Looks like the iconic London bus is due for a makeover because there was a competition to decide who would re-design the double-decker buses which have not been seen on the roads for more than three years now. And you will be happy to know who the winners are — famed architect Norman Foster and Aston Martin, and by that logic the London buses too.

A total win-win situation, it will create new buses to run in time for the London Olympics in 2012. The Aston and Foster winning model visualizes reconstituted leather upholstery that will allow the passengers to gaze at the skies and views around through a glazed roof that is coated with solar panels which will in turn power heat and air conditioning.

Plus the bus is being especially designed to navigate the dense streets of London. For example, the driver’s cabin will have panoramic views alongwith CCTV images and radio communications with the on-board conductor to optimize safety.
And that is not all! In order to make the re-designing iconic like the bus itself, Martin and Foster aim to give the vehicle a wood flooring and a salon-like lower deck that will create a ‘living room’ kind of a feel. The stimated costs for the creation of these chic new conveyances will be somewhere around $160 million a year.

Via fosterandpartners