CNN 2012-07-08

 Tell me a little bit about the inspiration behind building something that just has a triangular 1 look to it.

 
Yes. Well, we wanted to create a lot of, a sense of lightness, a very light presence in the sky of London. Because London is not a city of skyscrapers 2. 
 
Yeah.
 
I mean this building is at the foot of the Old Bridge of London, the first bridge of London. And it’s made a lot of sense to make a spire-shaped building which has a light presence going to the top, and disappearing in the sky. So this was a very, very important point for us to build them, because of its mixed shoes what we’ve just explained before we can do it. We have large floor plates for the offices, and then the building gets more slender to the top, and the lighter 3 to the top. 
 
We have a public viewing gallery. So you can take your children out there and then enjoy the views of London.
 
Richard, I heard it cost about 25 pounds to get up to the place. 
 
Yes, uh we ....
 
But in terms of, you mentioned that the London skyline. London is not known for its skyscrapers. It’s not a city, even though as a world-class city, it’s known not like New York, or Hong Kong, or even, some would say now Dubai with its high skyscrapers, as it is. Why not, then, go for as high as you can? Why not make it the tallest building in the world?
 
I think it’s a matter of scale or I think a building of 3 and it stands amid as in London is a very tall building. It’s not so much about the height of the building. It’s more about its proportion as a presence. And I think this height, and we’ve been able to make it slender, it makes a lot of sense. So I don’t think we need to go high in that sense.
 
If you can describe it for or explain it to me as simply as possible. Talk to me about the physics of it. I mean that it seems as though if something that could ....
 
Well, actually to build a spire-shaped tower makes a lot of sense. Because it’s stronger at the bottom, it holds. And then it gets more slender, it takes less wind force at the top. So it’s a very logical engineer in shape. So with the engineer, we are actually being able to build a very economic and very rational tower. It may not look like what it actually is, because the physics makes sense being slender at the top, being larger at the bottom.
 
There’re a lot of interesting things, a lot of interesting facts about this building. I hear there’s 95% of the construction materials are as from recycled materials. Talk to me about the importance of that.
 
Well, I think we’re living in a more and more fragile world today. So, so we need to be responsible, and build responsible. For example you’d have a facade 4, we have a very active facade so all the sun radiation, is taken out of the building with blinds in the double facades 5. So it was very active and intelligent facade. So it’s very important if you, if you work until that you with and, and to improve the performances of the building.
 
And that conserves 6 energy, not kind of using a lot more air conditioning in the summer time.
 
Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely. It’s ... When it’s a great day, just more natural lights in the building, so you use less electricity. When it’s a very sunny day, the blinds gone down, and you get less heat gain in the building. So it’s a very simple physics, but it’s very important.
 
Before I let you go, I have to ask what’ your favourite feature, what’s your favourite part of the building?
 
I think the favorite part is the top, and the charge them quiet Jews, touches all down, just being in the sky but also I think it’s probably less visible; but it’s at the bottom of the tower, this is very open, very light, 40% of the area is public; people can move along and then into this building which I think it’s a very featur ....