This building has repeatedly melted cars parked underneath it, with the highest recorded temperature around the structure reaching 117 degrees Celsius.
Not only is it known as the 13th tallest building in London, the Walkie Talkie skyscraper has also gained notoriety for its ability to distort vehicles and surrounding buildings.
Located in the heart of London, this building received the highest number of votes in the Carbuncle Cup, earning the title of the most disliked building in the UK and being one of the most criticized buildings globally.
“This is a majority choice; all judges agreed that the win goes to Walkie Talkie. It’s hard to find anyone who actually likes it; of course, there are votes in favor, but they are just a minority,” said Thomas Lane, editor of Building Design magazine.
Constructed in 2009 and completed in 2014, the Walkie Talkie, located at 20 Fenchurch Street, stands 37 stories tall, covers an area of 33,000 square meters, and is clad in glass. According to Building Design magazine, the building was designed by Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly. It is named for its distinctive shape, which resembles a walkie-talkie. The total construction investment for the building reached £200 million (approximately 5.3 trillion VND).
At first glance, many would agree that this building features a very beautiful, unusual, modern, and prominent architectural design. However, it has faced numerous criticisms. The issue lies in the fact that the building is curved on all four sides and covered in glass. As it rises higher, the building bulges out, defying the design principle that the upper portion should taper or have a floor area smaller than the lower levels.
Walkie Talkie is one of the most criticized buildings in the world.
According to architect Eleanor Jolliffe, this design aimed to maximize the number of rooms and space on the upper floors, where rental prices are very high. However, it was only when the glass was installed that the designers realized its shortcomings, which were considered a very simple yet harmful mistake.
The upper part’s expansion with the curved design and surrounding glass turned the building into a parabolic reflector, concentrating sunlight and reflecting it down onto the street. The north and south sides of the building are concave, while the east and west sides are convex. This concentrated heat can reach nearly 100 degrees Celsius, with the highest recorded temperature around the building hitting 117 degrees Celsius at times.
This has had negative impacts on the lives of nearby residents. The concentrated sunlight is powerful enough to not only cause glare for pedestrians but also to burn carpets in front of houses and melt various plastic components in cars parked below. It has also been blamed for warping vehicles parked underneath, causing frustration among drivers.
The surrounding glass turns this building into a powerful sunlight concentrator.
Martin Lindsay, the owner of an expensive Jaguar, received £946 in compensation after parking next to this infamous building. The intense heat distorted the car’s rearview mirror, frame, and manufacturer logo. Moreover, the high temperatures radiating from the glass even burned the doormat of a nearby shop.
In a city once known as “the land of fog,” just a few hours of sunny weather can result in blistering heat around the Walkie Talkie building. A local resident expressed concern: “I feel uncomfortable whenever I stand under this building; I don’t know if it poses a danger to human health because the building always emits strong beams of light.”
Additionally, the excessive brightness can also affect drivers’ visibility, especially in summer when the glare is stronger and the days are longer. Architect Jolliffe describes the Walkie Talkie as a “villain character with a Bond tower” because it can melt your car with a beam of sunlight from the sky.
The heat seems to scorch everything around the Walkie Talkie building.
Another detrimental aspect is that the building has created strong wind tunnels, making movement difficult for residents in nearby streets and blowing away restaurant signs, food carts, and even pedestrians. Chief architect Rafael Vinoly admitted that the project had serious flaws, and he did not expect the building could generate such heat.
To temporarily address this situation, the developer plans to erect a 4-meter-wide, 15-meter-long screen to shield residents and nearby businesses. In the long term, they do not intend to fundamentally alter the structure of the building, but are looking for other solutions such as using a chemical film to cover the glass to diffuse sunlight.
Besides the Walkie Talkie, the list of most disliked structures also includes several other names, such as the 15-story City Gateway building in Southampton (Hampshire, southern England) and the arch connecting Manchester Town Hall and the Central Library.
