In fact, K2 should not shine in the familiar red. “Scott's winning design was originally designed in silver painted steel with a blue-green interior,” the British government reports. Only after the freestyle, the then head of the General Post Office decided to make the box out of cast iron and paint it red.

Inspiration from a grave

Scott (1880-1960) created the design for a competition with which the Royal Commission of Fine Arts wanted to find an alternative to kiosk number 1 at the request of the Postmaster General. The concrete cell was not introduced until 1921, but proved extremely unpopular. Scott was apparently inspired by the family tomb that the architect John Soane, who designed, among other things, the Bank of England building, had built for his wife in 1816. Scott knew the job well: he was a trustee of Sir John's Museum Soane for decades.

K2 was soon convinced. The red matched the equally iconic mailboxes and red buses. However, the impressive design, which featured King George V's royal coat of arms on all four sides, could only be seen in the capital. Weighing one British ton, the cell was simply too heavy and expensive for use throughout the country. However, K2 served as the basis for the next generations of the red box.