They have been blamed for casting a shadow over urban areas and occasionally creating a 'death ray-style ' beam of sunlight capable of melting cars on the street . So architects have now designed skyscrapers which do n't block out the light by diffusing it onto a wide area in a bid to tackle the problem of shade encroaching on public space in London . The revolutionary 'No Shadow ' design is the brainchild of architects NBBJ , who used a computer program to design two buildings , which work together to disperse and refract sunlight . They are designed so that when one building creates shade , the other can act as a huge curved mirror , allowing the light to be reflected downwards into its shadow . Architects have designed skyscrapers which do n't block out the light by diffusing it onto a wide area . The theoretical development has been touted for construction at the Greenwich Peninsula , close to the O2 Arena , but similar buildings could be constructed in cities all over the world . Christian Coop , NBBJ 's design director , said : 'The relationship between the sun and shadow is the relationship between the two buildings . He said the project is about 'improving the quality of our urban environment ... finding a way in which we can have the tall buildings we need without losing natural light on the areas below ' . Mr Coop hopes that architects will use this type of modelling to see how their designs will affect the light levels around their buildings . The revolutionary 'No Shadow ' design is the brainchild of architects NBBJ , who used a computer program to design two building . The theoretical development has been touted for construction at the Greenwich Peninsula , close to the O2 Arena . He said the method could also be adapted to control how much sunlight is reflected at different times of year . It is hoped that the design would avoid a repeat of London 's disastrous 'Walkie Talkie ' dubbed the 'Walkie Scorchie ' which directed fierce beams of sunlight capable of melting cars on the street . Peter Murray , head of the New London Architecture ( NLA ) forum , said the 'No Shadow ' design was a 'perfectly feasible ' theory . He added that one of the problems people have with skyscrapers is the long shadows they cast : 'If you can reduce that , that must be a good thing . ' They are designed so that when one building creates shade , the other can act as a huge curved mirror , allowing the light to be reflected downwards into its shadow . Planning permission has been approved or is pending approval for 236 new high-rise buildings in central London , pictured is the Gherkin , The Cheesegrater and The Walkie Talkie . Dr Philip Oldfield , an expert in tall buildings at the University of Nottingham 's Department of Architecture , said : 'What 's great about the project is the focus on tall-building form and shape , not only to look dramatic , but to contribute to creating a comfortable space at ground level . ' Planning permission has been approved or is pending approval for 236 new high-rise buildings in central London . Described by the NLA as a 'veritable tsunami of towers ' , most will be apartment blocks rising from a minimum of 20 storeys to the current permitted maximum of 75 . Sydney 's One Central Park has moveable mirrors that reflect light onto shaded areas below or block the sun during the hot summer . It is hoped that the design would avoid a repeat of London 's disastrous 'Walkie Talkie ' which directed fierce beams of sunlight capable of melting cars on the street . The 'Walkie Talkie ' was dubbed the 'Walkie Scorchie ' after reflected light caused damage to cars and other buildings .
Architects NBBJ have designed skyscrapers which do n't cast a shadow . Firm is trying to tackle problem of shade encroaching on public space . They used computer program to design 236 buildings which disperse light . Theoretical skyscrapers touted for construction in Greenwich , London .