flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Rafael Viñoly's 'Walkie-Talkie' tower named U.K.'s worst new building

High-rise Construction

Rafael Viñoly's 'Walkie-Talkie' tower named U.K.'s worst new building

The curved, glass tower at 20 Fenchurch Street in London has been known to reflect intense heat onto the streets below (in one instance damaging a car) and cause severe wind gusts. 


By Mike Chamernik, Associate Editor | September 3, 2015
Rafael Viñoly's Walkie-Talkie named U.K.'s worst new building

London's 'Walkie-Talkie.' Photo: Garry Knight/Creative Commons

Other than being an eyesore that alters weather patterns and reflects enough heat to melt nearby luxury cars, London's 'Walkie-Talkie' building has been a roaring success.

A panel of architecture critics at Building Design magazine named the 37-story structure as the U.K.’s worst new building, according to NPR. Instead of being awarded a prestigious Stirling Prize, it was given the 2015 Carbuncle Cup.

Playfully nicknamed because of its slightly rounded, top-heavy shape, the building is officially called 20 Fenchurch Street. Architect Rafael Viñoly designed it, and it was completed last year, costing more than £200 million ($305 million) to construct. 

The Walkie-Talkie is spacious: 680,000 sf and an occupational density of one person per eight square meters.

The design has been criticized for a number of reasons. The building has created wind patterns at street level that have knocked pedestrians around. Due to all the exterior glass and the curved shape, intense amounts of light reflects off 20 Fenchurch Street, which set a carpet on fire and melted a car parked on the street (a shaded structure was later added to negate this). The building has received a few nicknames off its nickname, including Walkie Scorchie and Walkie Windy. Even the building’s rooftop park, the Sky Garden, has been panned.

The Walkie-Talkie “defeated” other worst building entries like a YMCA gym and a parliament house.

Related Stories

| Aug 11, 2010

USGBC honors Brad Pitt's Make It Right New Orleans as the ‘largest and greenest single-family community in the world’

U.S. Green Building Council President, CEO and Founding Chair Rick Fedrizzi today declared that the neighborhood being built by Make It Right New Orleans, the post-Katrina housing initiative launched by actor Brad Pitt, is the “largest and greenest community of single-family homes in the world” at the annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York.

| Aug 11, 2010

AIA report estimates up to 270,000 construction industry jobs could be created if the American Clean Energy Security Act is passed

With the encouragement of Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV), the American Institute of Architects (AIA) conducted a study to determine how many jobs in the design and construction industry could be created if the American Clean Energy Security Act (H.R. 2454; also known as the Waxman-Markey Bill) is enacted.

| Aug 11, 2010

Architect Michael Graves to be inducted into the N.J. Hall of Fame

Architect Michael Graves of Princeton, N.J., being inducted into the N.J. Hall of Fame.

| Aug 11, 2010

Modest rebound in Architecture Billings Index

Following a drop of nearly three points, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) nudged up almost two points in February. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending.

| Aug 11, 2010

Architecture firms NBBJ and Chan Krieger Sieniewicz announce merger

NBBJ, a global architecture and design firm, and Chan Krieger Sieniewicz, internationally-known for urban design and architecture excellence, announced a merger of the two firms.

| Aug 11, 2010

Nation's first set of green building model codes and standards announced

The International Code Council (ICC), the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) announce the launch of the International Green Construction Code (IGCC), representing the merger of two national efforts to develop adoptable and enforceable green building codes.

| Aug 11, 2010

David Rockwell unveils set for upcoming Oscar show

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and 82nd Academy Awards® production designer David Rockwell unveiled the set for the upcoming Oscar show.

| Aug 11, 2010

More construction firms likely to perform stimulus-funded work in 2010 as funding expands beyond transportation programs

Stimulus funded infrastructure projects are saving and creating more direct construction jobs than initially estimated, according to a new analysis of federal data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. The analysis also found that more contractors are likely to perform stimulus funded work this year as work starts on many of the non-transportation projects funded in the initial package.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Urban Planning

Bridging the gap: How early architect involvement can revolutionize a city’s capital improvement plans

Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) typically span three to five years and outline future city projects and their costs. While they set the stage, the design and construction of these projects often extend beyond the CIP window, leading to a disconnect between the initial budget and evolving project scope. This can result in financial shortfalls, forcing cities to cut back on critical project features.



Libraries

Reasons to reinvent the Midcentury academic library

DLR Group's Interior Design Leader Gretchen Holy, Assoc. IIDA, shares the idea that a designer's responsibility to embrace a library’s history, respect its past, and create an environment that will serve student populations for the next 100 years.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021