Heatherwick says New Tube for London would be ‘amazing project to work on’

London Underground managing director Mike Brown last week said he was looking to ‘unashamedly’ emulate Heatherwick’s New Bus for London project with a £16 million upgrade planned for several Tube lines.

Heatherwick says, ‘It would be an amazing project to work on. I’m passionate about London and the bits we all share;  I’m a Londoner myself.’

He adds, ‘Whether it is us or someone else I hope that nobody takes the industrial option and that instead it’s given the character and warmth and ambitiousness that it deserves.’

Heatherwick says that this type of character hasn’t been seen on the London Underground for more than half a century, since Frank Pick was commissioning ‘inspiring and ambitious design.’

The Heatherwick Studio-designed New Bus for London hit the streets of the capital in 2012, and was the result of a competition launched by the Mayor of London.

Heatherwick was speaking to Design Week at the Design Indaba conference in Cape Town.