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

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. Ashley is an editor, writer and translator, and was based in Tokyo from 2005 to 2008, where he conducted research into the history of Japanese postwar art at Sophia University. He was the editor of TABlog from 2006 to 2008. More information about his work can be found at www.ashleyrawlings.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
Anna
2008-07-29

A friend of mine told me that he heard everything in art could be broken down to poles and holes. It seems that London and Barcelona both have poles while Tokyo will have a hole.

About TABlog

TABlog's writers and video reporters deliver regular reviews, features and interviews to stimulate discussion about all sides of Tokyo's creative scene.

The views expressed on TABlog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of their employers, or Tokyo Art Beat, or the Gadago NPO.

All content on this site is © their respective owner(s).
Tokyo Art Beat (2004 - 2012) - About - Contact - Privacy - Terms of Use