11/07/2011 by Buildington
Without the arrival of 30 St Mary Axe (Swiss Re’s headquarters in the City, familiarly known as “the Gherkin”), London might not have won the bid to host the Olympic Games in 2012. Norman Foster’s brilliantly conceived landmark tower finally moved the look of the City out of the 1970s and into the 21st century; that achievement reinforced London’s pitch that it would be able to regenerate Stratford, East London, into a successful Olympic venue and to present a truly modern games.
From: Architecture is frozen ambition in City A.M. http://www.cityam.com/special-supplements/architecture-frozen-ambition