Gherkin Watch

Noticed anything different in West Shinjuku lately? Yep, a gherkin’s on the rise.

In Oddly Enough by Ashley Rawlings 2007-07-03 print email

Over three years, Londoners watched the organic shape of Norman Foster’s Swiss Re Building rise up and redefine the city’s skyline. An instant icon, the building was affectionately nicknamed “the erotic gherkin’, or ‘the gherkin’ for short.

Photos taken December 2002... ...building completed 2003

Seen from Bishopsgate Seen from Brick Lane

Seen from Shoreditch High Street

Seen from Whitechapel Road

Not long after, Barcelona, an otherwise very low-rise city, had its skyline transformed with Jean Nouvel’s Agbar Tower.

Photo taken September 2004, building completed 2005

And now, Kenzo Tange’s Tokyo Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower is under construction.

The design for the completed building

Photographed in February ...and then two months later in April

Every month, TABlog will give you a photographic update of the progress being made on Tokyo’s next landmark building.

Watch this space.

Ashley Rawlings. Born in 1981 in London. After a year of studying painting and mixed media at Chelsea College of Art & Design, he took on Japanese Studies at Cambridge. He moved to Tokyo in 2005, where he studies the history of Japanese post-war art at Sophia University and works as a freelance writer, translator and editor. As well as writing and editing for TABlog, he writes for the Japan Times and the ART iT website. He is also the editor of Art Space Tokyo, an intimate guide to the Tokyo art world. When not in galleries and museums or taking photographs, he enjoys losing himself in among Tokyo's skyscrapers, wandering silent streets, and riding out the occasional earthquakes. Will only consider returning to Britain once they've fixed the weather. Contact at: ashley (at) tokyoartbeat.com » See other writings

Comments

Christophe
2007-07-04

The work on this caught my attention the other weekend when I was heading to Subway from West Shinjuku Station. I was curious was it was, thanks to you, now I know! This looks like it will be quite a spectacular building when it is finished. Here are some more pictures of it’s construction from Tokyo Construction News:

http://tokyo-construction.com/?p=23

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