We were lucky enough to shoot aerial 360 tours from the top of 30 St Mary Axe (widely known as ‘The Gherkin’). Here you can explore the images at various times of day and read a little more about the challenges of the shoot.
The Brief
We were briefed by the lovely folk at Bandstand (the creative agency for St Mary Axe) to create a series of 360s from the summit of 30 St Mary Axe. The client required panoramic views from the building in different lights; really letting people experience the incredible views across London at different times of day.
The Challenges
Eye Revolution lead photographer Will Pearson took the shots from a cradle on the exterior of the Gherkin, 180 metres above the City of London. The major concern was that the nodal point (the central point of a lens) is usually in a fixed position. Here, that wasn’t possible as the building is in the way and the nodal point was many metres out on each image. We had to employ all our skills in post-production to ensure that the images blended together seamlessly to create a flawless 360.
The Execution
The high-res aerial 360 tours are displayed in an interface which allows the viewer to click on the different times of day and be taken to the different images. The viewer can also really zoom in and see the detail in the London cityscape.
30 St Mary Axe
Norman Foster’s building was completed in December 2003, and it’s hard to imagine now that it was a controversial addition to the (much emptier) City of London skyline back then. Some critics argued that the modern, quirky design clashed with the historic architecture of London, especially in the vicinity of the Bank of England and the Tower of London. The building was, however, lauded for being environmentally friendly. Its shape is not just for the sake of design – the design reduces wind turbulence at street level, improving environmental comfort for pedestrians. The building’s energy-saving systems allow it to consume 50% less power than a typical office tower of the same size. The The tower’s triangular windows are designed to maximize natural light, minimizing the need for artificial lighting and cutting energy consumption. The triangular windows are designed to maximize natural light, minimizing the need for artificial lighting and cutting energy consumption.
Over 20 years later, the building is an iconic part of London’s cityscape, and has been joined by many other tall buildings. Visible here are The Shard (2012); 20 Fenchurch Street aka ‘The Walkie-Talkie’ (2015); Tower 42 (1981); The Leadenhall Building aka ‘The Cheesegrater’ (2014) & 70 St Mary Axe aka ‘The Can of Ham’ (2019). Click any of the building links to be taken to other 360s of or around those buildings.
Aerial 360 tours from a drone
You can read more about our aerial 360 tours captured from a drone here.