A team composed of Aston Martin car designers and Foster + Partners architects have won a competition to design the next generation of iconic, much-loved double-decker buses for London. (via)
Aston Martin and Foster + Partners share the first prize distinction with a proposal by Capoco Design, (below) a bus, truck, and coach company.
The website of sponsoring authority Transport for London describes Aston Martin and Foster + Partners' winning entry:
...The bus will reinvent a much-loved London icon for a new era and re-establish the city as a world leader in the design of public transport.
A symbol of place, the bus is also designed to navigate the dense and varied streets of London, employing innovative technologies to allow for greater manoeuvrability on tight corners. Increasing safety and visibility, screens in the cabin allow the driver to supervise CCTV images and both the layout and choice of warm lighting and wooden floors are conceived to foster a spirit of conviviality. The arrangement of the decks is driven by comfort and particular consideration is given to the selection of upholstery to create a ‘living room’ feel, especially in the saloon-like lower deck. The original Routemaster was introduced in 1956 and saw continuous service for almost forty years: the new bus for London is designed to adapt to changing technologies and serve the capital for the next forty years and beyond.
From the judges' comments:
“We were impressed with the extent of background research and level of development in this entry by Aston Martin and Foster + Partners. The overall concept was meticulously and artistically presented and displayed. We particularly liked the overall styling package, especially the rear end, and heritage cues from the original Routemaster such as the use of wood flooring. Other innovations included a drive-by-wire system, solar panels built into the glass roof, and LED –based moving advertising displays.”
Thus the winning entries, place-specific in both aesthetic and technical ways, each play on the design cues that have made the Routemaster bus instantly recognizable as a symbol of London and England to a global audience.
Hector Serrano, Minarro Garcia, and Javier Esteban garnered second prize with "Welcome Back," a bus design notable for its compact design and the diagonal window emphasizing the rear stair.
From the entrants' project brief:
Welcome Back represents the evolution of the iconic Routemaster. An innovative vehicle combining the best of the past with the best of now. A unique bus tailored to London. A brand new London classic that retains the much appreciated friendly and warm feeling from the Routemaster. A compact bus for a compact city, the vehicle has a small wheelbase which means it can move easily around London’s narrow streets.
One of the most characteristic features is the diagonal window that celebrates London’s double decker buses by visually externalizing the stairs. To improve safety we have incorporated a lighting system into the floor of the rear entrance platform that informs passengers and vehicles when the bus is about to move. This is a truly sustainable vehicle using a Hybrid Diesel-electric Drive System. Its smaller size also means less weight so less fuel consumption is required and less exhaust emissions are produced.
After the winning designs are refined by bus manufacturers, the first prototypes of the new bus will appear by 2011. More.
I like the "Welcome Back" design better. But they also should make their busses handicap-friendlier.
Posted by: Manuel | 01/18/2009 at 23:27