Barry student’s ‘passion project’ turns cloakroom into artist café

Lauren Page, now 29, originally returned to university in South Wales in 2020 to pursue a career in interior design after working for the local council for a few years.

Since then, she has graduated with a First Class in interior design and has gone on to form her own company, Unpaged Studios.

During her time at university, Lauren was asked as part of her final major project to find a building that was unused or used poorly and to create a hypothetical new design for it, using full creative freedom.

Lauren’s hypothetical designs turned Barry Island’s unused Victorian cloakrooms into an artist’s café (Image: Lauren Page) After realising that several buildings in Barry would be perfect, she settled on the former cloakrooms, which already had  a potential proposal sent to the council, meaning that some of the information she needed for the project was readily available.

Lauren said: “Since there was already a proposal in place for the former Cloakrooms, I was able to access some information about the building through planning in order to create my drawings and model in 3D.

“In my research I found that this toilet block was part of the first development of the beach so there is great historic significance. It also has a great location with a viewing platform on top overlooking the sea.

“I came across this article that was questioning what was happening with the building. The proposals for restaurants were made before Covid and there has been little information since this 2023 article about the progress for the work.

“Then not long after choosing my building, it was announced that Barry was to receive funding for regenerating the area. The news was great, but it was focused around creating a new development rather than helping existing areas/ buildings in the town.”

As part of the project, Lauren was tasked with creating a feasibility study alongside a concept proposal for the new use of the building.

Lauren’s design created an artist’s workshop with the café (Image: Lauren Page) Using her knowledge of the area and personal art interest, she created a potential idea of an artists café, inspired by The Little Man Coffee shops in Cardiff and Swansea, cafes which offer spaces for artists to work.

Lauren continued: “With the increase in co-working spaces I thought the idea of a shared workshop where local artists can access equipment and space that may not be achievable in their homes would make a fantastic starting point for my project.

 “It seemed fitting to also provide a shared office space for members to use for co-working, with the focus being on creative industries. A flexible events space was also included on the ground floor with an atrium to provide visual connection between public and members areas.

“In order for this project to be feasible, it needed to include something for generating revenue on top of memberships, which is what led me to suggest an extension on the roof to house a cafe/ bar which would benefit from sea views and be open for locals and tourists. I proposed a collaboration with the Little Man Coffee shop in my project as an established business that already has connections to the creative community.”

Lauren spent hours designing her ‘passion project’ (Image: Lauren Page) As her design and materials were influenced by the local landscape and sustainability, including a special product that would enable the use of old brick from the high windows to be used in terrazzo flooring which she proposed for the ground floor.

All her other products were designed to be as least wasteful as possible, as well as being from either Wales or UK based companies, alongside natural elements and fabrics including wool, cotton, tiles and plywood.

Lauren was committed to using Welsh or UK companies and focused on a space for creatives that is kind to the environment (Image: Lauren Page)

Although this was a university project, Lauren was determined to celebrate a building she feels has been neglected but has so much potential and history, without worrying about the logistics and cost.

She added: “After visiting the area several times it was clear that the damage to the building is getting worse. I fear if something isn’t done soon, we could lose this building.

“The point of my design was to show the potential for it to be brought back into use and to support members of the community, to focus on existing buildings with history and not just new builds.

“I wanted to design something that reflected the story of the Island, was sympathetic to the original structure and was designed in a sustainable way.

“I also have a great love for the creative industries and feel like there could be more around to support them. This was my passion project to create something in Barry, for creatives, community and kind to the planet.”