Is there any urban skyline as hunger-inducing as London’s? The city already has a tower nicknamed the Gherkin and another the Cheesegrater, and now it’s planning to erect a building shaped like an immense tin of potted swine.
The “Can of Ham“—seriously, this is the popular sobriquet its designers echo on their website—will go up right next to the Gherkin, forming a linguistic pairing reminiscent of a Cuban sandwich. (Perhaps next will be the Jar of Mustard.) The structure was supposed to go up at 60-70 St. Mary Axe years ago, but the financial crisis of 2008 put a temporary kibosh on the plans. When finished, the reportedly $150 million-plus development will include 24 stories of offices, retail establishments, and artery-hardening sodium nitrates.
The piggish vessel is meant to honor the existing skyline and includes several earth-friendly touches, Dezeen reports:
[infobox]Foggo Associates—the studio established by former Arup Associates partner Peter Foggo before his death in 1993—designed the arched profile of the tower to respect existing views through the City of London….Foggo developed vertical shading fins to wrap around the curved outer walls, while the glazed end elevations are engineered to reduce solar gain.[/infobox]
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This feature originally appeared in CityLab.
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