---
title: "Signature The Gherkin"
description: "Long before it took the shape most Londoners now sketch without thinking, 30 St Mary Axe was the site of the Baltic Exchange, the historic trading hall at the centre of the City's shipping and grain markets, badly damaged by an IRA bomb in April 1992. The plot sat empty for years afterwards until…"
canonical: "https://coworkingview.com/en/workspace/signature-the-gherkin-london"
---

# Signature The Gherkin

Long before it took the shape most Londoners now sketch without thinking, 30 St Mary Axe was the site of the Baltic Exchange, the historic trading hall at the centre of the City's shipping and grain markets, badly damaged by an IRA bomb in April 1992. The plot sat empty for years afterwards until Foster + Partners designed the tower that replaced it: a 180-metre diagrid structure, topped out in 2003 and opened the following year, built originally for the reinsurer Swiss Re and known almost from day one by its nickname rather than its address. The tapering, lens-shaped profile and diamond-patterned glazing made it one of the first towers in the Square Mile to become a genuine landmark rather than just another office block, and more than two decades on it still reads on the skyline before most things built since.

Signature occupies the 28th and 29th floors, near the top of the tower's office space, above the trading floors and street-level retail that fill the lower levels. At this height the building's curve is at its most pronounced, narrowing visibly as it climbs toward the crown, and the outlook runs across the Square Mile toward Tower Bridge, the river and the newer towers rising around Bishopsgate. Working from here says something before a single meeting starts: a company has chosen to sit inside one of the most photographed buildings in Britain rather than merely near it.

The streets around St Mary Axe are the City of London in its purest form, the financial and legal district that gives the capital its business reputation, spread across the EC postcodes between Tower 42 on Old Broad Street, 100 Bishopsgate and the older newspaper ground of Fleet Street further west. Liverpool Street, Bank, Monument and Fenchurch Street stations all sit inside the Square Mile, between them covering the Central, Circle, District, Northern, Hammersmith & City and Elizabeth lines plus National Rail, so a desk at 30 St Mary Axe is rarely more than a short walk from two or three of them. Parking is scarce and expensive by design: most of the district sits inside the Congestion Charge and ULEZ zones, and its narrow historic streets were never laid out for cars, so nearly everyone here arrives by Tube or rail, which suits a neighbourhood of banks, insurers and law firms who value proximity to the Bank of England far more than anywhere to park.

Security and access are built into the building rather than bolted on: surveillance cameras cover the common areas around the clock and the tower is wheelchair accessible, both standard expectations for a building of this profile. The floor itself is fitted for a full working day rather than a photo opportunity — a staffed reception, round-the-clock access control and air conditioning, ergonomic desks and chairs, monitors, a printer and scanner, whiteboards for the kind of thinking that needs a wall, and a kitchenette stocked with complimentary coffee, tea and purified water. A landline, business-grade Wi-Fi, mail handling and basic office supplies cover what's left of the practical side, so the address works as hard as it looks.

Outside, a working day expands naturally rather than needing to be planned around it: centuries of finance have left the district thick with restaurants, bars and small gardens tucked between towers, alongside guildhalls, livery halls and medieval churches that make walking between meetings in the City feel different from walking between meetings almost anywhere else in London. Renting on the 28th floor of 30 St Mary Axe costs more than most of the City's workaday addresses, and that premium is deliberate — this is one of the buildings photographs of London default to, and a lease here buys into that recognition as much as the square footage. A private office at Signature The Gherkin starts from £619 per month, on floors that put a company's name inside one of the most recognisable towers on the skyline, at the centre of the Square Mile it has helped define since the early 2000s.

- **Location:** London — City of London
- **Address:** 30 St Mary's Axe,28th and 29th Floors, EC3A 8BF London
- **Operator:** Signature
- **Amenities:** Whiteboards, Reception, Purified Water, 24/7 Access, Ergonomic Chairs, Landline phone, AC / Heating, High-speed WiFi, Office Supplies, External Monitors, Ergonomic Desks, Wheelchair Accessible, Printer / Scanner, Natural Light, Access Control, Surveillance Cameras, Mail Service, Abundant Power Outlets, Free Coffee & Tea, Kitchenette

## Pricing

- Private Office at Signature The Gherkin (Private Office): £619/month

## Nearby transport

- Old Broad Street (bus, 4 min walk)
- Threadneedle Street (bus, 5 min walk)
- Fenchurch Street (bus, 5 min walk)
- Bank Station / Cornhill (bus, 7 min walk)
- Gracechurch Street / Monument Station (bus, 7 min walk)

Source: https://coworkingview.com/en/workspace/signature-the-gherkin-london