The perfect setting for a timeless tradition
As a kid, one of the reasons I looked forward to the weekend was my ritual with my dad: every Saturday and Sunday, we’d pay a visit to the local kiosk. I’d excitedly browse the latest kids’ magazines while he carefully chose his newspaper. However, what I cherished the most was the sense of community. The kiosk was more than a place to buy news; it was the neighborhood’s meeting point, where stories were shared, gossip spread, and connections formed. That’s the magic of kiosks; they are not just sources of information but places that bring people together.
Over the years, the number of newsstands has declined, yet their ability to link people remains undeniable. Nowadays, their presence is experiencing a revival, with News&Coffee leading the way. By reimagining the traditional kiosk, it preserves the timeless values of quality and connection, breathing new life into a treasured urban tradition. To this day, the brand has opened up kiosks in Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia and London and doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon.
Recently, News&Coffee announced a second location in London, nestled within PaperHouse, paying a true homage to the newsstand tradition. The Paperhouse project, developed in 2002 by Heatherwick Studio in collaboration with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, aimed to transform the conventional image of kiosks. Led by Mark Burrows and Stuart Wood, with the involvement of Rachel Hain, the innovative design sought to revitalize these urban spaces, integrating them harmoniously into their surroundings and offering a contemporary aesthetic that reflected the identity of the local community.
The project was ultimately interrupted due to the overall newsstand crisis, with only two units ever put into use. Another two were reclaimed by the King’s Cross estate to incubate various projects, but none of these units were ever used for paper. Now, they finally get to fulfill the mission they were originally intended for. In doing so, News&Coffee, created to restore life and purpose to newsstands, stands as the perfect companion.
By choosing PaperHouse as their new location, News&Coffee serves as the perfect cornerstone for the neighbourhood, characterized by a vibrant blend of students, professionals and innovators. Surrounded by Central Saint Martins and companies like EMI and Google, the kiosk embodies the communion of the creativity and the collaboration that define the district, marking the continuation of a chapter that was commenced 20 years ago.
