Transport buildings-railway stations, airport terminals, bus and coach stations, motorway service areas, filling stations, and garages-are such a part of everyday scenery they are easily overlooked. This book is the first to take a close look at the architecture of British transport buildings of the twentieth century, a period during which transportation systems, methods, and even purposes underwent enormous change.
The contributors to the book consider transport buildings both well known and unfamiliar from a variety of intriguing viewpoints. They explore the design and promotion of the London Underground, the battle between road and rail, the intentions of architects-to glamorize travel, to calm fears, to accommodate huge numbers of travelers-and the political and cultural significance of the transport buildings that have become a major part of modern life.
Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art