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30 St Mary Axe is a building in the City of London, London, United Kingdom. This address was until 1992 the site of the Baltic Exchange[?]. On April 10, 1992 the IRA detonated a bomb close to the Exchange, almost completely destroying it and severely damaging buildings close by.

Work in progress on the Swiss Re "Gherkin" Larger version

There were plans to rebuild the Exchange to its former specification. These plans were controversially not followed up. On August 23, 2000, the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, granted planning permission[?] to build a much larger building on the site.

The new building due to be completed in 2004 was designed by Norman Foster Architects. Due to its unusual cone-like shape, designed so that wind will pass more easily round the building, it has been variously named 'the Gherkin', 'the Erotic Gherkin' and 'the Towering Innuendo'. The primary occupant of the building on completion will be Swiss Re[?] reinsurers[?].

See also: Tall buildings in London

External links

• Official homepage of the new building (http://www.30stmaryaxe.com/)
• History of the old Baltic Exchange building (http://www.savebritainsheritage.org/baltic.htm) Some information contained here and similar sites could usefully be integrated into this article