Menu

Grand plan for Preston’s canal basin wins Forgotten Spaces competition

Posted on - 6th November, 2013 - 8:10pm | Author - | Posted in - Preston Council, Preston News, Redevelopment

 

Advertisement
A view of how the lido at the canal basin could look

A view of how the lido at the canal basin could look

An ambitious plan to create a lido at the Lancaster Canal Basin has won an architecture prize.

The Forgotten Spaces competition asked students, architects and members of the public to put forward their ideas for how to use empty spaces in Preston.

Advertisements
Preston Weekender advert

The winners – branded ‘canaLIDO’, made up of Aynsley Gray and Jamie McAllister – came up with their plan to “bring a dying canal back to life and reinvent the dilapidated canal basin using the historic concept of a lido.”

Preston’s canal basin was constructed in the late 18th century and spans an area of 21,500 square metres.

Second and third place were plans for putting a farmers market on top of the Avenham car park, called Shelf Life, while Woven in Cotton a plan for yards, alleys and weinds showed how Preston’s textile heritage could be remembered – came third.

Advertisements
The Shelf-Life plan proposes a very different use for the top of Avenham car park

The Shelf-Life plan proposes a very different use for the top of Avenham car park

The competition was organised by the Royal Institute of British Architects and Preston City Coucil, with the winner awarded £5,000.

Stephen Hodder, RIBA President and Jury Chair for Forgotten Spaces Preston said, “The judges had a difficult task in choosing a winner but unanimously agreed on ‘canaLIDO’. The idea captures the spirit of the mid Twentieth Century lidos, and whilst a relatively straightforward idea, the entrants have clearly put a lot of thought into how it could be executed. It would certainly re-engage the local community with the canal basin.”

The city council said although no action would be taken over the plans and ideas, they hoped it would provoke a discussion with landowners and businesses about how empty spaces in the city could be used.

Councillor John Swindells, Deputy Leader of Preston City Council, said:“I am delighted that there has been huge interest in Preston with entries coming in from right across the country.

“The standard of entries has been extremely high, and the judges certainly had a tough time choosing the winners so congratulations to everyone who took part. I have been impressed by the creativity, vision and quality of some of the ideas put forward and the exhibition is a great opportunity to showcase these excellent works.”

Advertisements
barton manor gym
Woven in Cotton would see innovative uses for some of the alleys around the city centre back streets

Woven in Cotton would see innovative uses for some of the alleys around the city centre back streets

County Councillor Jennifer Mein, leader of Lancashire County Council, said: “This is a great idea and an example of a design that would breathe new life into a disused area of Preston. The great thing about this concept is that it brings the canal close to the community through the facilities that surround the basin.

“This, along with all the other shortlisted designs are superb examples of how to transform the forgotten areas of Preston.”

Forgotten Spaces launch party on Wednesday evening.

Forgotten Spaces launch party on Wednesday evening.

Bernie Blackburn was down at the launch of the exhibition of the entries, see more photos on Flickr.

All of the shortlisted entries are to be displayed at 50-52 Lancaster Road from Thursday 7 November until Friday 15 November. It will be open from 12noon to 2pm. More details can be found on the Forgotten Spaces website.

Share
Advertisements
caritas fostering advert
Preston in pictures 24.03.24 - Penwortham [Church of St Mary] 240323JPGDSC_7658 - Bus stationDSC_7676 - Miller ArcadeDSC_7681 - former Post Office, cenotaph and Town HallDSC_7682 - Central Methodist church, Lune StreetDSC_7668 - Fish (aka Box) MarketDSC_7672 - Miller ArcadeDSC_7674 - Miller Arcade View more Advertisement Subscribe to the newsletter

Sign up below to receive Blog Preston's email newsletter. It wings its way into inboxes every Sunday and Wednesday rounding up our top stories and more.

Advertisement News by location

Find news by location, select an area of your choice to be kept up to date with the latest goings on.

The Preston Guide

Discover local businesses and services near you.

    Advertisements
Advertisement Categories

Find news by category, select an category of your choice to be kept up to date with the latest goings on.

Blog Preston email updates

Receive our digest of the biggest and best stories every Sunday to your email inbox

We respect your privacy and you can unsubscribe at any time from our emails