rafael vinoly's 20 fenchurch street skyscraper is melting cars

rafael viñoly’s 20 fenchurch street skyscraper is reportedly melting cars
image courtesy rafael viñoly architects

following the latest controversies in international skyscraper news, we bring you another architectural mishap that is raising some heat amongst londoners. uruguayan architect rafael viñoly‘s 160 meter tall skyscraper 20 fenchurch street – otherwise known as the ‘walkie talkie’ – has been reported to be melting cars from extreme sun glare and reflections. martin lindsay, a director of a tiling company, left his jaguar XJ parked for an hour on the opposite side of the building, returning to only find warped body work and a melted side view mirror.

the building, which is currently under construction, incorporates extensive glazing to maximize views on the north and south elevations, which, as a result, is causing extensive damage to vehicles parked beneath and additionally blinding passersby. a similar problem emerged in las vegas three years ago, when the concave façade of a new hotel caused reflections bright enough to melt plastic bags. the FT financial times state that ironically one of the main issues for developers of tall buildings has been a historic twist of english law known as ‘right to light’, which ensures property owners are not cast into shadow by neighboring buildings. naturally, londoners have already given a new nickname to this very bright building, which shall be known from now on as the ‘walkie scorchie’.

a jaguar with extensive damage caused from the sun’s glare

sunlight reflected from the concave windows scorched pedestrians and damaged parked cars
image courtesy CHEST

city workers walk through a beam of intense sunlight reflected from the glass facade
image © leon neal/AFP

the skyscraper is currently under construction and due to complete later this year
image courtesy CHEST

construction detail of the concave facade causing the extreme reflections
image courtesy CHEST