Lord Foster's Natural Inspiration: The Gherkin Tower

Sir Norman Foster’s Gherkin Tower is a very well known building on its own, but many fail to realize its famous hexagonal skin was inspired by the Venus Flower Basket Sponge. This special sponge hosts a lattice-like exoskeleton that appears glassy and glowing in its underwater environment. The various levels of fibrous lattice work help to disperse stresses on the organism in various directions and its round shape reduce forces due to strong water currents, both of which were applied to Foster’s design of the tower. Here’s a close up of a Venus Flower Basket showing the layered lattices…