End of an Era – A Brief History of Britain’s Famous Red Telephone Box
In 1921, the first telephone kiosk was introduced to Britain, and was given the imaginative name of Kiosk No 1 (abbreviated to K1). Whist the introduction of the first telephone kiosk was welcomed by many, the design of the kiosk was considered to be conservative and old fashioned. Two years after the introduction of K1 there were two independent schemes established in order to redesign the K1, however, it wasn't until 1924, and the introduction of the Royal Fine Art Commission that the redesign project was brought together. The Royal Fine Art Commission were responsible for examining questions of public amenity or artistic importance referred to it by government departments or other bodies, and as part or this responsibility, they invited three leading architects Sir Robert Lorimer, Sir John Burnet and Giles Gilbert Scott to contribute designs.
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