The Gherkin

Designed by Norman Foster and Partners, the Gherkin is 180 m tall and at the moment the 2nd tallest building in the city and the 6th tallest in London. It has over 24,000 square metres of glass cladding and 40 floors. It also has a restaurant at the the top which is sadly only open to tenants of the building (I think at one point the plan was to open it to the public, but sadly they seem do have changed their mind - in the evening one can hire parts of the venue); the view must be amazing, judging by this photo taken from a few floors down:

all by hans chu

And whilst the black building in front looks rather sinister, I love the contrast of the old and the new in this picture. The St Helen's Church is slightly dwarfed but still holding its own, I think.