'Walkie-Talkie' skyscraper melts Jaguar car parts

[EC]

A new London skyscraper dubbed the "Walkie-Talkie" has been blamed for reflecting light which melted parts of a car parked on a nearby street.

Martin Lindsay parked his Jaguar on Eastcheap, in the City of London, on Thursday afternoon.

When he returned about two hours later, he found parts of his car - including the wing mirror and badge - had melted.

Mr Lindsay said he "could not believe" the damage. The developers have apologised and paid for repairs.

The 37-storey skyscraper at 20 Fenchurch Street, which has been nicknamed the "Walkie-Talkie" because of its shape, is currently under construction.

Read more plus video report: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23930675

[Chieftain]

Not the first time this has happened with highly reflective building materials.  Seems like a basic but significant engineering error to me.....

 

[EC]

I can recall the building that causes multiple car crashes by blinding drivers, and the hotel that cooks anyone sitting by the pool as two other examples.

Architects like curves and they love glass. Shame they don't have to take a basic course in optics! Still, it's an impressive testament to the power of the sun - 93 million miles away and some idiot can use it to make spot temperatures of several hundred degrees by carelessly placing some glass.

[Oceander]

I can recall the building that causes multiple car crashes by blinding drivers, and the hotel that cooks anyone sitting by the pool as two other examples.

Architects like curves and they love glass. Shame they don't have to take a basic course in optics! Still, it's an impressive testament to the power of the sun - 93 million miles away and some idiot can use it to make spot temperatures of several hundred degrees by carelessly placing some glass.

there are a lot of things architects should be taught that they often aren't.