Comprised of the metropolitan boroughs of Westminster, Shoreditch, Southwark, Bermondsey, Finsbury, Holborn, Bethnal Green, St Marylebone and Stepney, Central London is an area of considerable size. It's essentially a thriving hub for businesses from all over the world and, as a result of this, there is a huge amount of fantastic office space in Central London.
If you get the chance to travel through these areas you'll probably catch a glimpse of 30 St Mary Axe, or the Gherkin as it's informally referred to as. Designed by pioneering British architect, Norman Foster - of Foster and Partners - the Gherkin has gradually become one of the most iconic - as well as spectacular - pieces of office space in Central London.
The Gherkin sits on the former site of the Baltic Exchange's office space in Central London. A historic building, the Baltic Exchange was damaged by a bomb in 1992. Though a number of attempts were made to restore it, it was eventually decided that the building was beyond repair. Its interior and classic fa?ade were dismantled, making way for a new building to be constructed.
However, the Gherkin does feature some design nods to the building that formerly sat in its place. With a shape that resembles the pickled fruit - hence the name - and clad almost entirely with glass, the Gherkin's dome bears a considerable amount of similarity to the dome found on the Baltic Exchange's ground floor.
As well as being uniquely shaped the Gherkin also boasts a number of innovative interior design features. For example, in a bid to reduce the amount of energy needed to power it, the building utilises giant shafts which create a double-glazing effect. Air circulates in these shafts, and they pull the warm air out from the office during the hotter summer months; in the winter the building utilises solar heating.
These shafts also allow sunlight to travel through, meaning that less lighting is needed which can lead to electricity bills being considerably lower - a benefit that many businesses, looking for office space in Central London, like to take into consideration.
Similar energy saving techniques have been incorporated into the design of some of the most recently built pieces of office space in Central London.
Rather unusually - for office space in Central London - the Gherkin features a luxurious bar, open exclusively to office tenants and their guests, on its top floor. Those lucky enough to work at this fine office space in Central London also have the opportunity to visit its restaurant - situated on floor 39.
Allowing tenants - of this fantastic office space in Central London - to impress their clients from the comfort of their own office space, the restaurant and private dining rooms provide stunning views of the London cityscape.
In the period since the Gherkin officially opened its doors - back in 2004 - a number of similarly eye-catching pieces of office space in Central London have been constructed. One of the most talked-about, towering above all pieces of office space in Central London, the Shard provides 1, 200, 000 sq ft of floor space and holds the honour of being Europe's tallest building.
Many businesses, when looking for office space in Central London, focus on innovative design features and spectacular architecture. This article documents just one of the finest examples of office space in the area - the Gherkin.