Participation in Practice: Hornsey Road Baths to become the Platform centre
Monday, March 21, 2011
A group of young people from Islington, north London, have been playing a major role in shaping the design of a multi-million pound youth hub in the area.
Fourteen young people aged between 16 and 25 were recruited as young advisers in June 2009 to oversee all major decisions about the redevelopment of Hornsey Road Baths into a high-quality performing arts space. The project is being funded by Islington Council through a £3.5m grant from the government's Myplace scheme.
The young people are paid an hourly rate for their time and work for up to 16 hours a week on the programme, which they fit around their other commitments. Their first major task was to help select an architect, says Zach Bergman, 18, one of the young advisers. "We had to consider all the bids from the architects and the pros and cons," he says. "Then myself and another young adviser interviewed the architects along with five members of the council."
The young advisers have also consulted widely with young people by conducting research on local estates and holding workshops and organised games. They then fed back ideas to the architects. "There was lots of to-ing and fro-ing between us, young people and the architects," says Zach.
The Platform centre is due to open in mid-July with a two-week launch festival. Zach says he is delighted with the final designs: "When I first started I was a bit sceptical about whether the adults would listen to what we had to say. But I've been really impressed. They've taken on board our suggestions and listened when we've complained."
He adds that the project shows that young people can be trusted to work on major projects. "Young people don't get treated the same way as adults. But this project shows we can get things done."