An Architect From England Turned an Abandoned Public Restroom Into the Home of Her Dreams

Casa Milà (or La Pedrera) by Antoni Gaudí is one of the world’s most visited buildings famous for its surrealist and unconventional design. This building is so unique that it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. But it’s not only design that turned this house into an architectural masterpiece. The construction site itself is so extraordinary that it makes us wonder who would ever build a thing like this in the first place. Meet Laura Jane Clark, a talented architect who turned an underground public restroom into the house of her dreams.

Here at Bright Side, we are amazed by this exceptionally ambitious and creative project and we can’t wait to share it with you!

How it all started

Laura Clark is an English architect who specializes in residential conversions, extensions, and new buildings. Laura also designs her own furniture and interior items in collaboration with other artists and designers. She has won several awards celebrating her creative and innovative approach to design and architecture.

Laura first spotted abandoned lavatories in 2005 when she moved to London. “I’ve always loved the idea of micro-regeneration,” she explained. “For me, that’s about saving sites with an interesting history of which have been abandoned and forgotten,” she told The Telegraph. When Laura told her friends and family that she was planning to turn used public toilets into a one-bedroom flat, their reaction ranged from laughter to horror and criticism, but it didn’t make her doubt herself for a single moment.

A long way from the house of her dreams.

The restrooms were built in 1929 and were last used in the 1980s. No wonder so many preliminary jobs like demolition and cleaning had to be done to turn this abandoned place into a decent construction site.

The place looked creepy at the beginning and was filled to the brim with rubbish. Together with builders and workers, Laura started her long journey to creating the cozy home of her dreams.

“I ended up doing a lot of the laboring work myself because it was such horrid, hard work that I struggled to keep people on the job,” said Laura.

Finally, after several months of hard work and $65,000 spent, the project was completed and what was formerly known as an abandoned public lavatory turned into a stylish one-bedroom flat filled with light and color.

The project is complete!

The pearl of this architectural masterpiece is the bedroom of red and golden colors with a kind of a canopy bed and a full-sized mirror. It’s hard to think of the unpresentable past of the construction site when you see all this beauty!

Apart from the glamorous bedroom, this contemporary home has everything one may need — a living room with bookshelves that stretch through the whole flat, a kitchen with all the necessary equipment and even a small garden.

This fascinating gold-leaf bathroom is another example of how a dull and creepy space can get a second life in the hands of a talented and inventive artist!

Who knew a place that used to be used as a public restroom could become a cozy home! It’s Laura’s determination, optimism, and persistence that made this unbelievable transformation happen.

Laura Clark has set a good example for people who have ambitious plans. Even if your goal seems unachievable and your ideas are unsupported by others, don’t give up on your plan. Keep pursuing your goal, work hard, and in the end, you’ll get the reward you deserve!

What do you think of this ambitious project? Would you live in this house taking into account its unusual past? Share your thoughts in the comments below!