Leon Neal/AFP; Getty Images
A dramatic new skyscraper going up in London's financial district is creating such an intense zone of reflected heat from its concave design that it's reportedly able not only to fry eggs on the pavement below but melt very expensive automobiles. London businessman Martin Lindsay is quoted by the BBC as saying that a side-view mirror and exterior panels of his Jaguar were warped last week after he'd only been parked in the reflected light of the so-called "Walkie Talkie" building for a few hours.
Another witness saw the seats on a row of bicycles parked nearby made so hot by the rays that they began to smoke, reported the International Business Times. And there were other reports of damage to paint, furniture and carpet in nearby businesses from the 37-story tower dubbed the "Walkie Talkie" because of its shape. (The photo above shows the light reflected from the "Walkie Talkie" onto another building and the tower itself is pictured in the gallery below.)
While the developers of the building, the Canary Wharf Group, said in a statement that it's aware of the problem and that it will last "approximately 2 hours per day, with initial modeling suggesting that it will be present for approximately 2-3 weeks," this kind of issue is well known in the world of architecture, especially in the era of curving glass towers. The slideshow below looks as some of the most notable examples of buildings in the past 50 years that have created glaring problems -- or at least been suspected of causing them.
BUILDINGS ACCUSED OF GLARING OVERSIGHTS:
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