'Walkie Scorchie' tower's sun 'death ray' will soon be fixed, say developers

Walkie-Talkie: sun shades will be fitted to the building (Picture: Getty)

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15 May 2014

The heat-ray effect of the City’s Walkie-Talkie skyscraper which melted parts of cars in the City last summer will soon be fixed, the developers of the building said today.

The curved surface of the £500 million building, being developed by Land Securities and Canary Wharf Group, created a ‘solar glare’ effect which focused sunlight and warped the panels of a Jaguar, melting the wing mirrors and badge.

To fix the problem ‘sun shades’ will be fitted to the building under a “brise soleil” system, costing in the “low single digit millions” according to the firm. Planning permission has been granted for the solution and work will begin by the end of May, lasting around six months. The solution has been designed by the original architect Rafael Vinoly along with solar glare experts Loisos + Ubbelohde.

Land Securities said the issues had “drew attention to the building for the wrong reasons, but did nothing to deter lettings”. A host of clients have signed up to take space in the tower, with lettings “well ahead” of expectations. Land Securities insists installation of the brise soleil will not impact the overall cost of the skyscraper, or interfere with its tenants.

May heatwave: in pictures

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The building’s vast Sky Garden, which takes up the top three floors and offer spectacular views of London, has been delayed by engineering issues but plans to open to the public in August.

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'Walkie Scorchie' tower's sun 'death ray' will soon be fixed, say developers

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