Foyles’ London transforms previous Central St Martins building

William and Gilbert Foyle started selling books from their parent’s home in the early 1900s so when demand outstretched the kitchen table they opened a shop on Charing Cross Road in London’s West End. The two brothers called it Foyles.

The last century has seen the bookstore grow not just in sales but also with projects such as a welsh press, art galleries and the popular Ray’s Jazz café to name just a few. While Foyles has been a household name in the book world for more than a hundred years it hasn’t been without strife; weathering the depression in the 1930s and the Second World War in last century; and the formidable threat from online bookstores and the growing popularity of eBooks in this century.

As over-the-counter book sales continue to shrink it’s a brave leap by Foyles moving (and expanding) a few doors down into the former Central St Martins building. From the building that previously exhibited work from Gilbert & George and Antony Gormley, architects Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands have opened the central space creating a whitewashed atrium that presents a distinctly clinical but bright – light pours in from rooftop windows – departure from the previous store. The new flagship offers customers six sprawling floors of open-plan bookshelves, with each department organised in pristine fashion.

This new store-concept is a far cry from the previous haphazard approach to book presentation where customers had to search amongst a labyrinthine arrangement just a few doors up the street. Many argue this retained a quirky charm for Foyles so it’s no surprise some are left slightly fazed by this direction, but character is retained with two art galleries and the continuation of their prestigious literary events. Hilary Mantel officially opened the new store in July with authors Michael Palin and Yotam Ottolenghi opened the travel and cookery departments respectively, showing Foyles can still attract big-name authors like it did when Christina Foyle introduced the concept in the 1920s.

Foyles has ironed its shirt, preened itself and re-presented it bravely to the book-world jumping into a hopeful new direction.

Foyles 1906 (Foyles Archive)