Death ray buildings: When reflective materials create dangerous solar glare

[Leroy N. Soetoro]

http://www.unitedrentals.com/projectuptime/safety/death-ray-buildings-
when-reflective-materials-create-dangerous-solar-
glare?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=content-
distribution&utm_content=death-ray&utm_campaign=project-uptime-launch

Imagine sitting by a swimming pool in Las Vegas, lounging in the sun, and
noticing that your hair is smoking. That actually happened to a guest at
the city's Vdara Hotel, a so-called 'death ray' building for the way its
reflective surface concentrates and reflects solar glare. Some guests have
even complained that their plastic drink cups and shopping bags have
melted.

Meanwhile, in London, glare from a 37-story office block now nicknamed the
'fryscraper' and the 'taser tower' is so intense, it's scorching
upholstery, blistering paint and providing enough heat to literally roast
hogs and fry eggs on the sidewalk.In fact, 20 Fenchurch Street is so
reflective, it melted the wing mirror, panels and a badge on a Jaguar
parked nearby. The building's developers had to foot the nearly $1500 bill
for the car's repairs.

Curved, reflective surfaces can focus the sun's rays into beams that are
concentrated enough to start fires. Flat windows along the curve act as
mirrors, converging at one point to focus and concentrate the light. The
temperature at these focal points can reach an astonishing 6,330 degrees
Fahrenheit.

Making repairs after the fact to fix the problem isn't always simple, or
cheap. Some of the panels on Frank Gehry's stainless steel Walt Disney
Concert Hall in Los Angeles had to be sanded down to lessen the danger of
glare blinding nearby drivers, and the owners of the Vdara had to modify
the exterior of the hotel with anti-reflective film. 20 Fenchurch will get
horizontal aluminum louvres between the 3rd and 34th floors to neutralize
the effect.

What can architects and builders learn from these examples? Be careful
where you cut costs, for one thing. The original design of 20 Fenchurch
featured narrow horizontal balconies that were intended to act as
sunscreens, but were eliminated to trim the budget. Taking basic
precautions like this to prevent potential solar reflectivity on a curved
building can keep your goose from getting cooked, so to speak.



--
Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $18 trillion in the six
years he has been in office.

The only American president to deliberately import a lethal infectious
disease from Africa, Ebola.

Barack Obama, reelected by the dumbest voters in the history of the United
States of America.

Loretta Fuddy, killed after she "verified" Obama's phony birth
certificate.

Nancy Pelosi, Democrat criminal, accessory before and after the fact to
improper vetting of Barry Soetoro aka Barack Hussein Obama, a confirmed
felon using SSAN 042-68-4425, belonging to a dead man.

Obama ignored the brutal killing of an American diplomat in Benghazi, then
relieved American military officers who attempted to prevent said murder
in order to cover up his own ineptitude.

--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ne...@netfront.net ---