30 St Mary Axe nearly oblivious to the tower's existence until directly underneath it. The building was constructed by Skanska, completed in December 2003 and opened on 28 April 2004. The primary occupant of the building is Swiss Re, a global reinsurance company, which had the building commissioned as the head office for its UK operation. The tower is thus sometimes known as the Swiss Re Building, although this name has never been official and has more recently fallen out of favour, since the company's main headquarters is in Zurich and the Gherkin name has become more popular. The building uses energy-saving methods which
St Mary the Virgin, Wanstead St Mary the Virgin, Wanstead St Mary the Virgin, Wanstead is a Church of England church in Wanstead, east London. It is located on Overton Drive and now shares its parish with Christ Church, Wanstead. It is the only Grade I listed building in the London Borough of Redbridge The parish is first recorded in 1208, but its medieval church was replaced 70 foot to the north by the present building between 1787 and 1790, on a plot donated from his estate by James Tylney-Long. It was designed by architect Thomas Hardwick. Its foundation stone was laid on 13 July