Building Study: Walker’s Court, Soho, by Soda Studio

Gentrification is a contentious issue everywhere but if there is any part of central London that can be identified as its front line, it is probably Soho. Historically, Soho has been famed around the world as London’s sleazy pleasure playground, its heady mix of brothels, record shops, tailors, cabaret, pubs and clubs forming the spiritual epicentre of the Swinging Sixties and generally exuding a kind of bawdy yet charming insalubriousness that makes for a very British red light district.

But in the past decade, the pressure of redevelopment and high property prices in London has extended its tentacles through Soho and, in the eyes of many, authentic Soho is slowly but surely losing its soul. When iconic theatre and strip club the Raymond Revuebar closed in 2004, followed by Westminster council revoking the licence of legendary Madame JoJo’s cabaret club next to it a decade later, many people saw this as the final nail in Soho’s coffin. 

Boulevard Theatre and beyond

But a major new mixed-use development on the site of Raymond Revuebar promises to arrest what many see as Soho’s march to faceless corporate anonymity. Walker’s Court is a £27m, 55,000ft² development of new and refurbished buildings by architects Soda Studio. Its centrepiece is the Boulevard Theatre, a new state-of-the-art theatre with a maximum capacity of 200 and an extraordinary fully rotating theatre-in-the-round stage and a balcony that can rotate 270°, believed to be the first of its kind.

The theatre forms the first phase of the development and has been recently completed. But there is much more to come. The site also reappropriates a sweep of adjacent historic terraces and, behind retained facades, converts them to five flats and offices. Most joyously for Soho devotees, Madame JoJo’s sits underneath the terraces and will be reopened within a new semi-basement shell when the second and final phase of the development opens next year.  Famously, the project also happily restores the famous Raymond Revuebar neon sign that was such an unmistakable feature of the district. 

The project is being developed by Soho Estates, the local developer landlord set up by “King of Soho” Paul Raymond, whose granddaughter Fawn James is now a director at the company. Initial plans to convert the venue to luxury housing were abandoned and the reopened club hopes to re-establish some of the night-time buzz that Madame JoJo’s, along with the Revuebar next door, once provided. 

The design has been directly inspired by the original Raymond Revuebar and the surrounding streets and buildings

Russell Potter, Soda

The scheme straddles two sides of Walker’s Court, the charming, narrow alleyway for which it is named and which was once bedecked in neon. The theatre lies to the eastern side of the alley above units earmarked for future shopfronts. 

And the remainder of the scheme straddles the western side, save for some retained Victorian frontages beyond the site boundary. The theatre  entrance also lies to the west, meaning that the auditorium is accessed via a glass bridge that spans the alleyway below.

Neon and brickwork

So what differentiates Walker’s Court from all the other contentious Soho developments, and how does it seek to reconnect with the soul of the neighbourhood? It employs a number of measures, both big and small. One of the most instantly apparent is the restoration of the famous Revuebar neon sign and its enclosure within a new perforated brickwork facade. 

Soda Studio co-director Russell Potter reveals that local authority Westminster city council was “fairly relaxed” about potentially removing the sign and had to be convinced that its retention was worthwhile, despite it being an integral, much-loved Soho landmark. The brickwork the sign is encased in also provides another clue as to how the project seeks to engage with local context. Brick is the primary external material used for the new-build elements of the project and it chimes well with the adjacent retained historic frontages and the wider Soho streetscape. It also comes in many forms. On the blank facade below the sign it is perforated to form what Potter refers to as a “contemporary mask” to the retained newly glazed offices behind it now built on the actual site of the Revuebar. 

And around the corner in Walker’s Court itself. The theatre is expressed as series of vertical brick frontages clad in various shades of brickwork that range from yellow London stock to a glazed ceramic, thereby forming a neat contemporary echo of the proportions and variety evident in local Soho townscapes. 

The interior

The theatre interiors themselves are decadently plush and form a sleek contemporary take on the deep button tufting and velvety boudoir chic one associates with Soho bars and bordellos. From the entrance, a sequence of lounge-like art deco spaces are unfurled, starting with the curved grooves of the box office to the brass mounted globes that illuminate the bar. 

A recurring theme is the lace woven into many fixtures, window shutters are designed as a latticework tracery and the glass bridge itself has a sheet of lace embedded into the glazed floor. The theme pays homage to the net curtains that once adorned Soho brothel windows.

The theatre auditorium is an exquisite space, softly lit, plush, intimate and rammed full of hidden technology. The scalloped, velvet lined panels that comprise its wall continue the lace and art deco themes. Equally, the curving and occasionally foldable leather seating, designed by Soda themselves, successfully evoke the same art deco version of Soho spirit evident elsewhere. 

But the effect the revolving technology has on the theatre experience here is unique and extraordinary. Not only can the circular stage fully rotate but the raised balcony hung on 22mm steel columns can rotate almost a full revolution, ensuring that the auditorium can accommodate an almost infinite array of theatrical production formats and seating configurations. With these mechanisms in action, the space is transformed into a giant inhabitable hinge or pivot, blurring the boundary between architecture and machinery to very theatrical effect. It is, however, a blur that has a direct effect to avoid the theatre being classified by health and safety rules as an London Eye-type entertainment experience rather than a building and become liable for all manner of additional insurances. Theatregoers, rather sadly, are not permitted to sit on the balcony or around the stage while it rotates, even though the structure and machinery would be capable of supporting them. 

So, does Walker’s Court mark a return to a more authentic kind of Soho architecture and experience? Yes and no. Soho Estates’ Fawn James speaks passionately about remaining true to the “village character of Soho” and creating a venue that “honours” the famous Revuebar her grandfather founded. 

Soda’s Potter too argues that the project is the very “opposite” of sanitisation. “The history of Soho has played such a huge role in the development of this theatre and the design has been directly inspired by the original Raymond Revuebar and the surrounding streets and buildings.”

In a lot of important ways this is definitely the case. The restoration of the neon sign, the diversity of brickwork, the maintenance of vertical streetscape proportions, the introduction of art deco, even the decadent use of lace are all joyfully reminiscent of Soho’s character and past. And in transforming the mechanics of stage configuration into an exciting immersive experience, even the technical wizardry of the rotating auditorium engages with Soho’s energy and motion. 

Equally, the circular stage also has happy unintended consequence. In pushing the floorplate outwards to accommodate the curve, it creates a great bow in the elevation along Walker’s Court, which is very much in keeping with the tight, claustrophobic intimacy evident in Soho’s alleyways. Also, the retention of the original “Maurice House” bridge at the southern end of Walker’s Court, which with its bay window and once shabby render, is like the neon, another much-loved Soho townscape feature. 

So in all these ways, Walker’s Court – and reintroducing an entertainment venue in the form of the Boulevard Theatre on a tight site – has honoured Soho’s past. Of course, the process of redevelopment cannot completely recreate its former seedy charm – the velvet curtains of yesteryear are not coming back, and indeed many would be horrified if its previous mix of shabbiness and salaciousness was to return in full. But there is a balance to be struck, and at the moment with many of the earmarked retail units not yet occupied, the public realm areas can feel a little sterile.

Also, the new theatre entrance bridge on the opposite end of the court from the Maurice House original is a dull affair, a glass chute that could easily adorn any suburban shopping centre. Equally, while clad in brickwork, the elevations to this northern edge of the project have a certain anonymity too and, while clearly well intended, the amount of glazing does slightly give the feel of a standardised commercial development.

Soho presents modern development with a dilemma that resonates far beyond its boundaries. How important is character? Walker’s Court is a valiant and impressive attempt to combine these two opposing world views and deserves credit for it.