Preston Bus Station

Location: Preston, England
Architect: Keith Ingham, Charles Wilson of Building Design Partnership & E H Stazicker 
Completed: 1969
Status: Grade II Listed
Brief Overview: Described by the Twentieth Century Society as 'one of the most significant Brutalist buildings in the UK', Preston Bus Station opened in 1969 and at the time was one of the largest in Western Europe.  Above the Bus Station is 5 storeys of parking which feature the iconic sculptural curved forms.  These both protect passengers below when boarding a bus by providing shelter, and also protect cars from bumping into a vertical wall.  Since around 2000 Preston Bus Station has been threatened with demolition- with applications for Listed Status being opposed in both 2000 and 2010.  In 2012 Preston City Council announced it would be demolished, however Twentieth Century Society finally got a Listed Status application approved in 2013.  After significant refurbishment Preston Bus Station officially opened again in 2019, with the project receiving three regional RIBA awards.

Concrete sculptures are individually hand cast in solid concrete. This means that each piece will have distinctive markings and minor blemishes due to air bubbles in the concrete. This is a natural part of the material and will mean that no two pieces are never exactly the same.