I moved into the Library Building right after the building completed and lived there for 7 years. I just moved out.
This building is better known as “The Library Building”. “Clapham One” was the name of the original construction project. There are two entrances: 2A St Luke’s Avenue and 2 Clement Avenue.
Even after all these years I never grew tired of the amazing views of Central London from my north-facing flat. If you like good skyline views, you’re in for a treat.
This being a modern building completed in 2012, it has quite good sound insulation. Despite that, boomy bass from nearby bars and nightclubs in Clapham High Street still leaks through. This can be a problem especially on Friday and Saturday nights.
My flat is always very warm relative to the outside temperature. This is nice in winter as I use very little heating, but it’s problematic in the summer as it can get really hot inside the flat. Not sure if this is specific to my flat or if it affects others too. Note that there is no centralized cooling system.
A helpful concierge team takes care of package deliveries – a very convenient service. The concierge is not present 24/7, but that’s never been a problem for me.
The building is not particularly well-managed. There has been issues with e.g. the water supply that could easily have been avoided had building management put appropriate maintenance arrangements in place. This seems to have gotten (slightly) better over the past year or so as Rendall & Rittner took over building management from Braemar Estates.
The original builders (Cathedral, United Living formerly United House) have been absolutely appalling in their post-completion handling of the building. They repeatedly refused to fix defects that are clearly their fault – for example the issues with the balconies that led to the ever-lasting scaffolding (repeatedly mentioned in other reviews). That said, the overall build quality of the building is good and the finish inside the flats is great.
Regarding broadband/internet access: the building is covered by Hyperoptic, which I highly recommend. It’s difficult to do better than symmetric 1 Gbit/s and sub-millisecond latencies on pure fiber!
Overall, I would recommend the building. My review might seem a bit grim but the issues I mention are merely small annoyances in practice – living there has been a good experience for me these past 7 years. I moved out mostly for personal reasons, not because of issues with the building, flat or overall area.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
A Sainsbury’s supermarket is 3 minutes walking distance from the building. It’s a real, large supermarket, not a convenience store. It is extremely convenient as you will never have to go far to buy groceries.
A large park, Clapham Common, is a few minutes walk from the building, which is really nice too. There is a gym right next to the building and a swimming pool close by.
Transport links are good thanks to the Northern Line. The building is a few minutes walk from Clapham Common and Clapham North stations (Zone 2). Note, however, that this link is an absolute nightmare during rush hour – I would recommend either going through Stockwell via bus or commuting after 9.30am if you can. There is also an Overground link at Clapham High Street, but it’s much less useful.
The description of the building on HomeViews states that the building is “in the heart of Clapham Junction”. That’s not true – Clapham Junction is actually quite far away and is not easily accessible from the building.