Post war apartments are now ‘old’ building stock, despite a modernist design approach, so when they are given an upgrade including some essential maintenance- new windows and rendering, and some redesign to the entrance and common parts, they can leap into the twenty first century in style. St Olaves Court near Kensington Palace looked dingey after 40 years and needed defensible forecourt space, as the original paved area sloped to a basement car park. This allowed litter and strays in from the street and residents had to walk a bridge over it into a tiny dark entrance lobby which was shared with the refuse room access! We created a front garden by relocating the bin store entrance and wrapping a softly curved wall around the forecourt to contain a raised garden. The refurbished lobby is light and spacious and planting to the sides of the entrance ramps, new double glazed windows and general redecs complete the uplift.