Preston Bus Station: From Controversy to Celebration
Preston Bus Station: From Controversy to Celebration.
Thursday 9 December 2021 8 pm (note time)
Dr Christina Malathouni (former C20 caseworker) and Clare Price (C20 caseworker) will discuss the C20 Society’s crucial role in saving the iconic Preston Bus Station – a controversial Brutalist landmark designed by Building Design Partnership with engineers Ove Arup and built in 1968-69. They’ll be joined by architect John Puttick, who led the recent restoration of the structure and has just been announced as recipient of the World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize – making Preston Bus Station the first project in the UK to recognised for the award.
The concrete monoliths of Brutalist architecture are deeply controversial buildings, and few more so than Preston Bus Station. Whilst cultural understandings of Brutalist architecture are gradually shifting, the long saga behind the fifteen-year heritage campaign eventually led to the statutory protection (grade II) of the bus station in 2013. The campaign turned the building into a true landmark case in post-war concrete architectural heritage, that has provided heritage activists and professionals, nationally and internationally, with a new exemplar of collaborative working and retention.
Dr Christina Malathouni wrote the successful third listing application for Preston Bus Station, having become involved with the building when a caseworker at C20. She is a lecturer at the Liverpool School of Architecture.
John Puttick Associates is a London-based architectural studio specialising in civic and public sector projects and working throughout the UK. The studio was founded in 2014 with a competition-winning entry for the refurbishment of Preston’s Brutalist bus station. Founding director John Puttick studied architecture at the University of Nottingham and The Bartlett, UCL, where he subsequently taught a diploma unit.
The World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize is a biennial award, which recognizes architects, designers, and preservationists who have demonstrated innovative solutions to preserve or save threatened modern architecture.
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The Twentieth Century Society is a registered charity, no 1110244
Above: Preston Bus Station. Photograph: Dr Christina Malathouni.
The Twentieth Century Society is an IHBC (Institute of Historic Building conservation) recognised CPD provider.