Central Saint Martin’s School of Art at Nos.107-109 Charing Cross Road
Central Saint Martin’s School of Art at Nos.107-109 Charing Cross Road
We provided conservation advice for Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London to assist in the sale of their historic home and its transformation into Foyles Bookshop.
The former home of Saint Martins College of Arts is a 1930s building with sculpture at the entrances, in the Soho Conservation Area. The College outgrew this accommodation and has relocated. The client developed a scheme for conversion and extension to assist in the sale of the building. Discussions around its future prompted an objector to submit an application for listing.
We prepared representations regarding the potential listing of the building. Through research, inspection and comparison with other buildings, we concluded that the College was not of listable quality. Though the façade incorporates sculpture, the building itself is not of special interest. Our research also showed that it had undergone internal alterations, illustrated clearly in our report.
The subsequent report by Historic England agreed with our findings and the building was not listed. This paved the way for an imaginative conversion scheme by architects Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands.
Client: University of the Arts London
Architects: Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands