City skyscraper reflected light and melted the bodywork and mirror of a car.
The Walkie Talkie melted my Jag! Light reflected from under-construction City skyscraper buckles bodywork and mirror of businessman’s car
- Sunlight reflected from skyscraper is causing heat damage to cars beneath
- Several panels of a Jaguar XJ had buckled in the glare
- Other drivers say their vehicles have wilted in the beam of light
A £200 million skyscraper has had an undeniably dazzling effect on passers-by – but not, unfortunately, the one intended by its architect.
20 Fenchurch Street, better known as the Walkie Talkie due to its distinctive shape, is reflecting blinding rays of light onto the street below, damaging the panels and wing mirror of a Jaguar XJ.
The car belongs to Martin Lindsay, the director of a tiling company, who parked his Jaguar in central London’s Eastcheap on Thursday afternoon.
Blinding: Martin Lindsay with his Jaguar XJ, which was damaged by bright light reflected down from the Walkie Talkie skyscraper to the street
Melted: The wing mirror after it was warped by the extreme heat
He said he is amazed such a thing could happen.
‘They’re going to have to think of something. I’m gutted. How can they let this continue?’ he told City A.M.
The car was in the ray for just an hour but the panels were buckled and there was reportedly a smell of burning plastic.
The building’s unusual shape is reflecting ultra bright light onto Eastcheap and unlucky drivers are finding the beam is causing serious damage to their vehicles
Mystery: The building developers are investigating the bizarre phenomenon
The car was in the ray for just an hour but the panels were buckled and there was reportedly a smell of burning plastic
Other owners whose vehicles have been damaged by the unusual phenomenon, believed to be caused by the building’s concave design, have also come forward.
Eddie Cannon, a heating and air conditioning engineer, said his Vauxhall Vevaro suffered a similar fate the day before.
He said: ‘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.’