Heard of smart buildings ,well here is a stupid one..................

[Serpo]

Now the Walkie Talkie building is melting BICYCLES: Dazzling light reflected from giant London skyscraper scorches bike seats (and you can even fry an egg)



Sunlight reflected from skyscraper is causing heat damage below
Several panels of Jaguar XJ had buckled in glare in City of London

Others say their vehicles and bicycles have wilted in beam of light
Business owners say glare has started fires and caused damage


By Mark Duell (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Mark+Duell) and Sam Webb (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Sam+Webb)
PUBLISHED: 11:19 GMT, 3 September 2013 | UPDATED: 22:44 GMT, 3 September 2013


Business owners and motorists today hit out at developers of a new skyscraper which they blame for starting fires and causing damage by reflecting the sun's rays.
The half-finished 37-storey tower in central London has been dubbed the ‘Walkie Scorchie’ due to its distinctive shape and apparent ability to bounce heat from the sun onto buildings in the next street.
Angry business owners in Eastcheap say the £200 million project has blistered paintwork, caused tiles to smash and singe fabric. A motorist has also said the intense heat melted part of his Jaguar.
One shopkeeper said the glare caused his doormat to start smoking and damaged a lemon, another said it blistered paint - and one journalist even managed to fry an egg with the startlingly bright rays.
Scroll down for video


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/03/article-2409710-1B99D1FF000005DC-646_634x421.jpg Unbelievable: An egg is fried in intense sunlight reflected from the Walkie-Talkie building, in Eastcheap in the City of London, where sun light reflected from the building melted part of a Jaguar car







http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/03/article-2409073-1B983EAB000005DC-990_634x428.jpg Further damage: The seat of a bicycle parked near the building was also allegedly singed by the blinding light
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/03/article-2409710-1B9A3F40000005DC-159_634x483.jpg How does it happen? This graphic shows how the concave shape of the skyscraper means a large amount of sunlight is reflected into a small area


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/03/article-2409710-1B993C60000005DC-77_634x423.jpg Scorched: Men stand in the doorway of a barbers shop, which has a burn mark on the carpet in London. It was reported that the carpet was set alight from sunlight reflected by the Walkie Talkie tower
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/03/article-2409710-1B994136000005DC-36_634x423.jpg Even the fruit suffered: A damaged lemon is seen in the window of a barbers shop in the City of London



http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/03/article-2409710-1B99D31D000005DC-729_634x421.jpg Looking up: A general view of the Walkie Talkie building, taken from Eastcheap in the City of London



Developers called the problem with the building at 20 Fenchurch Street ‘a phenomenon’ and said they are ‘looking into the matter as a priority’. Cyclists have also reported scorched bicycle seats.

Ali Akay, of Re Style barber's, said the position of the sun at a certain time of the day caused a searing bolt of sunlight to start a small fire and burn a hole in his company doormat.

He said: ‘We were working and just saw the smoke coming out of the carpet. We tried to cut the fire down, there were customers in at the time and they were obviously not happy.
‘Customers are not going to come in if there is a fire in the front of the door.’




http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/02/article-2409073-1B898673000005DC-114_634x540.jpg Blinding: The phenomenon takes place in the afternoon on bright days in the City of London


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/03/article-2409710-1B9933DD000005DC-69_634x430.jpg Up close: A camera man films broken slates outside a cafe in London. It was reported the tiles had shattered from sunlight reflected by the Walkie Talkie tower
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/03/article-2409710-1B995929000005DC-351_306x423.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/03/article-2409710-1B9957AC000005DC-96_306x423.jpg

[Serpo]

Problems: Tiles melted and a doormat caught fire after being hit by the rays reflected from the Walkie Talkie


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/03/article-2409710-1B9957A4000005DC-365_634x362.jpg Big issue: The singed carpet in the barber's shop in the City of London can be seen here, circled




http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/02/article-2409073-1B89859D000005DC-373_634x360.jpg Due to it's concave design, sunlight is reflected into a very localised point in the early afternoon



Mr Akay, 22, said they had spoken to the managers of 20 Fenchurch Street to find a solution.
'Customers are not going to come in if there is a fire in the front of the door'
Ali Akay, Re Style barber's


He said: ‘It is getting really serious. This is a health and safety issue. They should have looked into this before they built it.’
Colleague Ayca Juma, 29, said: ‘It's the Walkie Scorchie. That's what caused this.’
Next door at the Viet Cafe, Diana Pham, 25, said they had suffered similar problems.



http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/03/article-2409710-1B983CE6000005DC-540_634x426.jpg Cycling past: Sun rays and heat reflected from the Walkie Talkie building caused extreme heat on Eastcheap


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/03/article-2409710-1B968745000005DC-942_634x422.jpg
Bright light: 'Boris Bikes' are lined up on the left of this photograph, taken near the Walkie Talkie building











‘Yesterday it was very hot so there was a concentration of light here,' she said. 'We thought something was burning in the restaurant but it wasn't, we searched everywhere.
'Every bit of plastic on the left hand side and everything on the dashboard has melted, including a bottle of Lucozade that looks like it has been baked'
Eddie Cannon, van driver


‘Then a customer came in and showed us. A tile suddenly broke, the paint has bobbled too. This is a problem...it can be dangerous for people. But I don't know what they (the developers) can do about it.’
Motorists have reported problems, too. Local businessman Martin Lindsay told City A.M. his high-spec Jaguar XJ, parked on Eastcheap on Thursday afternoon, had warped panels along one side.


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/02/article-2409073-1B968845000005DC-314_634x463.jpg
Mystery: The building developers are investigating the bizarre phenomenon





http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/02/article-2409073-1B968779000005DC-0_634x381.jpg 'Burning plastic smell': The car was said to have been in the ray for just an hour but the panels were buckled

The wing mirror and badge had also melted from the heat of the reflection, he claimed.
'The phenomenon is caused by the current elevation of the sun in the sky'
Land Securities and Canary Wharf


Van driver Eddie Cannon, a heating and air conditioning engineer, told the newspaper: ‘The van looks a total mess.
'Every bit of plastic on the left hand side and everything on the dashboard has melted, including a bottle of Lucozade that looks like it has been baked.’
A joint statement from developers Land Securities and Canary Wharf said: ‘The phenomenon is caused by the current elevation of the sun in the sky.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/03/article-0-1B983F19000005DC-412_306x463.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/03/article-0-1B984119000005DC-42_306x463.jpg

Burning: A bicycle seat (left) was left with what appeared to be a hole caused by glare from the Walkie Talkie



http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/03/article-2409710-1B984129000005DC-551_634x426.jpg Unusual scene: City workers walking on Eastcheap feel the heat from the Walkie Talkie building















‘It currently lasts for approximately two hours per day, with initial modelling suggesting that it will be present for approximately two-to-three weeks.
‘As responsible developers we are making every effort to keep local businesses informed and we have communicated with them regularly since the issue first appeared.
‘While we investigate the situation further we have liaised with the City of London to suspend three parking bays in the area which may be affected.
‘In addition, we are consulting with local businesses and the City to address the issue in the short-term, while also evaluating longer-term solutions to ensure the issue cannot recur in future.’
Heat from Walkie Talkie building melts local businesses
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/03/video-undefined-1B99F41B000005DC-979_290x163.jpg


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2409710/Walkie-Talkie-building-melting-bicycles-Light-reflected-construction-City-skyscraper-scorches-seat.html

[brosil]

Nothing new other than stupid architects. The same problem occurred with that weird opera house in Kali. Was it San Francisco?

[Neuro]

It is very easy to resolve this change the windows reflective coating to a black sunscreen in the top part of the building. However London is mostly overcast and rainy, so this may only be a problem every 20 years or so...

[midnight rambler]

Nothing new other than stupid architects. The same problem occurred with that weird opera house in Kali. Was it San Francisco?

Oh no. Architects are very smart! All of 'em! They are so much smarter than the rest of us.

[madfranks]

Nothing new other than stupid architects. The same problem occurred with that weird opera house in Kali. Was it San Francisco?

Sadly, most modern architects are not required to take responsibility for the buildings they design, because the state has taken over as the final overseer who approves everything. The modern architect has relegated their responsibility to the state, the result of the state taking over and over-regulating the profession, instead of letting the profession self-regulate. A hundred years ago back into antiquity, architects were responsible for their buildings, hell back in the Roman days the architect was required to stand under the stone arches they designed as the wood formwork was removed, and if that stone arch failed, the architect would be crushed under it. Nowadays most architects do two primary things: conform their buildings to state enforced regulations (building codes) and then point the finger at the state when something goes wrong ("well why did they approve the drawings if something was wrong?").

As most of you probably know, I am an architect, and I do my best to fight this trend in my industry. In fact, in most of my contracts I purposefully remove some of the "protections" the state affords me in order to prove to my clients that I am taking responsibility for the design of my buildings.

[midnight rambler]

As most of you probably know, I am an architect, and I do my best to fight this trend in my industry. In fact, in most of my contracts I purposefully remove some of the "protections" the state affords me in order to prove to my clients that I am taking responsibility for the design of my buildings.

Well that's good that you take responsibility for your actions. In my experience the stupid shit architects (and wannabe architects aka as general contractors) come up with are both headaches and opportunities for me (division 7) so I find their stupid shit to be a mixed blessing. It boggles my mind that so many architects lack any practical knowledge/expertise at all with respect to division 7 stuff - it's as if they've never been in the field* to see the results of their 'work'.

*I'm absolutely certain that in most cases this is true, they've never been on one of their completed projects after it's been completed for more than a couple of years.

[madfranks]

Well that's good that you take responsibility for your actions. In my experience the stupid shit architects (and wannabe architects aka as general contractors) come up with are both headaches and opportunities for me (division 7) so I find their stupid shit to be a mixed blessing. It boggles my mind that so many architects lack any practical knowledge/expertise at all with respect to division 7 stuff - it's as if they've never been in the field* to see the results of their 'work'.

*I'm absolutely certain that in most cases this is true, they've never been on one of their completed projects after it's been completed for more than a couple of years.

The problem is that thermal and moisture protection can be legally addressed by the architect simply by quoting the relevant section of the code and writing in the drawings or specs, "contractor to ensure compliance with...". But it goes both ways too, many of the laborers I see in the field do not know how to appropriately construct a building envelope. Reverse laps of the WRB, sealing the flashing, non-compliant clearance to grade/hard surfaces, no weeps, etc. 9 times out of 10 the stucco guys don't even know how to properly install a stucco control joint. I see it all the time, even after I've drawn a detail showing the correct conditions and seeing it incorrect on site, showing the GC and Owner, and they still don't take care of it. If you notice, that's why I said in my previous post that I take responsibility for the design of my buildings. I can't guarantee the performance when it's built wrong.

[gunDriller]

whoever designed this was using software that allows you to figure out simple things like light reflection.

i would like to see how the architects responsible advertise their involvement in this building.

"i worked on the structure, but i didn't work on the windows"
"i was a project manager, we have a technical guy for outdoor appearance issues"
etc.

i would like to hear them tell the truth -
"i totally fucked up."

[Horn]

that's why I said in my previous post that I take responsibility for the design of my buildings. I can't guarantee the performance when it's built wrong.

The state's involvement is a mixed blessing. Here the Architect is responsible for Inspection approval, but as you can imagine if working hand under hand with contractor things will get "overlooked"... most of the time ends up in as cheap as possible.

The case in this thread is just stupid design concept, nothing more you can do with that once it past.

[General of Darkness]

Someone gives you lemons, you should make lemonade.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7152/6731040919_08b83c2efa_o.jpg