All I can say is then they're a bit thick to make the same mistake twice!
I'm not sure whether in Vegas it wasn't deliberate. The reflected light heats a pool of water in front of the building, but I don't know whether that was in the initial design or added later to deal with the problem.
I don't think the architects could have predicted this. I definitely wouldn't have even thought this would be possible!
Well you might not have but the architects should've - it's basic GCSE Physics. Concave mirrors (and convex lenses) focus light to a point.
The architects were interviewed on Radio 4 and claimed to have been well aware. They said they'd run computer models and there hadn't been a problem. They're now investigating why their models didn't pick it up and were suggesting it may have been down to the tolerances of materials used. Embarrassing for them.
"I'm sitting there in the chair and all of the sudden my hair and the top of my head are burning," reported a lawyer visiting Vinoly's Las Vegas hotel in 2010. "I'm rubbing my head and it felt like a chemical burn. I couldn't imagine what it could be."
Ironically, Vinoly's design team had anticipated the problem—and during construction, the windows were covered in a light-absorbing solution that would theoretically allay the potential reflections. Yet it wasn't enough—the glare reportedly raised the temperature more than 20 degrees on intense days. Eventually, the hotel was forced to put up a sail-like shade over the scorched remains of the pool.
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Vdara Hotel, 2010.
"I'm sitting there in the chair and all of the sudden my hair and the top of my head are burning," reported a lawyer visiting Vinoly's Las Vegas hotel in 2010. "I'm rubbing my head and it felt like a chemical burn. I couldn't imagine what it could be."
Ironically, Vinoly's design team had anticipated the problem—and during construction, the windows were covered in a light-absorbing solution that would theoretically allay the potential reflections. Yet it wasn't enough—the glare reportedly raised the temperature more than 20 degrees on intense days. Eventually, the hotel was forced to put up a sail-like shade over the scorched remains of the pool.