The transformation of one of the UK’s first electricity power stations into a vibrant youth centre combines a respect for industrial heritage with a high voltage interior that’s designed to excite its teenage users. Stephen Cousins reports.
Youngsters are of course crucial to the UK’s future growth and prosperity, so it is troubling to learn that for over a decade, local authority expenditure on youth services in England has been in decline.
According to the latest figures from the YMCA, council expenditure on youth services in England has fallen by 73% since 2010-11, a real-terms cut of £1.2bn – and the number of youth centres has reduced by 62% over that time.
Given this bleak backdrop, Fusebox in Blackburn, by John Puttick Associates, represents something of an anomaly and a beacon of hope, a vibrant new space where young people can come together, socialise, learn and have new experiences.
Situated in the heart of town at the junction of George Street and Pilkington Street, the £3.1m youth centre involved the transformation of one of the UK’s oldest electricity generating power stations, retrofitting two main parts of the heritage building complex: the L-shaped former power station, known locally as ‘the Fusebox,’ and parts of an existing connected ‘Youth Zone,’ built in 2010.
The disused power station’s richly decorated brick facade, and other features, were retained, and its interior spaces imaginatively adapted to incorporate a range of facilities focused on employment skills, training and opportunities for young people aged between 16 and 25.
Young people were actively involved in shaping the design, including several themed ‘zones’ including a ‘Maker Zone,’ ‘Gamification Zone,’ and a Music and Production Suite. Key challenges for the architect included the need to accommodate varying levels across the site and to deliver a vibrant space able to draw in a young crowd despite the anachronisms of a historic building.
John Puttick, director at John Puttick Associates told ADF: “Instead of just being a heritage project, the building had to have a certain kind of brightness and exist as an exciting environment. We achieved that through features such as the unusual lighting design and the inclusion of various artworks by local artist group. Many aspects relate to the existing building and celebrate it, but are also deliberately new and not trying to be ‘heritage’ in appearance.”
National network
Fusebox is the latest in a national network of purpose-built, state-of-the-art Youth Zones targeted at the UK’s most economically disadvantaged areas.
The concept was pioneered in the mid-2000s by charity OnSide to provide high-quality, safe, and inclusive environments to help transform outcomes for disadvantaged youths aged eight to 25. Facilities typically operate in partnership with local councils, private donors and central government funding streams, and are staffed by skilled and dedicated youth workers.
John Puttick Associates’ longstanding involvement with OnSide began with a proposed, though never realised, project within its Preston Bus Station refurbishment scheme. The practice went on to design the Legacy Youth Zone, London’s third Youth Zone in West Croydon, completed in 2019.
At Blackburn, the architect assisted Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and Blackburn Youth Zone in applying for funding from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport’s Youth Investment Fund programme, before going on to win the tender to develop the design and implementation of Fusebox.
The first ever electric current in Blackburn came to life in a room inside the robust Victorian power station, which was commissioned under the Blackburn Electric Lighting Order of 1890 and opened in 1895.
The power was used to run mills, light floodlights, and bring the local cinema to life, but despite the building’s importance as an example of industrial heritage and impressively patterned brick exterior, it was never listed by Historic England.
“When we inherited the project, the outside was still pretty much intact and very much as it was originally,” explains Puttick, “It’s architecturally really strong, especially the detailing; the brickwork’s really very tectonic.”
Nevertheless, the site is located inside the Darwen Street Conservation Area, one of five such zones in Blackburn’s town centre, making it an area of special architectural or historic interest.
Recognising the building’s significance, the practice opted to retain the facade with no major changes, only repairing and cleaning the brickwork and original windows. The old boarded-up entrance on Pilkington Street was ‘liberated,’ and glazed to create a light and airy new central entrance – not just a practical improvement, but a symbol of accessibility and inclusion.
The existing building’s interior was much less impressive or worth holding on to. “It had been very chopped around, there was a warren of very small rooms which weren’t original, it was kind of a mess, and lots of suspended ceilings,” says Puttick. These were mostly cleared out to create a visually open and coherent spatial arrangement more akin to the original operational building and well suited to youth activities.
One existing double height space was retained and partially filled with a new build mezzanine designed to accommodate an events space. This connects through at first floor level to the building’s Employment Hub, and an office area.
The ground floor of the building contains a series of creative spaces, including a Makers Space and an Arts Studio.
A major challenge was how to address the varying levels across the site, making it possible to open up the central entrance on Pilkington Street. A new FlexStep system installed inside the entrance takes visitors up to the ground floor foyer below the mezzanine. To connect the Fusebox to the lower level youth centre building meant installing a ramp and stairway along the interior ‘L’-shaped wall of the Fusebox. These integrate with new tiered amphitheatre-style seating, complete with phone charging points, facing onto a central recreation area. Behind the seating, the glazing was opened up to allow young people to catch glimpses of activities going on inside and for those inside to see activities in the recreation area.
The ‘Fusebox’ element of the project itself is aimed at an older age cohort among its young occupants, who for example will get to meet potential employers and learn about career options.
“From the work we’ve done with youth organisations elsewhere, we know that older age group is harder to persuade to engage with a youth centre,” says Puttick, “While kids tend to be very happy to go along, as they get older they have other distractions and interests and it becomes more tricky to engage them.”
Input from youngsters was therefore considered key to finding a successful solution and through an active co-design process many were invited to help shape the design and function of the space.
The architect’s sketches and models were presented to young people and their feedback, including images they generated using AI, helped direct decision making.
This process led to the creation of the themed ‘zones’, which also include an Arts and Textiles Centre, a Training Kitchen, a Music and Production Suite, a Health and Wellbeing Space and a dedicated Digital Arts Screen. A ‘Gaming Zone’ in the building features a space-aged hexagonal doorway lined with neon, as well as pool tables and bespoke gaming tables.
According to Puttick, it was important to avoid an “in your face” patronising type of interior seen in some youth projects, the architects here instead striving for a more mature feel, akin to a shared workspace or a cafe/art gallery.
This was achieved in part through the lighting design, most notably blue neon signage and wiggly white luminaires that snake across ceilings, marking out circulation routes.
“We worked a lot with groups of young people to come up with a bold set of colours, the music room, recording studio and employment hub all have bold colour schemes to give a fresh and forward looking feel,” says Puttick.
Layered history
The designers were keen to respond to the site’s industrial heritage and certain original features have been restored and preserved, most notably a roof-mounted crane and rail system in the double height space, plus the Electricity Works sign on the outside of the building.
The new palette of materials was selected to emphasise the power station’s robust industrial feel. The structure for the new mezzanine is made up of exposed steel columns and I-beams at the perimeter, and metal balustrades with welded steel joints and infill panels of galvanised metal mesh. A large sliding door to the digital maker space is fitted with industrial-style glazing.
The raw, stripped back material palette helped the project meet a relatively tight budget of less than £1,500 per square metre, as did the focus on reusing as much of the original building as possible. However, certain design compromises were required to keep costs in check.
“The main impact was on the finishes, most obviously on the ground floor we would have loved to do a poured concrete floor but that clearly wasn’t within budget so we went for a vinyl floor instead,”
says Puttick.
The building’s rich and layered history is reflected in a series of artworks by Uncultured Creatives, a collaboration between Artist Jamie Holman and curator Alex Zawadzki.
Spread throughout the building and themed on energy, progress and technological transformation, these include a stained glass window in the wall facing onto the recreation area and an AI-generated artwork, created in collaboration with youngsters and craftspeople, to explore how power, technology and culture continue to evolve. Another example of tech innovation is a large digital screen on the ceiling below the mezzanine space displaying locally-made videos.
Leaving much of the power station in its original form helped minimise the need for new construction thereby reducing embodied carbon. For example, the mezzanine was configured to fit around an existing staircase to avoid its demolition.
The project had no BREEAM target, and the insulation was not upgraded; however a new energy-efficient heating system and low-energy sensor activated lighting were installed. The building will be naturally ventilated in warmer months with some cooling, for example in the events space.
Improvements made to the adjacent Youth Zone building include a reconfigured reception and a new wellbeing room, gaming area, dance studio and gym. Outside, the triangular parcel of land was upgraded with skate friendly curvy concrete landscaping and coloured canopies that shelter people sitting below. A new green wall running along the side of the site adds to the project’s biodiversity.
According to Puttick, the project was straightforward from a planning point of view, mainly because the existing facades were retained. However, the sunken green wall created “some complexity” with the Environment Agency because it runs adjacent to a river.
With many councils in England struggling financially, the outlook for youth focused projects is bleak. A 2024 Local Government Authority survey of council chief executives found that 63% of them were anticipating making cutbacks in services and support for children, young people and families.
Nevertheless, projects like Fusebox ignite a spark of hope, demonstrating how, with limited investment and careful design, disused buildings can be brought back
to life to provide young people with dedicated spaces to create, learn, socialise and express themselves.