The innovative approach has been commissioned because of a desire to maintain a clear glass effect – for both outside observers and occupants – without inflicting discomfort from the sun’s rays on those inside; and, without necessitating the introduction of expensive, compensatory additional air conditioning measures.

The clear glass look was also much sought after by the building’s architects for design purposes; through the provision of a clean, reflective light source for their addition of cosmetic external ceramic tubing.

The result is an impressive 52-storey landmark which stands out owing to its domination by 463,000 square feet of transparent glass, and through what observers at street level describe in terms of a rather unique mystical effect created by the naturally lit ceramic tubing.

The move by the New York Times Company is only the latest in a series of attempts by firms to incorporate innovation and creativity into the traditional concept of window tinting.

From Manchester in the UK to points as far apart as South Africa and – of course – the USA, there has been an increasing trend in introducing alternatives to the traditional concept of conservatory window darkening, through the use of brightly coloured or transparent coatings, whether for the purposes of marketing, design, or solar protection.

Walker, who plays for Watford FC, and is currently on loan to Northampton FC, was discovered driving with the illegal levels of tinting after being stopped by police.

Newcastle magistrates were advised that the footballer – who is from Killingworth in North Tyneside – was driving in a Mercedes with tinted windows that allowed only a six per cent transmission of light.

For UK football players – and indeed all UK car drivers – 70% stands as the degree of light that must be allowed to penetrate front side glass window tinting. Likewise, Manchester United players – and celebrities from other top teams – may have popularised the cool look of a tinted windscreen; but the degree of tint required is even higher, standing at 75%.

The light transmission rules are in place to prevent visibility levels falling below safe levels – a particular problem in the UK where sunlight is generally not as intense as in other countries, and where weather conditions tend to err on the dull, murky side.

Walker is however appealing the points on the grounds that the penalty will result in his being banned from driving (a consequence of having already incurred nine penalty points for other infringements) which will in turn lead to difficulties in his travelling to Northampton to fulfil his contract with that club.

The appeal hearing is due to take place in May.

The particular film used, though itself rather sophisticated, shares with ordinary conservatory window film the basic principle of reducing both solar glare and the force of the sun’s heat as it penetrates the glass.

By blocking out the sun’s heat many buildings have found that they can save considerably on the use of high energy-intensive air-conditioning units.

Solar film can also help block UV rays which are largely responsible for the fading that can occur on furnishings and other accessories.

The Belgian Embassy project – part of the ‘League of Green Embassies’ initiative launched to coincide with the recent European Energy Week by the 2011 Energy Efficiency Global Forum, an amalgam of governmental and non-governmental officials from countries around the world, – is interesting in that such heat-blocking window film initiatives are more commonly associated with hotter countries.

The fact that heat-blocking film has as much of a part to play in European buildings based within temperate zones as it does in tropical climbs implies that such ‘green’ film applications could in the near future be as common in UK buildings as the current incidences of, say, conservatory window film in Rochdale house extensions.

The addition of the window film was one of several environmentally beneficial touches conceived for the 230 year old Belgian Embassy building.

The new statutory instrument, which comes into effect from 1st June, is designed both to improve vehicle safety and to help outlaw covert criminal activity.

In terms of safety, the country’s Ministry of Transport says it is concerned that vehicles fitted with too heavy a car window tint could obscure driver vision, particularly during the hours of darkness or in rainy weather.

At the same time, the Ministry is worried that car window darkening could be employed in an effort to deliberately obscure the presence of illegal weapons.

As a consequence, the new rules stipulate that:

• Any tinting on the front windscreen and on the side windows at the front of a vehicle must permit a visible light penetration of at least 50%

• Any tinting on the rear windscreen and rear side windows of a vehicle must permit a visible light penetration of at least 20%

• The front windscreen must include a four inch deep strip across the top which is completely free of any car window tint.

• Reflective coatings are expressly forbidden on the front windscreen

The rationale behind the Belize specifications for a 50% windscreen penetration ratio starts to become clear when contrasted with the 75% windscreen penetration decreed for car window tinting in Manchester and other UK towns; put simply, the less bright and sunny the climate, the lighter the tint needs to be.

The reason for the House star’s enthusiasm for adopting a car window tint is said to be not so much in order to protect his eyes and skin from the ever-present Californian sunshine, but rather to protect his privacy from the prying eyes of the press.

The turning point for Laurie apparently came soon after his early days of filming for House – the now highly popular medical series in which quintessentially English Laurie plays an American. Following a routine visit to the grocery store the star was shocked to find that a photographer had taken a snap of his grocery items and posted the image online.

Today the star is said to regard car window tinting as being as vital to safeguarding his private life as the care he always takes when speaking in public – lest any of what he reveals is posted on social networking sites.

Many celebrities in Hollywood, and indeed the UK, are known to embrace car window tinting for the same privacy protection reasons.

Whilst the allowable degree of car window tint in, say, Rochdale will of course have a higher legal minimum visibility requirement than the sunnier climes of Los Angeles, there is no reason why a celebrity – or indeed the ordinary individual equally worried about unwarranted exposure – should not be able to benefit from the privacy benefits of car window tinting.

According to a senior source at the country’s National Energy Conservation Centre (Enercon) – the body with which Pakistan’s Ministry of the Environment has collaborated in devising the new rules – the country has thus far ‘failed miserably’ in increasing power capacity. The source goes on to argue that since the country ‘cannot afford rented power plants’ it is now faced with conservation as being the ‘best possible option’ for meeting its energy needs.

The potential for blocking out the sun’s heat – and thereby facilitating a reduction in the level of air conditioning inside a building – is a well-acknowledged power-saving benefit of window tinting.

Even in Rochdale and other UK towns and cities where the climate is more temperate, appropriate window tinting can still help save money during the summer months, and can also cut heating bills during the winter by helping to prevent warm air from escaping.

In Pakistan the new energy saving measures – which as well as window tinting include the installation of building insulation and natural air ventilation systems – are expected to have the additional beneficial effect for businesses of halving utility bills.

The experts, canvassed by US publication, Window Film Mag, comment that although the force of the Tsunami could not be stopped by security film, such film may well have prevented some of the windows from flying apart as a result of the seismic activity associated with the earthquake.  Aside from the obvious benefit this has of preventing the shards from injuring both those inside the building and those passing outside, one of Window Film Mag’s sources also draws attention to the fact that securing glass pieces within a window area can mean keeping important buildings like hospitals open where they may otherwise have had to be evacuated.

One of the sources also comments on the value of window film during the type of emergency that is perhaps more closer to home in the UK, and which still evokes painful memories: that of a potential bomb blast.

Whilst the source emphasises that security film would be no more effective than ordinary conservatory window film in a Manchester 1996 Arndale Centre-type bomb attack, the source claims that in such a scenario windows in some of the more outlying buildings could well be rendered safe.

Conventional one way window tinting was not considered an adequate option, however, since it was felt this would undermine the overall retail marketing impact usually associated with a Tesco frontage. A second option of covering the glass with retail signage also had to be dismissed when it was realised that this would block natural light from reaching the staff inside, thus reducing the quality of the training environment.

The solution however has now been found through the use of a one way window tinting film that can support high quality multi-coloured graphics on one side without unduly affecting the degree of natural light reaching those situated on the other side.

The window film itself permits a 30% degree of natural light penetration via the use of perforated graphics. Staff inside are said to be perfectly happy with this amount of light; and it is reported that the window tinting film has the additional advantage of reducing glare whenever the sun outside is shining particularly brightly.

On Beckham’s customised model, window tinting is just one of a host of enviable features: the car also includes high gloss black wheels; tinted lights; and a deeply opaque shade of grey for the body work.

By selecting car window tinting, Beckham of course shows that he not only has good taste, but is also smart. In locations such as Los Angeles, where the hot sun can be as much of an annoyance as well as a blessing, tinted car windows offer several practical benefits, not least of which is the elimination of the solar glare that can sometimes seriously affect driver visibility.

Incidentally, if the star ever decided to return to the less sunny climate of the UK and drive around with tinted car windows in Manchester (his old football playing territory), he might need to adjust the tint slightly to allow more light to come through for legal purposes. However, Beckham would be pleased to discover that even with UK regulation tinted windows, his car would still look just as cool.

Laws in the country state that both the windscreen and rear window of a vehicle should permit the transmission of at least 70% visible light, whilst side windows should allow 50% visibility.

Whilst these rules may appear to be rather lenient when compared with those applying to car window tinting in Manchester and other UK cities (where windscreens require 75% visibility and the front side windows 70%), the extent of the New Delhi violations perhaps indicates how vital car window tinting is in locations where the sun is at its most powerful.

Underlying the difficulty of enforcing the laws, Garg says that traffic police are no longer merely fining offenders, since many had previously viewed a fine as a price worth paying in order to benefit from very dark tinted car windows. They are now, in addition, confiscating driving licences and vehicle registration documents pending the removal of the illegal window films.