No.9 Crystal Palace Parade

When, about a year ago, my neighbour said something about seeing a planning application to convert the disused public loos on the parade into an apartment, I thought he'd been drinking. But then, some months later, Laura Clark posted a link to her blog on Virtual Norwood, and I realised my neighbour had been right all along. Laura is a young architect, and an extremely tenacious one. She first spotted the disused loos when she moved into the area 6 years ago, and it took all the intervening years to persuade the council to let her acquire the property, and get the relevant permissions, to allow work to begin. What she has achieved is an extraordinary, if  somewhat eccentric home, right here on the Triangle.

Laura Clark

The moment I first saw the project, I knew there would be a story worth telling, and sure enough, the style editor at the Saturday Telegraph magazine, David Nicholls, agreed with me. Living in Southeast London himself, he snapped up the story, and I was delighted when he commissioned me to shoot it for the magazine. Also enlisted, to conduct the interview with Laura, and write the copy, was my old friend, and fellow blogger, Charlotte Packer. 

To see the article as it appeared in the Telegraph, click here

Laura Clark Architect