The New Club is a private members club located in the heart of Edinburgh, on Princes Street overlooking the Gardens and the Mound, housed in a Grade A listed example of 'Northern' modernism. The original layout of the first floor and entrance sequence has been explained by Stuart Renton, the credited Architect of the original build alongside Alan Reiach, as a climb through a darkened compressed space, up into the light of the atrium.

 

The process of filtering Ladies and Gentlemen into their respective areas of the club gave the prominence and positioning of the Porter’s Desk a great deal of significance. This was a distinct Lobby space, operated with both sets of doors closed, which had made a more confrontational approach for a guest as the Club is no longer segregated. 

 

Our plans sought to redress this entrance sequence, creating a view of the city at the arrival point for the Clubs principal floor. By adjusting the Porter's Desk within an altered Lobby space, and conjoining the old Ladies Drawing Room and Bayles Bar we have created a more informal, bright room, orientated alongside the windows to Princes Street. Guests and members alike are greeted with a decluttered space, which opens out to the different spaces within the Club, whilst keeping the Porter's Desk in a prominent position.

A less bar like and more informal and bright room, the new Bayles Bar creates a drawing room that can be used by casually dressed members throughout the day and into the evening. This means that it may cater for teas and coffees, members reading the papers in a comfortable chair, right through to social groups enjoying a drink in the evening.

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Throughout the spaces the original materials and architectural intent have been strictly adhered to.