528°N 0.07944°W / 51.51528; -0.07944
Construction started2015[3]
Completed2019[4]
Opened2019
Cost£135m[5]
OwnerNuveen[3]
Height
Roof90 metres (295 ft)[6]
Technical details
Floor count21 (above ground, including ground floor) plus two basement levels[7]
Floor area28,063.8 square metres (302,100 sq ft) (office space)[8]
Design and construction
Architect(s)Foggo Associates[2]
Structural engineerFoggo Associates[9]
Main contractorMace Group Ltd[3]
Website
https://70stma.co.uk/

70 St Mary Axe, informally known as the Can of Ham due to its shape,[10] is an office building in the City of London. It was completed in early 2019.[2] With 21 floors above ground, it is 90 metres (295 ft) tall and offers 28,000 square metres (301,400 sq ft) of office space.[6] During its construction, the City of London Corporation decided to pedestrianise the part of St Mary Axe along which the building sits, between Bevis Marks to the south-west and Houndsditch to the north-east.[11][12]

Development

The profile is said to resemble a can of ham.

The architectural design was created by Foggo Associates for Targetfollow, and planning permission was granted in 2008.[2] Targetfollow sold the site to Nuveen in 2011 for £20m[2] but development was delayed during the global financial crisis.[13][10]

The sole tenant of 60 St Mary Axe agreed in 2014 to exit their lease early, and in 2015 Mace Group Ltd was appointed to build the project.[2] Construction began that same year, and involved 400 workers, 90% of whom were employed through subcontractors.[14]

During development, the project was criticised by some for its shape and its size.[15][16]

Construction completed in Spring 2019, but the building did not open until later in the year.[17]

Television

The building was used as the location for the interview stage in the 2019 and 2022 series of The Apprentice.[18][19]

Theatre

The address, 70 St Mary Axe, was the location of the title character's offices in Gilbert and Sullivan's 1877 operetta The Sorcerer.[20]

Literature

The address, 70 St Mary Axe, is a recurring location in the novels of Tom Holt,[21] basing the use of the address on its previous use in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Sorcerer.

References

  1. ↑ "60 - 70 St. Mary Axe". Foggo Associates. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Louise Dransfield; Roland Bakos (30 April 2019). "A first look inside Nuveen's 70 St Mary Axe". EstatesGazette. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 "70 St Mary Axe, Project Summary". Mace Group. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  4. ↑ "Project Completion: 70 St Mary Axe, London". Robinson Low Francis. 4 February 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  5. ↑ "70 St Mary Axe "The Can of Ham"". The Joint Contracts Tribunal Limited. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  6. 1 2 Tom Ravenscroft (23 October 2019). "Foggo Associates completes Can of Ham alongside the Gherkin". Dezeen. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  7. ↑ "Official website, floor plans" (PDF). 70 St Mary Axe. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  8. ↑ "Official website, floor areas". 70 St Mary Axe. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  9. ↑ Thomas Lane (23 February 2018). "70 St Mary Axe - ahead of the curve". Building. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  10. 1 2 Amy Frearson (22 January 2015). "London's "Can of Ham" skyscraper back on after six-year hiatus". Dezeen. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  11. ↑ Mark Blunden (17 January 2018). "Traffic banned from City street for construction of 'Can of Ham' tower". Evening Standard. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  12. ↑ Monika Cvorak (24 January 2018). "Can of Ham tower closes St Mary Axe to cars". City Matters. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  13. ↑ Ed Davey (19 November 2012). "London's future skyline in doubt". BBC News. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  14. ↑ Gill Plimmer (4 June 2018). "Why the cracks are showing in Britain's construction industry". Financial Times. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  15. ↑ Spencer Hart (21 January 2015). "The Eight Controversial Buildings Ready To Ruin London". Gizmodo UK. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  16. ↑ Oliver Wainwright (30 June 2015). "22 Bishopsgate – and the steroidal towers set to ruin London's skyline". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  17. ↑ Hamish Champ (12 November 2019). "Can of Ham gets ready to welcome first tenants". Building. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  18. ↑ Helen Williams (11 December 2019). "The Apprentice interviews held in 'Can of Ham' - one of London's stand-out buildings!". Reality Titbit. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  19. ↑ "The Apprentice Series 16 Episode 12". BBC iPlayer. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  20. ↑ "The Sorcerer by the Troupers". Opera Metro. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  21. ↑ David Langford (2008). "Random Reading 9". Ansible. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
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