Walkie Talkie Building in London Creates ‘Death Ray’ with Reflected Sunlight

A new London skyscraper dubbed the “Walkie-Talkie” due to its distinctive shape, has been blamed for reflecting light and heat from the sun onto buildings in the next street, scorching sidewalk, dazzling passersby and melting cars parked on the street. Business owners and motorists hit out at developers of a new skyscraper for starting fires and causing damage to paintwork, cracking tiles, and smoking a carpet. One journalist even managed to fry an egg on the hotspot. The half-finished 37-storey tower in central London has been thus dubbed the ‘Walkie Scorchie’.

The beam from the concave south side of the building, officially known as 20 Fenchurch Street, was only noticed last week when the sun reached a certain position in the sky. The “Walkie Scorchie” phenomenon apparently lasts for around two hours a day and will come to a natural end in about three weeks’ time as the autumnal sun stays closer to the horizon. Continue reading »