Dawn to Dusk from The Gherkin
In this 30 St Mary Axe 360 you can explore the views from one of the City of London’s most iconic buildings.
Although 30 St Mary Axe, commonly known as ‘the Gherkin’, is no longer among the very tallest in the City, it still stands out as one of its most recognisable landmarks. At just under 180 metres tall, it’s around the fifth tallest building within the City of London. It comes behind 22 Bishopsgate at 278m; the Heron Tower / Salesforce Tower which is 230m; 122 Leadenhall Street (The Cheesegrater) at 224m; and 100 Bishopsgate (172 m to roof, 204 m to tip).
Despite being overtaken in height, the Gherkin remains instantly identifiable on the skyline, and its unique curved profile and tapering glass façade make it one of the most distinctive pieces of modern architecture in London.. It counts as a notable feat of engineering, with its central circumference being just 2 metres narrower than its height.
Shooting close to the summer solstice meant a long days shoot, being in position by 4am, and capturing sunset at around 9pm.
Each sequence was photographed from the cradle that runs around the building’s peak — the same cradle used for maintenance and cleaning. Each full rotation of the cradle took about 45 minutes, stopping at precise intervals to capture overlapping frames. The process was repeated multiple times during the day to record the City skyline as the light changed from dawn to dusk.
Bringing these sequences together to create the 30 St Mary Axe 360 required careful alignment and blending to ensure the transition between each time of day was seamless.
Click on each of the time stamps in the Gherkin 360 to change the time of day and see how London’s skyline transforms across the day.
Page last updated: October 2025