One of the worlds most brilliant and innovative pieces of modern architecture is also a particularly mobile and overlooked one. Its design was commissioned in 1947, took several years to develop and was eventually launched at Earls Court in 1954 as the Routemaster bus. It later proved to be the most successful motor bus ever devised and quickly became an icon of modern London.
Twenty odd years before the likes of forward looking architects, Archigram and Future systems were conceiving of mobile cities and single shell buildings, London Transport commissioned the development and design of a revolutionary new sixty nine person capacity double decker bus, to cope with the harsh operating conditions of London's bomb damaged streets.
Its conception following the Second World War, meant it gained from the development of new technologies developed specially for the war effort. London Transports expertise gathered from manufacturing aluminium aircraft, coupled with chief engineer, A.A.M. Durrants experience as director of tank design for the Ministry of Defence encouraged the development of this invincible machine.
The Routemaster was a pioneering example of monocoque (chassis-less) aluminium construction; forty percent lighter than a similar capacity bus manufactured from steel. It also boasted many other new technologies. (i.e. independent front suspension, power steering, fully automatic gearbox, power hydraulic braking)
When full production of the Routemaster eventually started in 1961 at Park Royal in West London, special assembly lines were set up, which by 1969 had produced nearly three thousand buses. They were manufactured to a build quality not surpassed and designed with ease of maintenance and longevity being critical. London Transport actually had another factory at Aldenham in Hertfordshire, covering a 17.5 acre site, dedicated just to overhauling and rebuilding these fantastic vehicles.
Beyond the chief engineer, there was a whole team of people involved in the development and design process, including external consultant Douglas Scott, who was responsible for the styling of the bus and including the seating fabric, which is also still in use today.
The bus cost ten percent more than its competition, but with an incredibly long and dependable life, nearly half of the total output are still in service today, outliving every alternative design ever produced.
Unfortunately it was the last bus to be designed and commissioned by London Transport and ceased production due to economic pressure to introduce single operator vehicles.
(2004)