documentary

Building the Gherkin

Can a single building impact the career of an architect, the image of a global company and even the skyline of a big city?

www.buildingthegherkin.com

Synopsis

Can a single building impact the career of an architect, the image of a global company and even the skyline of a big city?

Just a month and a day after the disastrous attack on the World Trade Center in New York, the first steel beam of a new tower is erected in London. One question is on everybody’s mind: is it the right decision to build a new iconic tower in the midst of London’s financial district, on a site that has already been bombed before?

The 40-storey steel and glass tower sparks further controversy. Norman Foster, one of Britain’s most visionary architects, calls his design for the new Swiss Re London headquarters ‘radial – socially, technically, architecturally and spatially’. In fact, its size and shape are so radical that it is almost immediately nicknamed ‘the erotic gherkin’.

Will the Gherkin become the landmark they all dream of?

Crew

Mirjam von Arx

Director and Executive Producer
Mirjam von Arx

After studying at the Ringier School of Journalism, von Arx worked for 18 years as an editor and freelancer for a number of German language magazines. In 1991, she moved to New York and together with Polo Hofer produced the road movie BLUESIANA. In addition to regular contributions to Swiss television, von Arx produced two documentaries for SF and Sat1. In 2001, she moved to London and started filming the documentary BUILDING THE GHERKIN. In 2002, she started her own production company ican films gmbh. In 2003, her first documentary ABXANG was theatrically released. In 2005, BUILDING THE GHERKIN (CH, DE, UK) followed. In 2006/7 she produced Thomas Haemmerli’s documentary SEVEN DUMPSTERS AND A CORPSE, with a theatrical release in 2007. The film won the Zurich Film Award 2007 and was nominated for a Swiss Film Award in 2008. Her documentary SEED WARRIORS was theatrically released during autumn 2010. VIRGIN TALES opened theatrically in June 2012 and amongst others, won the Zurich Film Award 2012. Von Arx latest feature documentary I’M ALIVE is currently being edited and will be completed in 2014.

Janet Mccaig Taylor

Editor

Trained in the BBC, Janet Mccaig Taylor became a Chief Picture Editor in News and Current Affairs, working mainly on weekly programmes. She left in 1993 to edit a wider range of documentaries. Since then she has been working with many dedicated film makers and has edited documentaries in the USA, Switzerland and Turkey.

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