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John Reynolds LRPS | all galleries >> England >> London > 20 Fenchurch Street, November 2013
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08-NOV-2013 John Reynolds

20 Fenchurch Street, November 2013

South Thames Path opposite the City of London

The tower at 20 Fenchurch Street (nick-named the Walkie-Talkie) dominates the skyline when looking towards the City from the Thames due to its distinctive shape and with it being a little away from the rest of the cluster of City towers. In the summer of 2013 the concave shape of the tower's south aspect along with the extent of glass caused it to act as a parabolic mirror, directing the sun's rays onto nearby streets, and, in one case causing the front wing of a Jaguar car to melt and deform. The black sheeting visible on the tower is presumably an attempt to stop this happening before a more elegant solution is found. As well as being known as the "Walkie-Talkie", the mirror effect means it is also now known as the "Fryscraper".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_Fenchurch_Street
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23930675

Canon Powershot G12 ,Photomatix 4.2 HDR image
1/80s f/5.0 at 15.7mm iso80 full exif

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Tom LeRoy10-Nov-2013 09:41
Fascinating commentary on this amazing structure. Great view and shot, John. V
woody3410-Nov-2013 00:04
It is an amazing building, wow ,melting cars...a great shot,John,...V
Martin Lamoon09-Nov-2013 19:38
Quite an unusually shaped building. v
Colin Storey09-Nov-2013 19:01
Fantastic image of this impressive building. v
Helen Betts09-Nov-2013 16:24
Excellent documentary capture of the temporary solution to the frying problem. Fascinating information as well.
joseantonio09-Nov-2013 16:16
Quite un unusual construction. Nice capture from the other side of the river.V.
Walter Otto Koenig09-Nov-2013 14:37
Interesting layered effect in this image with these building in different styles. The convex shape is certainly unusual. "V"
There were similar problems with the Walt Disney Hall in L.A. Its reflections supposedly started fires and affected the vision of pilots landing at LAX.
Zoltán Balogh09-Nov-2013 14:28
Cool capture John, I like it! V
fotabug09-Nov-2013 14:22
Good view! Quite unusual building going up!
Stephanie09-Nov-2013 14:19
What an interesting building (under construction)! Nice juxtaposition image John! V
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