"Death Ray" skyscraper is wreaking havoc on London for a few totally insane reasons

A giant in London is meltingcars, frying bike seats, and scorching sidewalks.But it's not Godzilla.It's a "Walkie Talkie"the nickname for the 38-story skyscraper on Fenchurch Streetincentral London.The glare reflected from theglass-fronted building was so strong that peoplechanged its name to "death ray" skyscraper.Now, the $300-million-dollar structureis once again wreaking havoc on the nearby street.The gusts of wind at the base of the building are so powerfulthat they areblowing people over and toppling signs off the nearby buildings."I almost got blown over the other day walking up past the building, when I got around the corner it was fine. I was scared to go back!" a sales assistant at a nearby store told The Capitalist."The wind is so strong on this side of the street we usually have to keep the doors closed so stop the clothes getting blown about, said another.It's called the down-draught effect. When the wind hits atall building, it has nowhere else to go and so it ispushedup, down andaround the sides. But the air that is pushed downwardscreates a sort of wind tunnelat the base of the building. The result: increased wind speed down the street below.The Walkie-Talkie, which opened last year, has690,000 squarefeet of office spaceanda rooftop garden. The glass building expands at the top, which makes it look like a concave mirroror, well, a giant magnifying glass. Soon after construction began in 2011, people complained that the "death ray"building was settingpavements, vehicles, and doormatsalight. Last year, the developers fitted the Walkie-Talkie with a sunshade to cool things down. After the sunshine came the wind. Thedown-draughts that wererecentlyreported near the building came as a surprise to developersnone of that was predicted before the bricks were laid.Skyscraper designs are always tested outin wind tunnels to preventany damage to structures. However, architects are now focusing their attention onthepotential impact of winds onpeople on the nearby streets, according to an expert quoted in the BBC.Even as more and morehigh-risesenhance our skylines every day, maybe developers need to start taking a worm's-eye-view to keep people from getting fried on the sidewalk.Join the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Lexus reveals another teaser video that claims to show a working hoverboard
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