PROJECT REPORT: ADAPTIVE REUSE 27
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 fi rst 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
fl oodlights, 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 fi ve such zones in Blackburn’s town centre, making it an area of special architectural or historic interest.
Recognising the building’s signifi cance, the practice opted to retain the facade with no major changes, only repairing
The disused power station’s richly decorated brick facade was retained
ADF NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025
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