London skyscraper melts car

[TarJak]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-03/london-driver-says-skyscraper-reflections-melted-his-car/4932320

Hard to believe that the architect could have been unaware of the effects of a concave mirror focusing the sun on a small area.

[Jimbuna]

There'll be a queue of sunbathers down there today....you see :)

[Tchocky]

The skyscrapers.....are revolting!

[Garion]

I like the bit where they blame the sun for the problem...:o

Cheers

Gary

[Wolferz]

Set up solar panels across the street and harness that energy.:up:
Otherwise, blame it on your plastic car.

[August]

I like the bit where they blame the sun for the problem...:o

Yeah and then say the problem will clear up in a couple weeks. Not mentioning that it would come back twice a year. :doh:

[vienna]

There was (and may still be, for all I know) a similar problem with a landmark building in Los Angeles, the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The hall was designed by Frank Gehry and is clad in a series of sweeping curves of stainless steel. The cladding was originally highly polished, but the surfaces acted like those solar "ovens" one can buy for camping. Buildings nearby, particularly pricey condominiums, were subject to concentrated reflected heat from the hall and resulted in some of the sort of damage done by the London skyscraper. The solution was finally found by using grinders to create a matte finish on some of the sufaces, much to the dismay of architectural purists...


The Disney Concert Hall:


http://www.gothereguide.com/Images/USA/LA/Walt_Disney_Concert_Hall_LA.jpg



<O>

[Oberon]

http://media.desura.com/images/mods/1/15/14391/PrismTower_03.jpg

Soon...

[Penguin]

Architects often show a remarkable disregard for both the people living inside and outside their buildings.:shifty:

I like the bit where they blame the sun for the problem...:o


It's a terrible newspaper anyway. :sunny:

[kraznyi_oktjabr]

... This isn't the first time that a building designed by architect Rafael Vinoly has been the focus of such heated attention. In 2010 there were reports of melted cups, singed hair and other unusual events near the Vdara Hotel in Las Vegas — another Vinoly building. Film added to the building's windows reportedly eased the problem.

Source (http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/09/03/218536265/death-ray-ii-london-building-reportedly-roasts-cars)

Reportedly enterprising journalist used that Walkie Scorchie's death ray to fry an egg.

EDIT: for egg part... Video (http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/video/2013/sep/03/london-walkie-talkie-skyscraper-video) :haha:

[Gargamel]

Focal Point FTW

[TarJak]

It's a terrible newspaper anyway. :sunny:

:haha: Not as bad as The News of the World of course.

[Sailor Steve]

EDIT: for egg part... Video :haha:
I watched that and my first thought was "I didn't see him fry the egg. I only saw him take the egg out of the pan". Then I thought that it would be hard to fool all those people standing around, so it's probably real.

My second thought was "92.6 degrees? That's hot, but not hot enough to..."

Wait...Celsius? :o That's almost 200 degrees Fahrenheit! He's right, they do need to get into the shade!

[Wolferz]

Somewhere an architect is getting his posterior chewed on.:har:

[Aktungbby]

Somewhere an architect is getting his posterior chewed on.:har:
That's 'gluteal mastication' in the wolfpack kama sutra!:arrgh!:

[STEED]

Slow news day in the UK.

[Herr-Berbunch]

Special screens have been erected over shop windows to absorb sunlight reflected by the London skyscraper blamed for melting a car.That's alright then, the affected businesses across the street are now absolutely fine - what business wouldn't want a special screen covering their windows?

Proper checks were carried out during the design and planning process, Mr Bonfield told BBC London 94.9.
"At no stage did the 3D modelling suggest there was going to be an issue with light reflecting and focusing at ground level," he added.
Not proper enough, I'd say, and I really think it's unlikely that a model would've undergone testing for sunny summer days, or any for that matter.

I'm sure if the designer had a kid it would've been spotted, maybe he did but just kept schtum for the laughs. :)


Source - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23957986

[Jimbuna]

EDIT: for egg part... Video (http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/video/2013/sep/03/london-walkie-talkie-skyscraper-video) :haha:

Only ever seen that done abroad (Iran) never in the UK :o

[Armistead]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-03/london-driver-says-skyscraper-reflections-melted-his-car/4932320

Hard to believe that the architect could have been unaware of the effects of a concave mirror focusing the sun on a small area.

Ha, you've never worked with architects have you. Even if they make mistakes, it's the contractors job to find all those mistakes during the bidding and building process. Simply, if it's a problem now, forget blaming the architect or think he'll be the one that has to pay to correct the issue, the contractor will. Course, he'll try to pass the blame and get sub-contractors to correct the issue at their cost.

[TarJak]

Ha, you've never worked with architects have you. Even if they make mistakes, it's the contractors job to find all those mistakes during the bidding and building process. Simply, if it's a problem now, forget blaming the architect or think he'll be the one that has to pay to correct the issue, the contractor will. Course, he'll try to pass the blame and get sub-contractors to correct the issue at their cost.
Ha, yes I have, on several occasions. And yes the engineering contractors should have spotted the obvious. Who pays for the fix? The building tenants of course. I'm just expressing surprise that front the architect on no one looked at it and said "Hey that looks like a solar concentrator."