K6 Telephone Kiosk

788/0/10275 COMMERCIAL STREET 13-APR-10 K6 telephone kiosk

GV II K6 telephone kiosk.

DESCRIPTION: The K6 is a standardised design made of cast iron, painted red overall with long horizontal glazing in door and sides and with the crowns situated on the top panels being applied not perforated. There are rectangular white display signs, reading TELEPHONE beneath the shallow curved roof. It has modernised internal equipment.

This kiosk is located on the east side of Commercial Street outside the south-west corner of the churchyard of Christ Church Spitalfields (listed at Grade I).

HISTORY: The K6 telephone kiosk is a milestone of C20 industrial design. The K6 was designed by Giles Gilbert Scott in 1935 for the General Post Office, on the occasion of King George V's Silver Jubilee. The K6 was a development from his earlier highly successful K2 telephone kiosk design of 1924, of Neo-classical inspiration. The K6 was more streamlined aesthetically, more compact and more cost-effective to mass produce. Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960) was one of the most important of modern British architects; his many celebrated commissions include the Anglican cathedral of Liverpool and Battersea power station. The K2 and K6 telephone kiosks can be said to represent a very thoughtful adaptation of architectural tradition to contemporary technological requirements. Well over 70,000 K6s were eventually produced. In the 1960s many were replaced with far plainer kiosk types. But many still remain, and continue to be an iconic feature on Britain's streetscapes.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The K6 telephone kiosk on the east side of Commercial Street, outside the churchyard of Christ Church Spitalfields is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Design Interest: Giles Gilbert Scott's design has special interest for its artistry and functionality as well its iconic status as a milestone of C20 industrial design; * Setting: a strong visual relationship to the Grade I listed Christ Church Spitalfields, one of London's most dramatic churches, and the listed street furniture it groups with outside the churchyard.