John Puttick Associates ‘multi-storey youth centre for OnSide draws on Preston’s brutalist heritage to deliver a brand-new civic landmark that treats its young members with ambition and respect. John Puttick Associates(JPA)has actually completed Vault Youth Zone in Preston, marking the conclusion of a decade-long engagement with the regrowth of the city’s Harris Quarter. The project completes a trio of interventions by the London-based practice, following the acclaimed repair of Preston Bus Station– the Grade II-listed brutalist landmark that sits straight opposite– and the redesign of the public square between them. Together, the 3 schemes form a coherent program of civic renewal led by Lancashire County Council and Preston City Council, integrating transport infrastructure, public world and community provision within a single, continual investment in the city.
Vault is the nineteenth Youth Zone in the OnSide network and the fourth provided by JPA, extending the practice’s continuous cooperation with the charity. Funded in part through the government’s ₤ 20.9 million Towns Fund, along with contributions from the Youth Mutual Fund and Preston City Council, the ₤ 8.9 million structure supplies a long-term and popular facility for young people at the heart of the city.
Website Axonometric. Inhabiting a tight urban plot, the structure’s kind is a direct reaction to its restrictions. Lodging is stacked vertically, with the largest volumes– consisting of a full-size sports hall and indoor kick pitch– positioned towards the more enclosed back of the site. Doing so permits the building to step up from the street, reducing its impact on the nearby noted warehouse while preserving a more human scale at ground level.
The exterior is outfitted in light grey fluted fiber cement panels that read as nearly white in direct sunshine, their folded geometry catching light and shadow across the surface area. The vertical rhythm of the cladding referrals the deep concrete soffits of the bus station opposite, establishing a clear visual dialogue without resorting to pastiche.
This relationship is reinforced through a more explicit usage of colour and information. Yellow-and-black columns, together with yellow metal mesh enclosing terraces and fire escapes, echo the bus station’s initial steelwork. At ground level, a forecasting entryway canopy supported by the exact same bright columns creates a protected threshold, while a strong yellow colonnade dealing with the public square develops a strong civic presence. Extremely noticeable from surrounding streets and the bus station itself, the structure is both easy to discover and plainly legible as a place of its own.
Internally, the style avoids the reductive or patronising tropes often connected with youth facilities. Established in cooperation with designer Ben Kelly– known for Manchester’s Haçienda club– the interior uses bold colour, durable materials and clear spatial organisation to develop a series of distinct yet interconnected environments. Kelly’s approach aligns with the modernist language of the bus station while presenting a modern informality suited to the building’s users.
The ground floor forms the social core of the building, combining a main leisure area with a café, mentoring kitchen, arts and crafts room, makerspace, gaming zone, boxing gym and indoor kick pitch. Alongside these are quieter inclusion and business spaces. The first flooring accommodates the primary sports hall, climbing wall, physical fitness suite, performing arts areas, music and recording studios, a podcast studio, and health and health and wellbeing facilities. Staff offices and a protected roof terrace, confined in yellow mesh, inhabit the upper level.
A double-height main void links the floorings both visually and physically, allowing passive guidance without dependence on enclosed areas or overt monitoring. Staff can supervise activity throughout the structure, while users retain a sense of independence. The open-plan arrangement, supported by mindful zoning of furniture and surfaces, allows for a variety of usages, from energetic group activities to more focused, specific pursuits.
Environmental performance has been incorporated through a series of practical measures: the steel frame being optimised to lower material usage, dealing with an extremely insulated and airtight building envelope. Windcatchers supply natural ventilation, and photovoltaic panels add to functional energy demand, with on-site generation providing around 19 percent of the building’s needs. Durable products support long-lasting usage, and the central place– well linked by public transport– strengthens the task’s more comprehensive sustainability credentials.
“Vault Youth Zone is the conclusion of our ten-year engagement with the regeneration of this part of Preston,” stated John Puttick, director at John Puttick Associates. “The reconditioned Bus Station, public square and Youth Zone work well together to provide an animated and community-focused area of the city. We are thrilled to see youths offered such a popular area, and to see them engaging with the numerous activities available in the Youth Zone.”
Tim Jacques, CEO at the Vault Youth Zone, added: “I like the renowned look of the structure, both outdoors and in. John and his group have actually produced a space that fulfills our requirements for an impactful and inclusive operating youth zone, whilst engaging and attracting young people. Its presence contributes to and lifts the surrounding location, and it’s a worthwhile buddy for our world-famous bus station. There is genuine momentum with Preston’s city centre redevelopment, and I believe Vault is an important piece of this work, representing the potential of our young people and through them, our city’s future.”
Credits
Client
OnSide Youth Zones
Designer
John Puttick Associates
Regional authority
Preston City Council
Structural engineer
Ramboll (design phase), Caulmert (building and construction phase)
M&E consultant
Hurstwood Environmental Consulting
Amount property surveyor
Walker Sime
Task manager
Walker Sime
Principal designer
CDM PD: Jacob Feasey Associates; BR PD: John Puttick Associates
Fire consultant
Clarke Banks
Authorized structure inspector
Clarke Banks
Main contractor
Triton Building and construction