2024-05-02T17:25:10-04:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/84833004/investing-in-risk-how-the-gherkin-became-a-british-icon Amelia Taylor-Hochberg 2013-10-23T20:50:00-04:00 >2013-12-05T18:52:21-05:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/i9/i9nwbezmtuqhr3r2.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p> Architecture is stuck between past and future -- years of anticipatory planning designs a structure that, once constructed, is stuck referring to all that came before.&nbsp; A building can't actually predict the future, although it seems like the best ones always run the risk of trying. Jonathan Massey's essay "Risk Design", perceives architecture as a mediator and optimizer of risks, using&nbsp;Foster + Partner's fantastically phallic skyliner in London's financial district, known as the "Gherkin", as a case study. Massey turns the Gherkin inside out, mapping details of its design onto local and global concerns such as terrorism and global warming, in an attempt to understand how architecture negotiates risks, and whether it succeeds. That the Gherkin's major tenant, Swiss Re, is a reinsurance company adds no small irony to his study.</p> <p> Archinect is proud to feature Massey's piece in full, in line with our ongoing investigation of architectural accountability. "Risk Design" was originally ...</p>