Film Examines the 'Gherkin,' A Controversial Building in London

By Sara Seddon Kilbinger
From

First, the building. Now, the movie.

When it was added to London's skyline in 2003, Swiss Reinsurance Co.'s U.K. headquarters was promptly dubbed the "Gherkin" because its sleek, cone-like shape that tapers toward the top resembles a pickle. Initial criticism prompted filmmaker Mirjam von Arx to approach the Swiss reinsurer about making a documentary that would chronicle the construction process -- and show how Londoners are beginning to accept, and even like, the 594-foot-tall structure.

"As a Swiss person, I found all the headlines about the Swiss destroying London quite funny, and I thought following the development of the building would make an interesting story," says Ms. von Arx. The result: "Building the Gherkin," a 90-minute movie released on DVD last week.

Swiss Re's 'Gherkin' building in London.

Shot over 4½ years, the film follows the evolution of the project, with access to meetings between Swiss Re, the city of London and Foster & Partners, the London-based architectural firm that designed the building. The lead role belongs to Sara Fox, the 53-year-old building project manager who one worker in the film says "takes no prisoners." At one point in the film, Ms. Fox and Lord Norman Foster, the lead architect, meet for the first time following Swiss Re's decision to hire a different company to do the interior design for the majority of the building. Ms. Fox explains that it is common practice to have a different company do the interior design.

Lord Foster was less than thrilled, however, saying in the film that had he known up front that Foster & Partners wouldn't be doing most of the internal design, he might not have taken on the project.

Nevertheless, he, too, is a fan of the movie. "I suspect if anybody connected with the creation of the building had any part to play in the production we would have all made our own editorial selection, cutting this and cutting that," Lord Foster says. "But in a way it is all the slings and arrows, all the things that perhaps some of us would have liked not to have been incorporated, which in the end make it, I think, the extraordinary film that it is."

While Swiss Re has never disclosed the final cost of the project, experts estimate it is likely to have cost about £230 million, or $438 million.

Ms. von Arx says Swiss Re put up "a substantial part" of the financing for her film, with her Zurich-based company ican films GmbH picking up the rest.

Ms. Fox says the building now is a marketing tool for Swiss Re. "Five years ago, a lot of people outside the insurance sector wouldn't have heard of Swiss Re," she says. "Today, most Londoners know that Swiss Re occupies the Gherkin."

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