Millennium Tower (London)
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- For other buildings called 'Millennium Tower', go to Millennium Tower (disambiguation)
The London Millennium Tower was one of several ideas for the site of the former Baltic Exchange at 30 St Mary's Axe, City of London that had been destroyed beyond repair by an IRA bomb blast.
Designed by Foster & Partners, for then owner Trafalgar House, the plan was for the building to be the tallest in Europe and the third tallest in the world at that time behind the Petronas Towers in Malaysia and the Sears Tower in Chicago. Its height was planned at 386 meters (1265ft), with 92 floors, which means it would have been eighth in the World today, and would be overtaken in Europe by the Federation Tower. A public viewing platform was planned for 1000 above ground level.
The scheme featured a highly unorthodox floor layout, essentially two asymmetrical ellipses joined at one end. When the plans were first unveiled in 1996, the Guardian newspaper coined the term "erotic gherkin" (apparently confusing the dill pickle slices found in some hamburgers with gherkins), a name that was quickly taken up by other media and which stuck even after the plan was superseded.
English Heritage had been one of the largest backers of the project until they withdrew their support, due to Heathrow airport objecting to the disruption that such a tall building would have on their flight paths. The project was eventually cancelled and the site sold to Swiss Re which created its headquarters, also designed by Foster & Partners.
