Plans unveiled for a covered Soho alley through former Twentieth Century Fox HQ

"The site includes 31-32 Soho Square - formerly known as Twentieth Century House, 65-66 Frith Street, 10 Chapone Place and 22-25 Dean Street. The Twentieth Century House, which comprises most of the site facing Soho Square, was built in 1936 for Twentieth Century-Fox Film Company and served as its head office until they moved out in 2020. It's been empty ever since."

"Behind it is a block facing onto Dean Street that's a mix of restaurant, a couple of floors of offices, and three floors of flats. Between them is a goods delivery yard leading onto Dean Street. The developer plans to merge the two main buildings into a single office block and at the same time, open up the delivery yard space as a public courtyard."

"The courtyard can only be accessed from Dean Street, so as part of the plans, a section of the ground floor of Twentieth Century House would be turned into a covered alley leading to the courtyard - and hence, onto Dean Street as well. The new archway initially appears to be punching through at random, but in fact, an arch style doorway was there before the current building was constructed."

Refurbishment plans would convert Twentieth Century Fox’s former London headquarters into a merged office block with a new covered alley from Dean Street to Soho Square. The site includes Twentieth Century House (built 1936) and adjoining Frith Street and Dean Street buildings; Twentieth Century House served as the film company’s head office until 2020 and has been empty since. A goods delivery yard between the buildings would be opened as a public courtyard accessible from Dean Street. The scheme preserves the buildings’ external appearance while refurbishing interiors. The plans restore an earlier arch-style doorway and recall the corner building’s association with botanist Joseph Banks and his herbarium.

Read at ianVisits