Preston Fun Palace

One Term Adaptive Reuse Project and Collaborative Design Process, 2023

Preston Fun Palace was the final project that I led at Manchester School of Architecture before moving into freelance work, and one that underpins so many of my core values. Developed as a collaboration between the Continuity in Architecture atelier and Fun Palaces UK, the project drew inspiration from the original 1961 Fun Palace concept by Cedric Price and Joan Littlewood - a visionary idea for a flexible, interactive cultural space - and its modern revival through Stella Duffy’s grassroots network of community-led cultural events.

The brief challenged students to engage deeply with an existing building, embracing the idea that ‘form follows form’ and creating new designs to respect and revive the buildings character. Lancastria House in Preston was chosen as the site for the project, once threatened with demolition but saved through public support, the Art Deco building sits adjacent to the market and near a cinema development. The task was to propose a bold new cultural programme for this redundant building - a ‘Fun Palace’ that could host diverse activities and foster community interaction.

Students explored strategies to adapt, strip back, open up, and layer new interventions and functions into the existing structure, celebrating its history while meeting contemporary technical and social needs. The project emphasised collaboration, hands-on making, and community engagement, reflecting the ethos of Fun Palaces UK to enable everyone to co-create culture.

The final proposals were curated into a design guide and presented by Fun Palaces UK.