As the London bookseller Foyles unveils its new flagship on Charing Cross Road, we give the four-storey bookshop a close reading.

Four miles of shelving, 200,000 titles and a selling area equivalent to 13 tennis courts. These are the stats being put out by Foyles about the opening of its new flagship on London’s Charing Cross Road, and they are certainly impressive.

Foyles, Charing Cross Road

Opened: June 6

Formerly: Central St Martins College of Art & Design

Size: 37,000 sq ft

Number of floors: Eight landings or four floors

Design: Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands

Standout feature: The central atrium

Ambience: Homely modern

But the interesting point is whether this really is a new shop, or whether a move a few doors along the street just means it is a store that has been given a change of emphasis with a very local relocation.

Any but the most cursory examination of this eight-level store however would be enough to convince the book lover that it is both.

Foyles has moved into the former premises of Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, which has relocated to the redeveloped King’s Cross. The retailer has made stringent efforts to maintain the original design ethos of the 37,000 sq ft local landmark.

Pulp, fiction

It is fair to say, however, that if some Saint Martins alumni were to visit their old stamping ground, they would find much has changed since popular beat combo Pulp brought that institution’s tenure on the premises to an end in 2011.

That might not be entirely apparent from the exterior (the building is listed), although the name over the door has certainly altered. If a former student were to step indoors though, their memory might be jogged by an area on the left-hand side of the shop that houses the art department. But after that things would be almost entirely different.

For starters, there is a greater feeling of openness and light. Alex Lifschutz, director at Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, the architectural practice that worked on converting the store into a modern bookshop, says: “This was five buildings that had been stitched together because they were acquired over time and adapted over time. What we have done [among other things] is to enlarge the central space and create a series of half-landings.”

That means there is an entrance, followed by an atrium, around which eight levels, alternating from one side of the atrium to the other, are arranged.

No two levels are the same height as the ones opposite and there is a certain quirkiness about this.

‘Quirky’ is a word that Lifschutz is fond of using when referring to this interior and it is perhaps a reflection of the former somewhat piecemeal nature of the St Martins interior and of the way in which Foyles organised its offer in its old store.

The increased light level comes from the enlarged central well and means that daylight penetrates wherever the shopper happens to be.

Modern classic

This is, first and foremost, a bookshop. And much of the thought about what has been done has involved creating a modern bookshop while paying homage to the building’s history.

Practically, that means that six of the eight ‘landings’ – for which read floor-plates – has reasonably traditional library-style mid-shop equipment, but a lot of it is lower, making navigation more straightforward. There are good sightlines throughout.

Natural shelf life

The bulk of the shelving is in light, rather than dark, wood. In a lot of bookshops the shelving tends to be in dark wood and when this is coupled with books, which collectively tend to be dark as well, the result can be fusty and unwelcoming. For that reason, the perimeter modules on each level are well-lit, and as well as bleached wood for the fixturing, the fabric of the interior has been painted white. All of which could equate to a contemporary but potentially sterile environment.

That is avoided, however, thanks to the detailing, which really marks this interior out.

Walk up the stairs and there are internally lit niches that run in parallel with the staircase handrail. Books are positioned within them and as the shopper walks up the stairs, the effect is not unlike the dishes that whizz round on a conveyor belt in a branch of Yo! Sushi The difference is that it is the customer who passes the stock, rather than the other way around, as Foyles operations director Siôn Hamilton notes.

Then there are the reading shelves-cum-lecturns. These are positioned around the atrium void on each landing, the intention being that shoppers can select books and flick through them before making a purchase. They also serve as an opportunity to take a moment, stare into the void and enjoy the view.

Worth mentioning too are the upper levels of the store, where there is a gallery and a cafe, each of which measures 1,300 sq ft. Both have been designed by Lustedgreen, the consultancy that worked on the Foyles stores at Waterloo station and Westfield Stratford City.

Independent catering company Leafi will run the cafe – it already operates in London’s Whitechapel Gallery and the Turner Contemporary in Margate, among other locations.

Beyond cafe culture

There is a sense that a bookshop of any size without a cafe isn’t really a complete entity these days, but as Foyles chief executive Sam Husein says: “This is just about people lingering and spending more time here. A cafe is important, but is part of a bookshop.”

If he is right, then this is not a cafe with a few books – which sometimes seems the case in some large central London bookshops, if the empty floors of books and cafes bursting at the seams are anything to go by – but “a bookshop for the 21st century”, as the Foyles PR has it.

Lifschutz says: “If you cast your mind back three or four years ago, you could hardly have started a project in a more bleak time and it is a mark of Foyles’ investment in the sector that this has happened.” It’s a fair point and Charing Cross Road is the better for it. Foyles is that rarity, it would seem – a book retailer that is on the up and up.

Meanwhile, for book lovers and those who want to experience the physicality of the printed word rather than accessing it online, Foyles’ flagship is a good place to do so. This is an interior where shoppers can come and find what they are looking for and at the same time lose themselves in the world of books.

Finally, if you happen to have an evening or two to spare, Foyles is staging a ‘Grand Opening Festival’. It started two days ago and runs until July 5. And curiously, Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker gave a talk last night detailing his development as a writer and songsmith. Plus ça change…