Narrow, shop-lined Newport Court is an atmospheric gateway into London’s Chinatown. It leads from Charing Cross Road through to Newport Place, the most popular meeting place in the neighbourhood. The 1970s Newport Sandringham building that they enclose, however, had a heavy presence, the ground-floor shops hidden by brick colonnades and misused undercroft spaces.
The key to the project was activating the building’s public frontages. We felt that well-designed, contemporary shopfronts would significantly improve the building’s character, so we infilled the colonnade, bringing the shop windows forward to meet the street.
