Great Britain: The Cult Box Anniversary: ​​The Centenary of the Red Telephone Box – Entertainment

In fact, K2 should not shine with the familiar red color. The British government reports: “Scott’s winning design was originally intended to be made of silver-plated steel with a blue-green interior.” Only after the free swim did the General Post Office in charge at the time decide to make the box out of cast iron and paint it red.

Inspiration from the grave

Scott (1880-1960) created the design for a competition in which the Royal Commission of Fine Arts wanted to find a replacement for Kiosk No. 1 at the request of the Postmaster General. The concrete cell was only introduced in 1921, but was not very popular. Scott was clearly inspired by the family tomb built by architect John Soane, who designed, among other things, the Bank of England building, for his wife in 1816. Scott knew the business well, having been a trustee of Sir John Soane’s Museum for decades .

K2 soon satisfied. The red color matches the famous red mailboxes and red buses. However, the impressive design, which featured the royal coat of arms of King George V on all four sides, can only be seen in the capital. The one British ton cell was too heavy and too expensive to be used nationally. However, K2 served as the basis for Future generations of the red box.