London's Gherkin closed - by popular demand
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The London Open House scheme, which allows free public access to privately owned buildings around the city once a year, had to shut its doors yesterday at London's latest and weirdest high rise.
The London Open House scheme, which allows free public access to privately owned buildings around the city once a year, had to shut its doors yesterday at London's latest and weirdest high rise.
An estimated three thousand people were turned away from the Foster and Partners-designed glass sky rise at 30 St Mary Axe, affectionately known as the "Gherkin". The harlequin-patterned office building had let the general public inside its curved glass walls for the first time, but demand was too great for everybody to get inside.
The Gherkin is one of 500 historic and contemporary architectural landmarks taking part in the event, which continues today.
Private homes, state-of-the-art school classrooms, city banks and government buildings are all included. This year a number of major construction sites have joined the event: the new Wembley Stadium, Heathrow airport's Terminal 5 and the Channel Tunnel rail link at St Pancras station.
Engineers and architects have been on hand to answer questions about their construction and design.
Victoria Thornton, the director of Open House, said: "Architecture is rightly considered a symbol of a city's culture, its identity, its personality, and the weekend is a celebration of all of this."
For more details, see www.londonopenhouse.org
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments