When hearing the phone ring, passerby should go ahead and pick it up, specifically saying: 'I want to see things differently.' They’ll automatically be entered into a giveaway for a chance to win tickets to a slew of different events that showcase British stars, lifestyles, interests and cultural pursuits. Here are the details: Iconic red British telephone booths will take up residence at four different locations across the city throughout the rest of this week. In 2006 the K2 telephone box was voted one of Britain’s top ten iconic designs.This week only, New Yorkers can fool their Instagram followers into thinking that they have actually taken a trip to London, courtesy of 'GREAT Calling,' a new campaign by the United Kingdom to 'bring immersive British cultural experiences across the pond.' Photograph: Dave Allocca/StarPix Sir Giles Gilbert Scott was one of the most important modern British architects and is famous for iconic British landmarks such as Battersea Power Station and Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral. First listed at Grade II in 1986, its upgraded status better recognises its more than special architectural and historic interest. The telephone box prototype in question still remains where it was placed in 1924, at the western side of the entrance portal to Burlington House, home of the Royal Academy. The K2 was replaced in 1935 by the streamlined, more compact and cost-effective K6 model which was also designed by Scott and is the most common red telephone box still in existence today. Only a small number were placed outside London and just over 200 K2s survive today. Still sitting where it was placed after judging, the K2 prototype remains a striking feature at Burlington House, and its protection is now further enhanced as an important part of our nation’s industrial heritage.Īfter the successful competition, the first cast iron K2 was installed in London in 1926, with more than 1,700 appearing across the city over the course of the next decade. Inspired by Sir John Soane’s distinctive 1816 tomb to his wife and son in St Pancras Gardens, it was the winning entry for a major design competition in 1924 and formed the basis of the famous red phone boxes which are found across the country and known throughout the world. This unique timber structure by the celebrated British architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott represents a milestone in industrial design. We are pleased that the K2 telephone kiosk prototype at the entrance of Burlington House has been upgraded to Grade II*. In an increasingly digital world, it is important to preserve structures - like the K2 prototype phone box - that have played a part in our nation’s industrial story.ĭuncan Wilson, Chief Executive, Historic England said: The red telephone box is an internationally famous British icon and I am delighted that we are able to protect the first of its kind. Scott’s winning design was originally intended to be made of steel and painted silver with a blue-green interior, however, upon selection of the K2 design, the General Post Office chose to make it of cast-iron and painted red. Scott’s timber prototype was initially displayed in 1924 outside the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square with four other designs, and in 1925 it was announced that the K2 telephone box was the one ‘most suitable for erection in busy thoroughfares of large towns’. The timber K2 prototype was designed for a competition launched by the Royal Fine Arts Commission at the request of the Postmaster General to find an alternate to the unpopular concrete K1 structure which had been introduced in 1921. Heritage Minister Helen Whately has announced that the prototype for the UK’s first red public telephone box has been upgraded to Grade II* in recognition of its iconic design status.Ĭreated in 1924 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880 - 1960), the prototype K2 (Kiosk No.2) telephone box formed the basis of the design of future telephone boxes across the country. Box was built as part of a competition to create the iconic design.Telephone box has been outside the Royal Academy in London since 1924.

British phonebox