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November 2017

  • Text
  • Rover
  • Luxury
  • Velar
  • Vehicles
  • Urban
  • Oslo
  • Experiences
  • Jaguar
  • Emissions
  • Norway
New Range Rover and Range Rover Sport Plug-in Hybrids | Why Oslo shines as a beacon of electric mobility | Uncovering Mia Suki’s unbridled passion | How Project Hero is optimising crisis response for the Austrian Red Cross | A stunning Norwegian drive in the Range Rover Velar

MAKING THE BEST BETTER N

MAKING THE BEST BETTER N E W L E A S E O F L I F E Creating an icon is a complicated art, improving on it even more so. We look at two projects that are taking very different approaches to making world-famous global buildings even better WORDS S O N J A B L A S C H K E PHOTOGRAPHY: OLI SCARFF / GETTY IMAGES, DEPOSITPHOTOS 36

“WE HAVE A DUTY TO ENSURE THAT IT IS SAFEGUARDED FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS TO APPRECIATE” When Westminster Palace was rebuilt following a devastating fire in 1834, there was no tower included in the original plans. The architect only added this retrospectively – thereby creating the world’s most famous clock tower and a true icon of the British capital. This became known globally as Big Ben after its largest, 13.5-tonne bell, before being renamed the Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee. The deep ‘bong’ of Big Ben rings out hour after hour and is often regarded as the ‘voice of Great Britain’. Soon though, this bell will cease to peal for several months and the clock hands will remain still as restorers and engineers work to modernise the bell tower and its clock in line with the latest technology. Commenting on the planned Elizabeth Tower works, a spokesman for the House of Commons Commission told the BBC: “We have a duty to ensure that it is safeguarded for future generations to appreciate, just as we owe it to our predecessors to restore their masterpiece to its former glory.” Instead of light bulbs, energyefficient LEDs will in future illuminate the clock’s dials, each of which comprises 312 panes of opal glass. What’s more, they will do so in different colours depending on the occasion. Experts are analysing several colour schemes for the re-painting of the hands to give them an even more striking effect. The improvements will also include a lift, although this will solely be for use by less able visitors. Keeping with tradition, most people who want to scale the clock tower will still have to climb the steps – all 334 of them. Across ‘the pond’ in New York, the rebirth of another icon is also afoot: behind its red-brick façade with its black, flower-ornamented iron balconies, the Chelsea Shaping the future while not losing sight of the past demands courage and care. Whether modernising Big Ben in London or New York's Chelsea Hotel Hotel’s interior is receiving a new lease of life to reconnect it with the days in which actors, musicians and artists like Frida Kahlo, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Dennis Hopper and Andy Warhol’s clique frequented the hotel and created its legendary, perhaps infamous, reputation. The developers are paying great heed to retaining the building’s charm and original DNA, which inspired so many creative minds. ‘The Chelsea’ has always been a hotel and apartment building in one, with a fifth of the residents having lived there for decades. The new owner, Dr Richard Born, who purchased the Chelsea in 2016, loves boutique hotels as they are hard to replicate. “By building unique products, our customers want to stay with us … and they’re not going to be lured away because another hotel is just less,” says Born, who has a clear philosophy: “I like renovation. New construction is too clean.” The bar is set high. When the Chelsea first opened in 1905, it was regarded as so impressive that the entire Manhattan district was named after it. With a total of 250 rooms on twelve floors, it was New York’s tallest building. For fifty years, the hotel was managed by Stanley Bard, a true one of a kind who used to accept paintings as payment in lieu of hard cash and attracted many creative types. These artworks then decorated the lobby for many years until the hotel’s closure in 2011. Despite the construction work, many of the building's longer-term residents have remained, keeping the building alive. They're now eagerly looking forward to the planned reopening in 2018 and welcoming new guests. After all, it was inspirational chats with guests that gave the building its magical allure for many. “Everyone was an artist of some sort. When we moved in, we lived next to a punk rocker, a blues guy and a violinist,”comments a couple who have lived happily in a 20 sq metre room for over 20 years. ”The Chelsea has allowed us to live the bohemian life.” If we want things to stay as they are, they have to change first. 37

 

Land Rover Magazine

 

Land Rover Magazine showcases stories from around the world that celebrate inner strength and the drive to go Above and Beyond.

In this issue, New Defender is put through its paces by two inspirational young adventurers as they prepare for an expedition to the South Pole. We also celebrate 50 years of Range Rover by taking a journey of discovery to Dubai. As well as looking back, we look to future as a group of visionaries explain the technologies that could change the future for all of us.

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