Fastest roof in the world
QUESTION Did Fiat once test its cars on the roof of its headquarters in Italy?
the Lingotto building in Via Nizza, turin, became Fiat’s headquarters in 1923. Building of the factory had begun in 1916, while World War I was still raging. It was the biggest car factory in europe and the second-largest in the world. Only Ford’s massive River Rouge factory complex in Dearborn, Michigan, was larger.
Designed by engineer Giacomo Mattetrucco (1869-1934), the Lingotto factory was one of the first major constructions built in reinforced concrete.
the five-storey building featured a simple loop rooftop test track with two banked turns that took up a 1,620ft by 280ft portion of rooftop. the test track’s banked turns were constructed from an intricate series of concrete ribs.
this test track was no afterthought: Matte-trucco designed the building as a single functioning unit, featuring a unique upward spiral assembly line.
As each Fiat was assembled, it would progress up through the building storey by storey, starting at the base. each floor was sequentially designated to specialise in a major part of the assembly. eventually, the completed car would emerge on to the roof for testing.
If the car was satisfactory, it would return to ground level through one of the two spiral access ramps at either end of the test track.
the factory closed in 1982, and architect Renzo Piano, whose work includes the New York times building and London’s shard, was commissioned to redevelop it. he transformed the factory into a public space with shopping centre, theatre, hotel, convention centre and art gallery.
A helipad and bubble-shaped, blue glass conference room were added to the roof.
You can still visit the rooftop test track, but the days of Fiat cars looping around the course are gone. If you still feel the need to race around in a circle, the Lingotto houses an Olympic speed skating rink built for the 2006 turin Winter Olympics.
Michael Fraser, Inverness.
QUESTION Why do different guards’ regiments have different button patterns on their uniforms?
the grouping of the buttons on guards’ uniforms is used to distinguish their seniority within the household Division.
the most senior infantry regiment, the Grenadier Guards, have their buttons spaced as singles, while the most junior, the Welsh Guards, have theirs grouped in fives.
the regiments are also distinguished by the plumes worn on the side of the bearskin: white for the Grenadiers, worn on the left; and white over green for the Welsh, also worn on the left.
the others are: the Coldstream Guards, buttons in pairs, red plume on the right; scots Guards, threes, no plume; and Irish Guards, fours, blue plume on the right.
the plume indicated where in the line of battle the regiments stood; the Grenadier Guards on the left and the Coldstream Guards on the right, with the scots Guards in the middle.
the Welsh and Irish Guards didn’t form until after the Army stopped forming lines to fight battles, but their plumes indicate where they now stand when the regiments are on parade together.
the origin of the practice of grouping buttons is unclear, but the coloured plumes are worn on the side of the bearskin and can easily become hidden in the depths of the fur. the button system provides a more reliable form of regimental recognition when a soldier is seen from the front.
Regimental cap badges, the standard form of recognition for all British soldiers, are not worn on the bearskin. seniority should not be confused with the age of the regiment. the oldest of the guards regiments is the scots Guards, who can trace their history back to 1642 with the raising of the Duke Of Argyll’s Royal Regiment in support of Charles I.
the Grenadier Guards were formed in 1656 as Lord Wentworth’s Regiment, in Bruges. they claim their seniority because they were adopted as the bodyguard of Charles II, making them the only guards regiment actually in existence at the time to hold that accolade.
Bob Cubitt, Northampton.
QUESTION On the day ITV launched in 1955, it featured a boxing match. Who was it between?
FuRtheR to the earlier answer, after terry Murphy quit boxing in 1957, he became a London publican. In 1975, he took over the Bridge house in Canning town and established it as a music venue.
heavy metal fans rubbed shoulders with punks, mods, skinheads and goths to watch Iron Maiden, the tom Robinson Band, secret Affair, Cockney Rejects and Wasted Youth. Murphy’s boxing heritage helped him keep order.
the pub is where Dire straits, u2 and the stray Cats played their first uK dates, where steve Marriott and Chas and Dave recorded live albums, and where Depeche Mode were signed.
Murphy sold out in 1982. the pub became a club, then a hotel. It was pulled down for a new flyover in 2002.
Tim Crawley, Barking, East London.