Photo by Oliver Marshall 2014
Photo by Oliver Marshall 2014 The other day I found myself inadvertently experiencing some of the best new (well, new-ish) designs that make London such a great place to live and visit. I was meeting a friend for an exhibit at Tate Modern, and I took the bus to the museum – specifically the no. 11 bus, which is one of the routes using the redesigned Routemaster bus.
The Routemaster is a new take on an old and much-loved design, retaining the open entrance at the back and the spiral staircase to the upper deck.
The open back deck means that passengers can jump on and off at will again (although I once did that and left my young daughter behind on the platform because she was too frightened to jump - she's never forgiven me for the terror she felt as the bus pulled away...).
The Routemaster is a new take on an old and much-loved design, retaining the open entrance at the back and the spiral staircase to the upper deck.
The open back deck means that passengers can jump on and off at will again (although I once did that and left my young daughter behind on the platform because she was too frightened to jump - she's never forgiven me for the terror she felt as the bus pulled away...).
Photo by Oliver Marshall 2014 There are three sets of doors in the new model – front, middle, and the open one at the back. Accessibility is far better than on the old model: there is wheelchair and buggy access and a wheelchair bay opposite the middle doors. Both audio and visual stop announcements help everyone, not just those with hearing or visual impairments.
Production of the old Routemasters stopped in 1968. The new Routemasters, which hit London's roads in 2012, were designed by Thomas Heatherwick, who also designed the beautiful copper cauldron at the 2012 London Olympics.
The new model is larger than the old one but lighter, and to minimise the perceived size the corners and edges were rounded. The windows are ribbons of glass that curve around the sides and back of the bus, and the interior is simplified, less chaotic. The diesel-electric hybrid means it’s probably gentler on the environment. It certainly is less noisy.
After getting off the bus I walked across the Millennium Bridge, known when it was first built as the Wobbly Bridge because if its precarious swaying – part of its design but so disconcerting that the bridge had to be closed immediately after opening so tweaks could be made to reduce the sway effect. It’s the first footbridge crossing the Thames to be built in more than a century.
Photo by Oliver Marshall 2014
Photo by Oliver Marshall 2014 The Millennium Bridge is a project that incorporates many elements of urban design, a collaboration between architect, engineer and sculptor (Arup, Engineers; Foster and Partners, Architects; Sir Anthony Caro, Sculptor). It is, as the project website says, a "minimal design that gives pedestrians unrivalled views of London, free from traffic and high above the Thames".
“A long span bridge, as needed to cross the Thames at this point, is a pure expression of engineering structure. A city centre footbridge, however, is equally about people and the environment - a piece of public architecture."
“A long span bridge, as needed to cross the Thames at this point, is a pure expression of engineering structure. A city centre footbridge, however, is equally about people and the environment - a piece of public architecture."
The bridge links (visually if not literally) St Paul’s Cathedral, designed by Christopher Wren, with Tate Modern, itself is a reworking of an impressive power station dominating the south side of the river between Westminster and Tower Bridge.
Poster by Paul Catherall for Transport for London 2014 There are other aspects of urban design that we don’t often appreciate but that make it possible for us to get around and experience our surroundings and the delights of city living. The Oyster Card for one – it makes travel easy with its touch in and out technology and makes it seem almost free because we don’t have to mess with cash.
And bus lanes make it possible for the no 11 to get through heavy mid-afternoon traffic.
And things like wheelchair ramps, which make our streets and pavements accessible to everyone. These all require designers who apply design to everyday life. My brother-in-law Ken is one such designer; he works as an engineer for the City of San Francisco and is in charge of ramps and other urban access.
And bus lanes make it possible for the no 11 to get through heavy mid-afternoon traffic.
And things like wheelchair ramps, which make our streets and pavements accessible to everyone. These all require designers who apply design to everyday life. My brother-in-law Ken is one such designer; he works as an engineer for the City of San Francisco and is in charge of ramps and other urban access.
But design can also inhibit our enjoyment of our cities. I call this hostile design, and an example is in the Victoria & Albert Museum’s new gallery on Rapid Response Collecting. The gallery is dedicated to collecting objects in response to significant moments in history that touch the world of design and manufacturing and that reflect how we live today.
Anti-Homeless Spikes, V&A. Photo by Margaret Doyle 2014 These Anti-Homeless Spikes were installed in summer 2014 outside an apartment building in Southwark, London, to deter vagrants and other unwanted lingerers.
This was just months after Crisis, the homeless charity, reported that sleeping rough has increased by 75% in the past three years.
The spikes, and the 3D-printed gun that sits alongside, are the dark side of design. But there are many, many more examples of the good, the design that helps us inhabit and move freely around our public spaces.
“Design is a mirror to our society: what we buy, how things are made, how we solve problems. The things in this gallery are evidence of social, political, technological and economic change, and they show that objects mean more than their sometimes modest material value.” (V&A)
This was just months after Crisis, the homeless charity, reported that sleeping rough has increased by 75% in the past three years.
The spikes, and the 3D-printed gun that sits alongside, are the dark side of design. But there are many, many more examples of the good, the design that helps us inhabit and move freely around our public spaces.
“Design is a mirror to our society: what we buy, how things are made, how we solve problems. The things in this gallery are evidence of social, political, technological and economic change, and they show that objects mean more than their sometimes modest material value.” (V&A)
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