From the outside, these two Victorian houses look like normal homes but are derelict, making them ideal for filming and photoshoots – as seen in Professor Green’s video One Eye On The Door. Initially a party venue called The Peckham Hotel, the adjoining houses were converted to gallery hire spaces by local artists Jo Dennis and Dido Hallett, who worked tirelessly to get the buildings fit for public use for the 2014 launch.
Despite being run-down, ravaged ruins, Safehouse 1 and 2 are full of character and have electricity and WC. Safehouse 1 has four large rooms with stripped-down walls and one floor completely removed, leaving just the wooden beams that supported it, creating a double height room. Safehouse 2 has two large rooms downstairs and three large open rooms upstairs. Almost all of the windows are bricked up downstairs, while upstairs gets bathed in tons of natural light.
Managed by Maverick Projects, who offer other unique locations for exhibitions, theatre, events, filming and photoshoots (such as Asylum, AMP Studios and Gallery), Safehouse 1 & 2 is close to Peckham Rye station and has ample parking. In between art exhibitions, the buildings are often rented out for fashion shoots and music videos and even the Royal Shakespeare Company have plumped for its distressed, decrepit charm.