Australian and international cities feature high-rise buildings with fully glazed facades or metal surfaces. There are many reports of glare and sunburns in the proximity of landmark buildings, such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA, the Walkie-Talkie building in London, and the Vdara Hotel in Las Vegas. Literature on the topic documents solar radiation at pedestrian level exceeding 2-3 suns (i.e., more than 3,000 W/m2). However, it was first perceived as a problem limited to a few buildings in the world, resulting from audacious architectural design. Also, ultraviolet radiation (UVR) has not been reported in the literature for these situations.
Here, we show that the issue is widespread in Australian CBDs. With measurements performed in Parramatta, we demonstrate that solar radiation and UVR in front of fully-glazed buildings can be 20-30% more than in open (unobstructed) areas. Measurements were performed with two sets of instruments, one stationary at a reference location in a park (unobstructed) and one performing a transect across the CBD of Parramatta. Each set of instruments was equipped with a total UV radiometer, a solar radiometer and a pyrgeometer (measuring infrared radiation), in addition to a weather station.
Our measurements demonstrate that extreme solar radiation in the built environment is present at some locations and can increase the risk in minutes. This is especially true for for skin cancer survivors, outdoor workers performing prolonged activity in those areas or people who regularly wait for public transport or lunch at those locations.