3 ms·

Surprisingly interesting and really well presented --- the animations are inspired. Personally, I love big, ugly skyscrapers (I've been trying to get myself on

Surprisingly interesting and really well presented --- the animations are inspired. Personally, I love big, ugly skyscrapers (I've been trying to get myself onto a tour of the Gherkin for Open Doors Day for years). I do agree with the decision to limit them to one particular district, though. London's got a lot of fantastic buildings which don't want to be overwhelmed, and besides, skyscrapers look best from a distance. (I didn't know that views of St. Pauls are protected by law! And I'm embarrassed to say that I never even knew about the Great Fire of London memorial...)

mattmanser 11y ago
A few annoyances though, if you click play on the audio clip and scroll down, the audio clip stops. Because obviously you can't read and listen at the same time, as any wife knows. But these interactive stories are definitely getting better.
- david-given 11y ago
  I didn't have my speakers on, so I wasn't aware there were any! (And, TBH, I rather like the idea of the bandwidth heavy video player automatically turning off when it becomes invisible.)
  - rocky1138 11y ago
    The video pausing doesn't always mean that it's stopped downloading.
jeffwass 11y ago
You should take a look at King Henry's Mound in Richmond Park, which is maybe 10 miles away from St Pauls cathedral, but with a protected view. You can clearly see the dome through carefully designed passages of trees and lack of building obstructions all the way to central London. Pretty cool to see.
mstade 11y ago
You haven't missed much. The Gherkin is as deprived of a soul as the other towers in the city; and the bar at the top is just a place to bring clients so they can say "I've been to the top of the Gherkin." It's just a really sad place, and I don't miss working there. (If you have to go though, I can recommend Association – a coffee shop around the corner which is really nice. Despite all the cheap suits.)
- david-given 11y ago
  I'm not surprised. There's a strange talent in modern architecture for buildings which on the outside are these amazing, breathtaking shapes, and then to completely waste those shapes when designing the interior. Case in point: the Millennium Dome. This awe-inspiringly huge enclosed space... which was then partitioned up so that visitors couldn't see it.
  - mstade 11y ago
    Well, no one cares what goes on inside the building I suppose. Most people – even clients – never enter them anyway. The most impressive office I've ever seen was an office in Chicago. Non-descript building, really couldn't point it out in a line up, but the interior was just amazing. Not the Google Disneyland oh-look-there's-cotton-candy kind of amazing; i.e. not so much novelty as it was just.. Classy I guess.

mattmanser 11y ago

A few annoyances though, if you click play on the audio clip and scroll down, the audio clip stops. Because obviously you can't read and listen at the same time, as any wife knows. But these interactive stories are definitely getting better.

david-given 11y ago
I didn't have my speakers on, so I wasn't aware there were any! (And, TBH, I rather like the idea of the bandwidth heavy video player automatically turning off when it becomes invisible.)
- rocky1138 11y ago
  The video pausing doesn't always mean that it's stopped downloading.

jeffwass 11y ago

You should take a look at King Henry's Mound in Richmond Park, which is maybe 10 miles away from St Pauls cathedral, but with a protected view. You can clearly see the dome through carefully designed passages of trees and lack of building obstructions all the way to central London. Pretty cool to see.

mstade 11y ago

You haven't missed much. The Gherkin is as deprived of a soul as the other towers in the city; and the bar at the top is just a place to bring clients so they can say "I've been to the top of the Gherkin." It's just a really sad place, and I don't miss working there. (If you have to go though, I can recommend Association – a coffee shop around the corner which is really nice. Despite all the cheap suits.)

david-given 11y ago
I'm not surprised. There's a strange talent in modern architecture for buildings which on the outside are these amazing, breathtaking shapes, and then to completely waste those shapes when designing the interior. Case in point: the Millennium Dome. This awe-inspiringly huge enclosed space... which was then partitioned up so that visitors couldn't see it.
- mstade 11y ago
  Well, no one cares what goes on inside the building I suppose. Most people – even clients – never enter them anyway. The most impressive office I've ever seen was an office in Chicago. Non-descript building, really couldn't point it out in a line up, but the interior was just amazing. Not the Google Disneyland oh-look-there's-cotton-candy kind of amazing; i.e. not so much novelty as it was just.. Classy I guess.