Giles Gilbert Scott

A. A bastion of the architectural establishment in early 20th-century Britain, Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960) fused tradition with modernity by applying historic styles to industrial structures in his designs from the Battersea and Bankside power stations in London, to Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, and to the K2 telephone kiosk.

B. At the top of the splendid Portland stone tomb of the 19th-century architect John Soane and his wife and son, in St Pancras Old Church Gardens, north London, is a dome in a surprisingly familiar shape. Designed by Soane in 1815 as a monument to his beloved wife, the tomb is one of his most romantic designs, ornate in form and decorated by stone carvings of snakes and pineapples. It is familiar not because of its association with Soane's family tomb, but because of its influence on the design of the red K2 telephone kiosks, which were once a common sight throughout Britain.

C. The architect who designed the K2. Giles Gilbert Scott, admired Soane's work and had recently become a trustee of the Sir John Soane Museum in London when invited in 1924 to enter a competition to design a public telephone kiosk. The shape of his design was inspired by the central domed structure of Soane's tomb. By rooting his design in Britain's architectural heritage, Scott transformed the telephone kiosk from what was then seen as an intimidating symbol of modernity into something that seemed reassuringly familiar. When the wooden models of the competing designs were exhibited outside the National Gallery, Giles Gilbert Scott's was chosen as the winner.

D. Scott continued to package modernity in British traditionalism throughout his career. In his inaugural address as president of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1933, when Britain was finally succumbing to modernism and the architectural profession was split by battling 'trads v. rads', he advocated a 'middle line' of both embracing technological progress and the human qualities of architecture. The 'middle line’ was illustrated by Scott's best known London buildings, the power stations at Battersea (1929-1935) and Bankside (1947-1960), where he disguised their industrial purpose behind Gothic facades. Battersea, in particular, became a popular London landmark. Yet in an age when progressive architects such as Le Corbusier and Jean Prouve romanticised technology, Scott's attempts to popularise industrial buildings by obfuscating their function seemed, at best, conservative.

E. In 1923, Giles Gilbert Scott was commissioned to design Memorial Court a hall of residence at Clare College, Cambridge (begun in 1923), which he completed in a Georgian-inspired style. The following year he won the telephone kiosk competition. Traditional though his kiosk was in style, functionally it was very advanced. An ingenious ventilation system was installed using perforations in the dome, and the glass was divided into small panels for speedy replacement in case of breakages. Scott's original proposal was for a mild steel structure, but the Post Office insisted on changing it to cast iron. It also insisted on painting the kiosks bright red for maximum visibility in emergencies rather than Scott's suggested shade of duck egg blue. Following protests in rural areas, where people complained that the bright red kiosks looked overbearing in the open countryside, the Post Office agreed to repaint them in green.

F. Despite the rural complaints, the K2 kiosk was a popular success, and Scott was invited by the Post Office to modify his design in 1930 for the concrete K3, intended principally for country use. He was recalled again to design the K6 in 1935 to commemorate King George V's silver jubilee. This became the most widely used version of the kiosk with thousands being installed.

G. As well as these landmark commissions. Scott designed dozens of churches throughout his career, as well as more understated public projects such as monuments and extensions to existing buildings. One of his most conspicuous commissions was as a consultant, rather than an architect, to Battersea Power Station in south London. Charged with making the enormous electricity generating station more appealing. Scott suggested brick as the main material for the central structure and turned the four chimneys - one on each corner - into reassuringly familiar neo-classical columns. The result is surprisingly engaging for such a vast structure, but with the showiness of the Art Deco cinemas then being constructed across Britain.

H. His most significant post-war commission came in 1947 when Scott was invited to design a second London power station at Bankside beside the Thames in Southwark. More austere in style than Battersea, Bankside did not match its popularity until its conversion in 2000 by the Swiss architects Herzog and De Meuron into the Tate Modern museum. Yet formally and functionally it is the more sophisticated of the two buildings, not least as Scott combined all of Bankside's chimneys into a single central tower.