As an interior architect and property developer specialising in the conversion of commercial buildings, Marta Nowicka spent her early career working on some of London’s hottest interiors. Her portfolio included the concept for Fabric nightclub, the design for Cyberia, London’s first internet café, and homes for artist friends including Michael Landy and Gillian Wearing.
She had also bought and converted an Edwardian warehouse near Old Street, where she lived with her son, as well as No 16 Charles Square. The 17th-century building was the Labour Party’s headquarters for Tony Blair’s 1997 election win and Ken Livingstone’s 2000 mayoral triumph. Nowicka gutted it, while working with English Heritage to respect the property’s Grade II* listing, and turned it into five rental flats, which she is now selling.
