What exactly is the Walkie Talkie Tower

I’m happy you asked. 20 Fenchurch Street, affectionately known as the ‘Walkie Talkie Tower’ and less affectionately identified as the ‘Walkie Scorchie’ (yeah, that’s a reputation that’s never catching on), is a commercial skyscraper in central London. It’s presently under development and isn’t expected to be done until next year. When all is said and done, it’ll have cost some £200 Million to build.

 

The structure gets its nickname because it’s considered to resemble a walkie talkie (while, to be truthful, I can not see it myself). It is too known as the pint, a thing that was far more fitting.

 

When done, the construction will stand at 160m in height and also have 37 storeys. The ‘Walkie Talkie Tower’ was built by Rafael Viñoly (the guy who designed the Tokyo International Forum, Carrasco International Airport and the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, just in case you wondered) but will feature a garden on the roof that will be open to the public.

 

The tower has been the subject of some controversies since the project’s inception. Initially, it was designed as being 200 m high, but this was scaled back amid worries that it’d block out views of local landmarks Saint Paul’s Cathedral plus the Tower of London. Heritage communities complained further and there is a public inquest (which unsurprisingly found in favour of the guys with £200Million burning a hole in their back pockets). The building work has suffered some delays (as it had been initially expected to be complete by 2011), but is now thought being on schedule.

 

The tower made further headlines this year after motorists complained that it was acting much like the large magnifying glass and ‘melting’ their vehicles. Actually, the companies responsible of the building’s development in fact paid out £1000 in compensation to a Mr. Lindsay, when his vehicle was severely damaged. Joint developers Land Securities and Canary Whorf Group issued this announcement in light of those actions, and Canary Whorf Group issued this statement in light of the events, “As a gesture of goodwill, we have offered to meet the repair costs of his car. As responsible developers we take the issue seriously and are open to discussions with any individual or business that may have been adversely affected on a case by case basis.” That was nice of them.

 

That was nice of them.

 

Soon after nearby car parks were closed until later in the year, when the sun’s rays is less intense.

 

Curiously, another structure of Rafael Viñoly’s, the Vdara Hotel in Las Vegas, also suffers from a sunlight reflection problem, being nicknamed the ‘Vdara Death Ray’ by locals…

 

Also, I actually just read that a number of motorists are referring to the tower as the ‘Fryscraper’. Now that is a reputation that may catch on.

What exactly is the Walkie Talkie Tower