the Gherkin
/ðə ˈɡɜːkɪn/
/ðə ˈɡɜːrkɪn/
- the informal name of a tall office building in the City of London, opened in 2004. It was built as the home of the UK head office of the Swiss Reinsurance Company but it also houses offices of other major companies as well as a variety of shops and restaurants. Its unusual round shape which narrows to a point at the top has led to it being called the Gherkin (= a small pickled cucumber). It was designed by Norman Foster and has many features which mean that it uses 50% less energy than a traditional office building. Its official name was the Swiss Re Tower and is now 30 St Mary Axe.
小黄瓜：伦敦市一座高大办公楼的非正式名称，于2004年开业。它是瑞士再保险公司英国总部的所在地，但也设有其他主要公司的办公室和各种各样的商店和餐馆。其不寻常的圆形形状在顶部变窄到一个点，因此被称为小黄瓜（一种小腌黄瓜）。它是由诺曼·福斯特（Norman Foster）设计的，具有许多功能，这意味着它比传统的办公大楼能耗低50％。它的正式名称是Swiss Re Tower，现在是30 St Mary Axe。