Students at Avenham Park pavilion

Architecture students at Preston’s university took over the Avenham Park pavilion to come up with a plan for the Stoneygate area of the city.

The event, branded as Northern Soul, invited architectural talent from Huddersfield, Northumbria, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Sheffield for the one day challenge.

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University of Central Lancashire architecture lecturer Simon Kay-Jones said: “We’re honoured to host RIBA’s annual design charrette which allows the very best of Northern architectural student talent to shine.

“This year the students were asked to redesign the historical Stoneygate area of Preston which has fallen into disrepair in recent years and is an area that Preston City Council is planning to regenerate. All of the students’ ideas will be fed into the Preston Open City Group for genuine consideration, making the event a real-live project.”

Students were split into teams and asked to come up with Stoneygate plans

Fadi Obaid, 19, a first year UCLan architecture student, said: “It is a great way of bringing creative minds together to share ideas and learn from each other. I’ve particularly enjoyed working with people who I’ve never met before and being involved in an event endorsed by RIBA at such an early stage in my studies is very motivational.”

The winning entry from the day outlined a plan for the Stoneygate area, which includes Church Street, to have a new retail, creative industries, leisure and nature businesses set within a new park.

The Royal Institute of British Aarchitects backed the day.

Andrew Ruffler, regional director of RIBA, said: “The Northern Soul design charrette provides a fantastic opportunity not only for students to showcase their talents but also for the Schools of Architecture across the North of England to demonstrate successful collaborative working. Combined with the support of the host city and local RIBA members, this project continues to go from strength to strength.”