London’s Historic BT Tower To Become Hotel

Heatherwick Studio will work with the new American owner of the BT (British Telecommunications) Tower in central London, U.K., to transform it into a hotel, Building Design reports. Opened in 1965 by then-Prime Minister Harold Wilson, the tower has become a landmark on the capital’s skyline and is now grade II-listed. At 177 m, the building was the tallest in London when it opened and was not surpassed until 1980 when the NatWest Tower was built. Since 1984, it has been operated by the BT Group, and its famous “infoband” screen is often used to display messages to Londoners. The group will take several years to vacate the premises due to the scale and complexity of the work to move technical equipment, giving its new owner time to develop proposals.