Printed film could provide a straightforward solution for the developers of a London skyscraper that has inadvertently created what has been dubbed a ‘solar death ray’.
You will remember in the news about a skyscraper that has been damaging parked cars with the beams of sunlight reflecting from it’s windows a while back. The 37-storey building at 20 Fenchurch Street, in the City of London, hit the headlines after it emerged that a car had been badly damaged by the concentrated beam created as the sun reflects off its curved surface. Business owners in the area have also reported damage to their properties and even small fires. Developers Land Securities and Canary Wharf are proposing to erect a scaffolding screen at street level as a quick fix, however, printing industry experts have suggested a print-based option would be the ideal long-term solution for the problem. “By using a Contra Vision product people inside would still be able to see out. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be an advert, even if you just printed it grey it would work – it could be a printed colour or texture.” “This could have been avoided by using Contra Vision in the first place. Because Contra Vision is made with ink, the reflection is diffused – it’s multi-directional. “It’s going to depend on the specific nature of the problem, and will require careful appraisal of the angles involved to find the right long-term solution,” The skyscraper had been nicknamed the ‘Walkie-Talkie’ because of its shape and has now been dubbed the ‘Walkie-Scorchie’ instead.
Source: printweek.com
