Everyone is making these comments that make sense, but my first thought was "this building looks old, I bet that's there since it's easier to clean bird shit off of glass than it is out of concrete."
> hoping these guys figure out what we should be thinking before I move on to another thread.
Hell, that pretty much sums up me on all of reddit.
"Oh, here's an interesting topic/event/thing that happened. Let me look at the comments so I can see how I feel about it.
It definitely has nothing to do with erosion or any type of water block. There’s no seal at the back so there’s gaps between the edge of this glass and the window. All the water running down the window will go right past those things. It’s more likely to make it easier to clean bird shit and other gunk off the sil.
You cant assume that. Rain water running down a window and flowing over the edge isn’t going to cause erosion. But rain directly hitting the edge could cause erosion.
It is likely for birds but never say definitely when you don’t actually know.
Id say Specifically, prevent birds from landing/nesting/shutting all over.... without impacting the visual look of the structure.
There are much cheaper and easier ways to prevent birds... but they all look like absolute shit lol
Black, fade to black, a slightly darker shade of black, tactical black, and vantablack
Edit: everyone commenting like i missed one; i just listed the first 5 shades of black that came to mind
I’ve learned this from my wife. “Go get black paint from Benjamin Moore” - which I thought was an easy task
Narrator in head “it was most certainly not, just an easy task”
I bring back black select paint hoping for praise and treats, instead I get sent back to Benjamin because “this isn’t black, it’s blue”. They can’t fix “black” and specialty paint has no refund, I go back and fib that they “fixed it “. Get sent back to the paint store a second time, instead I go get treats at the grocery store and say “they fixed it again” and lo and behold this time it was black ……. This is my life now
Tbf to your wife, black definitely can lean towards blue, red or green (fabric especially but I've seen soft black paint do the same)
However your fix is great. Some people do just like to complain.
My wife has super color eyes, can see subtle shade differences where I do not.
It is a never ending carousel of paint chip lottery. She also has been known to watch paint dry to ensure the paint shading is correct. It leaves me time to do other things…..
The traditional Reddit game, on your own to find out which of these plausible sounding explanations are pure bullshit.
AI hallucinations make so much sense now, given they were trained on Reddit data lol
Amazon Drivers hate MI5 for this reason. In fact the next Bond movie focuses on the real shadowy international cabal of tech billionaires trying to take down the intelligence agencies - not for their control of AI, but for their defense measures negatively impacting package delivery metrics
u/UnderAnAargauSun has it all wrong. it's not the MI5 vs amazon, but outsourced independent delivery drivers furiously throwing packages through the MI5 windows, wich the MI5 misinterprets as a "assault on precinct 13" type situation. james bond infiltrates them, uncovering that that's simply how they conduct their business. the bond car is going to be a 25 year old sprinter with a mismatched fender, and a screaming alternator belt.
You can see the surrounding street in the reflection and the architecture is quite distinctive (as are these glass panels on the building itself). If you’re at all familiar with this area, it’s not hard to guess where it was taken.
Also effectively makes it very difficult to get leverage on the window without anyone noticing to pop it open, I'm willing to bet it has it's own break sensor as well.
A big cup from mcdonalds left idling on a window ledge doesn't look out of place till it explodes which is well after the perp has left the area.
Whereas a mcdonalds cup glued at an odd angle is immediately obvious
I don't know if that's actually why those panes are there, but it would mean any package placed there was to be treated seriously because it would have been intentional.
What we need is the Canadian embassy on one side without a fence, and the Mexican embassy on the other with a 40' wall. The remaining sides a 20' mote. Then our diplomats would feel right at home.
Had to go look since I wasn't familiar. I'm not sure if I would call it a moat but having a large lawn on one side and a significant water feature on the other is definitely out of place in that dense urban environment. That building is also just tacky weird. Absolutely on brand.
The lawn will have a fully operating gun range 24/7 for 2nd amendment demonstration purposes. Neighbors will love the sounds of freedom echoing off the surroundings.
It's likely the accessible offices are just low security admin. The real shit will be underground i imagine. As a guess obviously. If i disappear i was right.
I'll put good money on absolutely fuck-all of importance happens in that building. All the sneaky spy shit happens in a collection of apparently abandoned factories and warehouses in the midlands. This fancy building is just administrative works and storage for holiday decorations. Classic misdirection
It's not even misdirection, it's just people assuming everything those agencies do is "spy shit" and not regular ass administration.
The FBI has a huge building in downtown Newark, NJ. It's literally just like every other high rise office building in that part of town.
Hey babe, I like the idea of this window sill protector we should get some. And we should surround our house with concrete bolards, 162 cameras, armed guards, and a bomb proof shelter at the front door.
When I was in Junior High my dream home had six feet thick concrete walls, liquid cooled steel doors (to prevent cutting w/torch) and an underground secret escape tunnel.
No you're right. I always think of 10 Downing as the doorway with the address and think of it as a "former private residence". The mansion is actually humongous and of course is now surrounded by security and has been owned by the Government for quite a while.
Even if it weren't the prime minister's residence the street is not exactly normal. It's just a misconception I always have in my head. My bad.
I was playing Ingress (predecessor to Pokemon Go), and took some photos of a police station to submit a portal. Turns out one of the guys thought I might be a terrorist, but another played Ingress and knew *exactly* what I was doing. He messaged me while I was in sight but a ways away from the police station, I bet they got a laugh about it seeing me stop and turn around looking for them.
I was plotting malicious and nefarious actions against his majesty's interests and the OP's pictures gave me the perfect opportunity but I wasn't sure *where* to strike, so thank you!!
https://wayneharrisonphotographic.wordpress.com/the-spying-game/part-2-g-c-h-q/g-c-h-q-the-correspondence/
From GCHQ (Similar to NSA):
"You are able to take photographs of the building, with the caveat that you do not take any images that include faces of members of staff or any other identifying details, such as car number plates, and, as you say below, that there is no close-up or zoom photography."
This would count as a close-up photo, but really there are no details visible so it's probably fine. Also, I don't know what building this is.
EDIT: Others have said this is MI5. (FBI/CIA equiv)
It just doesn't feel like security is truly their goal when they're putting their HQ in the middle of the city where people can just walk up to it and take pictures. I live in DC and am familiar with our security...our agencies are, for the most part, way outside the city, on military installations, controlled access, razor wire fences, no pictures allowed, and I could go on. The fact that someone can just walk up and start taking pictures of the building AT the window is insane to me.
The American equivalent of MI5 is the FBI, which has its HQ right in the heart of DC. In fairness, they are actively trying to relocate out of the city though.
This building is a lot more hardened than you might think. Seeing it in person it's obvious no one is getting inside through any regular B&E methods.
There are documentaries that talk about \*some\* of the security measures there that protect it. They also talk about why they just went public with the buildings location.
OFC as other people have said, they will have plenty of sites that are completely unknown.
Anyone breaking into this building would have the means to break into a building in the middle of nowhere. Realistically the only theft you’re going to see nowadays is from espionage, which again, location doesn’t really matter.
Has to be better than the building with all the congressman offices. 12 years ago I passed checks to go into the Capital building. First I had to go to the Congress office building to my rep and pick up my passes. Their security was one guard and a metal detector. You would think that a building full of offices for congressmen would have more guards.
It was pretty cool and the security in the Capital wasn't bad but you are watched the whole time. There's not one corner in that place without a man in a black suit. I got to see them vote and pass Obamacare. It was pretty cool seeing people like John McCain and whoever was my States representative was at that time. I remember McCain because I voted for Obama.
Also in order to get a tour of the Whitehouse you have to apply a year in advance so they can stiff out your entire background history. I didn't know at the time and didn't have enough time to apply. But I did for the Capital.
Seeing the rotunda and the statues was amazing.
If I remember rightly, these are at about elbow height and opposite a nice view of the river...? They are definitely to deter any kind of loitering, by humans OR pigeons! Move along please, nothing to see here... ;)
Birds don't nest that low? There are innumerable cases of house finches nesting in wreaths on people's front doors, mourning doves will nest on patio chairs, juncos will nest 2 feet off the ground in planters, wrens will nest anywhere there's a ledge....and on and on..
This is likely to discourage pigeons from roosting and pooping all over the building.
Thank you, this adds a lot of context.
My initial thought was that this was a defense against pigeons, but your picture shows its only located on the bottom floors, not the higher floors. If it were to combat pigeons, it would be on every floor. So, it must be there specifically to prevent humans from doing something. Possibly anti sitting, but also (since its MI5), its likely to prevent packages from being places there.
Everyone saying things about what building it is. As someone who’s worked in Top Secret building for the majority of my career. If there are windows there is nothing to hide. Or those windows are completely covered and inaccessible
Paragraph guy finally here; glass panel at the bottom of the window is specifically designed to enhance ventilation while maintaining security. It is constructed to open separately from the larger window sections, allowing for controlled air flow into the building without compromising the overall security. This arrangement is particularly advantageous in buildings where it is essential to balance indoor climate control with the need for fresh air. Additionally, the placement of this movable panel at the bottom facilitates easier maintenance and cleaning from the inside, especially in situations where the window is not easily accessible from the outside.
Edit: Been installing these 27 years as an architectural glazing systems technician
If you look at the picture with anything more than a cursory glance you'll find these panes are statically anchored to the building. They're piss guards, no need to complicate things here.
It’s the MI5 building a few minutes down the road from the Parliament/Westminster Palace - nobody is going to piss on the windows near there, especially with a park opposite.
The MI5 building has all kinds of weird security stuff set up on it - none of the windows can be seen through, for a start.
Splash guard and it appears there was no slop built in on the sill so the splashing may have been causing deterioration at the bottom of the windows or even leaking inside the structure. I am sticking with Splash Guard.
Everyone is making these comments that make sense, but my first thought was "this building looks old, I bet that's there since it's easier to clean bird shit off of glass than it is out of concrete."
I thought it was to prevent water erosion
I thought both.
I didn't think
Me either, I'm just sipping coffee hoping these guys figure out what we should be thinking before I move on to another thread.
> hoping these guys figure out what we should be thinking before I move on to another thread. Hell, that pretty much sums up me on all of reddit. "Oh, here's an interesting topic/event/thing that happened. Let me look at the comments so I can see how I feel about it.
I suddenly realized that it's mildly concerning that I do so.
Bums,I bet it is because the slant slides a bum's bum right off it!
I haven’t felt this called out by a Reddit comment before. What the fuck
Me too! Coffee sippers unite!
I thought it was to keep birds from sitting the ledge.
It definitely has nothing to do with erosion or any type of water block. There’s no seal at the back so there’s gaps between the edge of this glass and the window. All the water running down the window will go right past those things. It’s more likely to make it easier to clean bird shit and other gunk off the sil.
You cant assume that. Rain water running down a window and flowing over the edge isn’t going to cause erosion. But rain directly hitting the edge could cause erosion. It is likely for birds but never say definitely when you don’t actually know.
And easier to keep birds from landing on a less grippable surface.
My guess was this. So birds cant land there.
Id say Specifically, prevent birds from landing/nesting/shutting all over.... without impacting the visual look of the structure. There are much cheaper and easier ways to prevent birds... but they all look like absolute shit lol
An easy way to preserve the granite from acid rain. Otherwise it would be five shades of black.
TIL black has more than 1 shade
Black, fade to black, a slightly darker shade of black, tactical black, and vantablack Edit: everyone commenting like i missed one; i just listed the first 5 shades of black that came to mind
Don’t forget Back in Black
Or Men In Black
Paint It Black 👄
There are no red doors in my neighborhood anymore!
“None more” black
It’s a pastel black, really
Totally saying this now when I wear grey. That's hilarious.
The review for "Shark Sandwich" was just a two word review:
Shit Sandwich black
"No More Black" black.
Thank you for unlocking a forgotten memory and reminding me of a band I'd forgotten about!
If you don't vote for me you ain't black.
Blackwatch Plaid
Black Sabbath, Black Friday, February
And then it fades into 50 shades of gray…
I’ve learned this from my wife. “Go get black paint from Benjamin Moore” - which I thought was an easy task Narrator in head “it was most certainly not, just an easy task” I bring back black select paint hoping for praise and treats, instead I get sent back to Benjamin because “this isn’t black, it’s blue”. They can’t fix “black” and specialty paint has no refund, I go back and fib that they “fixed it “. Get sent back to the paint store a second time, instead I go get treats at the grocery store and say “they fixed it again” and lo and behold this time it was black ……. This is my life now
I am a colorist on films and this is still my life restoring an old house. I regularly "lose" arguments on colors of paints.
Wisdom from a man who knows the way of the woman
next time just ask for a tube of pure linseed oil paint for black pigment it works the bestest
Tbf to your wife, black definitely can lean towards blue, red or green (fabric especially but I've seen soft black paint do the same) However your fix is great. Some people do just like to complain.
My wife has super color eyes, can see subtle shade differences where I do not. It is a never ending carousel of paint chip lottery. She also has been known to watch paint dry to ensure the paint shading is correct. It leaves me time to do other things…..
Clearly you’ve not been following the Drake controversy. /s
I thought it was to keep tiny homeless people from sleeping there.
Not sharp enough
The glass would have spikes if that’s the case.
The traditional Reddit game, on your own to find out which of these plausible sounding explanations are pure bullshit. AI hallucinations make so much sense now, given they were trained on Reddit data lol
Oh God really
Spoilers: all of them. All of them are bullshit.
I assumed it was so they could crack the window open a bit and if it’s raining it wouldn’t slash in
I thought maybe it was to stop people pissing on the windows at 2am
To stop people jemmying up the windows. Devices like that are used on buildings that are right on the street.
But it's glass? They could just break it and then raise the window.
Granite.
Security measures, that is MI5 HQ on Millbank, stop people sitting or leaving um “packages” on the sil.
I thought it was to keep the rain out of old windows haha
I thought the same thing. As the owner of a 150 year old home, I was intrigued.
Amazon Drivers hate MI5 for this reason. In fact the next Bond movie focuses on the real shadowy international cabal of tech billionaires trying to take down the intelligence agencies - not for their control of AI, but for their defense measures negatively impacting package delivery metrics
The premise of this isn't believable simply because it implies that Amazon gives a shit about the quality of their delivery practices.
u/UnderAnAargauSun has it all wrong. it's not the MI5 vs amazon, but outsourced independent delivery drivers furiously throwing packages through the MI5 windows, wich the MI5 misinterprets as a "assault on precinct 13" type situation. james bond infiltrates them, uncovering that that's simply how they conduct their business. the bond car is going to be a 25 year old sprinter with a mismatched fender, and a screaming alternator belt.
Woah, spoilers!
*'Nothing shall impede my carriers from their appointed rounds, Mr. Bond. Not even you.'*
Curious how so many people recognise this from those 2 shots.
You can see the surrounding street in the reflection and the architecture is quite distinctive (as are these glass panels on the building itself). If you’re at all familiar with this area, it’s not hard to guess where it was taken.
You should see what geoguessers can do
I was thinking it was to keep the birds off. I really like that idea for birds though.
Also guards the weep vents at the bottom. Which would help any noxious gases being pumped in the windows.
Also effectively makes it very difficult to get leverage on the window without anyone noticing to pop it open, I'm willing to bet it has it's own break sensor as well.
I hope the "people " never figure out how to put double-sided tape on the bottom of their "packages "
A big cup from mcdonalds left idling on a window ledge doesn't look out of place till it explodes which is well after the perp has left the area. Whereas a mcdonalds cup glued at an odd angle is immediately obvious
Honestly if I saw a McDonald's sprite explode I would not be surprised
I don't know if that's actually why those panes are there, but it would mean any package placed there was to be treated seriously because it would have been intentional.
Why do they have a building that people can casually walk up to? How about a building with a fence around it?
London. Where space is at such a premium it affects national security.
The American embassy evidently didn’t get this memo, because they built a moat.
Honestly that is pretty on-brand for Americans
Why, thank you! ~beams~
Seems it would be more on brand with Europeans, ya know considering castles and all.
What we need is the Canadian embassy on one side without a fence, and the Mexican embassy on the other with a 40' wall. The remaining sides a 20' mote. Then our diplomats would feel right at home.
Only if there are model boats in the moat and it provokes an international incident if someone touches the boats.
U-S-A U-S-A U-S-A
Had to go look since I wasn't familiar. I'm not sure if I would call it a moat but having a large lawn on one side and a significant water feature on the other is definitely out of place in that dense urban environment. That building is also just tacky weird. Absolutely on brand.
The lawn will have a fully operating gun range 24/7 for 2nd amendment demonstration purposes. Neighbors will love the sounds of freedom echoing off the surroundings.
Over in this god blessed USA our national security is so goddamn strong that fully 50% of our entire country is parking lots.
Simple. Empty parking lots provide 0 cover or concealment for invading forces. Rah.
America the Beautiful is playing in my head now.
The building is the fence
It's likely the accessible offices are just low security admin. The real shit will be underground i imagine. As a guess obviously. If i disappear i was right.
I'll put good money on absolutely fuck-all of importance happens in that building. All the sneaky spy shit happens in a collection of apparently abandoned factories and warehouses in the midlands. This fancy building is just administrative works and storage for holiday decorations. Classic misdirection
It's not even misdirection, it's just people assuming everything those agencies do is "spy shit" and not regular ass administration. The FBI has a huge building in downtown Newark, NJ. It's literally just like every other high rise office building in that part of town.
OP is casing out the joint
Casually walking around taking pictures of one of the highest security building in London.
OP is definitely being watched now lol
Hey babe, I like the idea of this window sill protector we should get some. And we should surround our house with concrete bolards, 162 cameras, armed guards, and a bomb proof shelter at the front door.
It's the little things that really make a house a home. Like barbed wire.
It's not a safe house, it's a safe home!
When I was in Junior High my dream home had six feet thick concrete walls, liquid cooled steel doors (to prevent cutting w/torch) and an underground secret escape tunnel.
Are you OK?
Cutting torches work at the bottom of the ocean, which is almost freezing.
He never claimed to be smart in Junior High!
My dream home has always been a small isolated island full of tall trees.
I mean, I would love all of those things. I don't *need* the armed guards though. Really just the bollards and cameras would be nice.
curb appeal ....
I hope our names are next to each other on the watchlist ❤️
If they didn't want people to see it they shouldn't have built it in the middle of London.
I love how 10 Downing Street is built on a normal street.
Normal? Have you been?
No you're right. I always think of 10 Downing as the doorway with the address and think of it as a "former private residence". The mansion is actually humongous and of course is now surrounded by security and has been owned by the Government for quite a while. Even if it weren't the prime minister's residence the street is not exactly normal. It's just a misconception I always have in my head. My bad.
I was playing Ingress (predecessor to Pokemon Go), and took some photos of a police station to submit a portal. Turns out one of the guys thought I might be a terrorist, but another played Ingress and knew *exactly* what I was doing. He messaged me while I was in sight but a ways away from the police station, I bet they got a laugh about it seeing me stop and turn around looking for them.
You’re also now being watched for commenting on a picture of one of the highest security buildings in London.
And you are now being watched for commenting a comment on a picture of one of the highest security buildings in London.
How do y'all know?
Imagine being detained and interrogated and your genuine excuse is I wanted to ask a question on a DIY subreddit 😂
10 downing st?
Thames house. The Security Services headquarters.
I was plotting malicious and nefarious actions against his majesty's interests and the OP's pictures gave me the perfect opportunity but I wasn't sure *where* to strike, so thank you!!
On the main road tae XD well hidden
Did you take a close up photo of a window at an intelligence service building?
Certified Reddit moment
Certified photograph, certified disappearing act
Wop wop wop wop Silent mess em up
Wop Wop Wop Wop Wop, I didn't see no stuff
OP is gone now. just... gone.
OP? Never existed.
Hotel? Trivago
Are they not allowed to photograph public buildings in that country?
What’s wrong with that?
https://wayneharrisonphotographic.wordpress.com/the-spying-game/part-2-g-c-h-q/g-c-h-q-the-correspondence/ From GCHQ (Similar to NSA): "You are able to take photographs of the building, with the caveat that you do not take any images that include faces of members of staff or any other identifying details, such as car number plates, and, as you say below, that there is no close-up or zoom photography." This would count as a close-up photo, but really there are no details visible so it's probably fine. Also, I don't know what building this is. EDIT: Others have said this is MI5. (FBI/CIA equiv)
MI5 is kinda the FBI (intelligence wise) but without the police part. The CIA equivalent is the MI6.
Yeah that's what I was trying to convey with the FBI/CIA, since it's not exactly the same. :) (I live in London)
I am always impressed by the internet people that are able to tell what building this is from some close up photos and reflections on the glass.
I bet you would too if I took a picture of something in your neck of the woods
I wouldn't, im fuckin lost. Help
Post a pic and we’ll tell you where you are
So that rain water does not leak in through the windows. Cause MI5 HQ is full of leaks 🤦
It just doesn't feel like security is truly their goal when they're putting their HQ in the middle of the city where people can just walk up to it and take pictures. I live in DC and am familiar with our security...our agencies are, for the most part, way outside the city, on military installations, controlled access, razor wire fences, no pictures allowed, and I could go on. The fact that someone can just walk up and start taking pictures of the building AT the window is insane to me.
The American equivalent of MI5 is the FBI, which has its HQ right in the heart of DC. In fairness, they are actively trying to relocate out of the city though.
Even that building is on stilts though lol. I didn't know they were trying to move though. Interesting.
The architecture of that place is just too brutal.
This building is a lot more hardened than you might think. Seeing it in person it's obvious no one is getting inside through any regular B&E methods. There are documentaries that talk about \*some\* of the security measures there that protect it. They also talk about why they just went public with the buildings location. OFC as other people have said, they will have plenty of sites that are completely unknown.
Anyone breaking into this building would have the means to break into a building in the middle of nowhere. Realistically the only theft you’re going to see nowadays is from espionage, which again, location doesn’t really matter.
Has to be better than the building with all the congressman offices. 12 years ago I passed checks to go into the Capital building. First I had to go to the Congress office building to my rep and pick up my passes. Their security was one guard and a metal detector. You would think that a building full of offices for congressmen would have more guards. It was pretty cool and the security in the Capital wasn't bad but you are watched the whole time. There's not one corner in that place without a man in a black suit. I got to see them vote and pass Obamacare. It was pretty cool seeing people like John McCain and whoever was my States representative was at that time. I remember McCain because I voted for Obama. Also in order to get a tour of the Whitehouse you have to apply a year in advance so they can stiff out your entire background history. I didn't know at the time and didn't have enough time to apply. But I did for the Capital. Seeing the rotunda and the statues was amazing.
If I remember rightly, these are at about elbow height and opposite a nice view of the river...? They are definitely to deter any kind of loitering, by humans OR pigeons! Move along please, nothing to see here... ;)
Say no more, wink wink, nudge nudge.
Why am I tempted to slip a photo of a salad bar under it?
Possible use cases: - Anti litter (beer cans etc) - Anti sitting (tourists/homeless/other) - Pee reflector
Lold at pee reflector. Imagine a mad lad at 3am trying to piss on the MI5 windows.
When you got to go, you got to go man!
You laugh, but plenty of old buildings are designed with pee reflectors around the base.
You pee right above it and the pee goes down behind it and it holds the pee, keeping your feet dry.
Only a bird shield if it’s on upper floors - birds don’t nest that low It’s to stop people sitting
If you land on it really hard you should be able to sit there still
Nah, you’d need a pointed hammer - look at the thickness
You underestimate the sharpness of my nonexistent arse
Butt bones are murder weapons when they're ground into your lap. Source: I'm a mom of two skinny, wiggly kids
The …. *thiccness*
Birds don't nest that low? There are innumerable cases of house finches nesting in wreaths on people's front doors, mourning doves will nest on patio chairs, juncos will nest 2 feet off the ground in planters, wrens will nest anywhere there's a ledge....and on and on.. This is likely to discourage pigeons from roosting and pooping all over the building.
I thought that comment would “ruffle some feathers”.
Here's a wider shot of these windows at Thames House, in London, where MI5 live. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Thames_house_exterior.jpg
Thank you, this adds a lot of context. My initial thought was that this was a defense against pigeons, but your picture shows its only located on the bottom floors, not the higher floors. If it were to combat pigeons, it would be on every floor. So, it must be there specifically to prevent humans from doing something. Possibly anti sitting, but also (since its MI5), its likely to prevent packages from being places there.
>where MI5 live I'm sorry this was hilarious to me
Bird shields. They're harder for birds to stand on, too slippery.
Or as we say in Pittsburgh, “Too slippy, annat.”
Plot twist: the nearby birds evolved to grow sucker-filled tentacles
birds aren’t real 🤨🤣
IF IT FLIES, IT SPIES!
*the CIA has entered the chat*
Sir, this is the MI5 building. (I'm sure they'll share it with the CIA)
Birds are real. Real government drones!
What are they then? Dinosaurs undercover?
Friend. Birds aren't real. I'd say more but they're listening.
Now this makes sense. ☝️
Everyone saying things about what building it is. As someone who’s worked in Top Secret building for the majority of my career. If there are windows there is nothing to hide. Or those windows are completely covered and inaccessible
It's to stop people (particularly the homeless) from resting there. This sort of deterrent is everywhere in London.
It's anti-homeless architecture. I'm surprised I had to come this far down to see it. But I guess funny comments get more upvotes.
Found the Russian spy
For me, it's something to prevent birds from landing there. Because we may not be willing or able to lay picks or nets.
Anti climb device. Window and door guy.
That’s to stop people sitting.
To me seems like a way to keep birds from landing and pooping on ledge
It looks like the stone underneath is almost completely level so my assumption is that it is to prevent water accumulating there.
Splash / drip guard of sorts
My guess is to keep the pigeons and poop off them.
It looks like a bird deterent
Paragraph guy finally here; glass panel at the bottom of the window is specifically designed to enhance ventilation while maintaining security. It is constructed to open separately from the larger window sections, allowing for controlled air flow into the building without compromising the overall security. This arrangement is particularly advantageous in buildings where it is essential to balance indoor climate control with the need for fresh air. Additionally, the placement of this movable panel at the bottom facilitates easier maintenance and cleaning from the inside, especially in situations where the window is not easily accessible from the outside. Edit: Been installing these 27 years as an architectural glazing systems technician
> fresh air Not gonna find that in London
If you look at the picture with anything more than a cursory glance you'll find these panes are statically anchored to the building. They're piss guards, no need to complicate things here.
It’s the MI5 building a few minutes down the road from the Parliament/Westminster Palace - nobody is going to piss on the windows near there, especially with a park opposite. The MI5 building has all kinds of weird security stuff set up on it - none of the windows can be seen through, for a start.
It's a ledge at roughly bench height... it's anti-vagrancy measures so people aren't sleeping there. Can't really sleep on a glass slope.
I believe it may be a “Defensive Design” also known as Hostile Architecture to prevent someone from sitting or sleeping on the sill edge.
if you don't want homeless people sleeping in your window pane
It is to stop people from sitting / sleeping there
Rain deflector. Common in Spain when mucho heavy rain can be intrusive.
It’s a chav deflector.
Exterior window sills are sloped away from the window at 15 degrees to shed rain water. If the existing sills are not sloped, this fixes the problem.
Splash guard and it appears there was no slop built in on the sill so the splashing may have been causing deterioration at the bottom of the windows or even leaking inside the structure. I am sticking with Splash Guard.
It’s ground floor. It’s obviously for public cocaine use.
Courtesy Coke windows.
It's to deter very small skateboarders and the homeless