A new future awaits for Preston Bus Station Pic: Tony Worrall

Preston Bus Station and Youth Zone’s winning design has been released and it is the public who picked it.

Judges selected the same design as was most popular in the public vote, listed as design five in the competition, to be how the £13 million Youth Zone and Bus Station apron will look.

New York architects John Puttick Associates have been awarded the contract and will now finalise the designs with county council planners.

Jennifer Mein, leader of Lancashire County Council, said: “We always knew that the bus station had a global appeal, and the fact that the winning firm comes from New York reinforces this.

“We’re delighted that a strong design has been chosen for the new Youth Zone Plus and we’ll now be working hard to get it built.

“This is a significant investment in one of Preston’s most well-known buildings, which will bring exciting new facilities for our young people, for this generation and for future ones.”

John Puttick, the architect behind the chosen design, said: “The Preston Bus Station development is an important opportunity to create a destination that makes a genuine difference for both visitors and the local community.

“The three components of the project – the revitalisation of the modernist bus station, the new OnSide Youth Zone, and a large outdoor public space – offer a rich mixture of uses and the challenge of sensitively introducing contemporary design to the existing setting.

“We are delighted to have been selected as the winners of the competition and are excited to develop the design with the client and stakeholders. We hope to play a game of football on the roof once the project is complete.”

The county council bought the Bus Station and associated land from Preston City Council last summer, for £1, after the building was declared a listed structure in September 2013.

It has pledged more than £20 million to repairs and creating a new Youth Zone for the young people of the city.

Guy Topping, chairman of Preston Youth Zone, said: “Preston’s young people deserve the best. The youth zone will be for them so it was vital the winning design struck a balance between the challenges of building next to the listed bus station and meeting the needs of young people.

“We are delighted with the outcome. We feel the winning design really does reflect the young people of Preston with innovation, vibrancy and excitement being key factors. The youth zone will give the city’s young people somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk to in their leisure time and I am confident the winning design will enthuse thousands of young people.”

The competition to design the new Youth Zone and surrounding area attracted 93 entries from across the globe. It was run by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Hugh Broughton, RIBA Architect Adviser, said: “Preston Bus Station is a hugely significant twentieth century building and all the shortlisted architects have responded to its bold architecture with skill and empathy.

“John Puttick’s winning scheme cleverly resolves the requirements of the On Side Youth Zone to create a building which will be fun, safe and engaging to use while celebrating the original architecture of the bus station and providing flexible open space, which can become a focal point for community events at the heart of Preston life.”

A planning application is due to be submitted later this year.

Who is John Puttick?

John Puttick Associates was founded in 2014. Their work includes projects in the UK, the US and China and encompasses the public, cultural and residential sectors. John’s designs have been published and exhibited internationally and a book of his drawings is held in the Museum of Modern Art’s collection in New York.

John has designed and delivered an impressive portfolio of projects in the UK, Europe, Asia and the US.

He set up and led Make Architects’ Beijing and Hong Kong offices, where he oversaw a number of major completed schemes including cultural, residential, hospitality, commercial and mixed use buildings, as well as masterplanning and urban regeneration developments. At Make’s London studio, he worked on a major office development at 55 Baker Street, seeing the project through from competition to completion.

Previously John worked for David Chipperfield Architects, where he contributed towards a number of significant public buildings including the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield and the City of Justice in Barcelona. In the US, he spent a year in Houston working with design studio Acumen on a range of retail and entertainment projects.

Alongside architectural practice, John has been a visiting critic and lecturer at a number of universities around the world and was a design tutor at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, for four years. He studied architecture at the University of Nottingham and the Bartlett School of Architecture.

Who picked the winning design?

More than 4,000 votes were cast online and in person at the two-day Bus Station exhibition.

Judges were Hugh Broughton from RIBA, Rob Carter, from OnSide, county councillor Matthew Tomlinson, city councillor John Swindells, Edward Towers, a member of Lancashire Youth Council, Jason Horman and Andrew Howorth, architects from the county council, Phil Barrett, director of community services at the county council and John Wilson, who led the campaign to Save the Bus Station.

Which designs didn’t win?

Here’s the four which didn’t make the cut:

What do you think of the winning design? Have they made the right choice? Let us know in the comments below

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