Arts & Culture
I conceived the piece and created the design to a basic engineering stage. T en aeronautics specialist Dave Kendall did the detailed engineering to make our design work. Although it took unusually long, there was no specifi c deadline or budget to work to. We wanted to use the best craftsmen in the country. T e result is defi nitely one of my career highlights and represents something I am passionate about – the fusion of art and science.” Weighing in at fi ve tonnes, the ICON sculpture, which will be permanently on display at an as yet unannounced location, features a combination of mirrored and matt surfaces to showcase the shape of the design. More than six weeks of hand polishing was required to achieve the desired eff ect. Sebastian, an internationally renowned designer who has worked with a catalogue of global brands, was the ideal candidate to work on the project, having been commissioned by British Airways to design the last interiors of the Concorde fl eet,
before the supersonic passenger service was decommissioned in October 2003. T e retirement of Concorde came in the
aftermath of the devastating Air France crash in July 2000, in which everyone on board the fl ight from Paris to JFK was killed. Despite his love of Concorde and the fascination he has held with aviation since he was a child, Sebastian laments the fact that he never experienced supersonic fl ight himself. He said: “My earliest memories were of making model WWI biplanes at my grandmother’s house. I later graduated to 6ft wingspan radio controlled models, but sadly, never the real thing due to my terrible myopia. I worked on the customer experience and interior design of the last Concorde for BA. Sadly, although I have been on it on the ground, the Paris crash prevented me from experiencing it at Mach 2 through the stratosphere. T e Concorde symbolizes the pinnacle of British civilian aircraft engineering. It was the fi rst and only
passenger jet to fl y supersonic. It is hard to believe that it was originally designed in the late fi fties, not long after the speed of sound had just been broken.” Concorde continues to capture the hearts of the British public. It was voted the number one British design icon of the 20th Century by visitors to the Design Museum and viewers of T e Culture Show. Despite his love of the craft, Sebastian remains pragmatic about its demise. He said: “Everyone seems to have loved Concorde - even those on the fl ight path - and it brought out many reminiscences and anecdotes during the Royal Ascot week. T e problem was its prodigious thirst. It was conceived when oil seemed unlimited before the 1973 fuel crisis. T is alone made it unsustainable as a business model. By the time of the Paris air crash it was barely certifi able and the cost of maintenance probably meant that BA was slightly relieved not to have to run this thoroughbred of the skies.”
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