Orange Box Young People’s Centre
Comprised of a series of Victorian warehouse buildings, this youth facility is called Orange Box because it once stored fruit and vegetables for a nearby market.
The Orange Box Young People’s Centre provides a safe and vibrant hub for various activities and support services for young people (aged 16–21) in Calderdale.
| Client | Orange Box Halifax |
|---|---|
| Architect: | Gagarin Studio |
| Size | 3 Stories |
| Office: | Hebden Bridge |
| Completion: | 2014 |
The project involved adapting and connecting three existing buildings to a new addition. The design navigates the complex levels dictated by the topography and variety of existing buildings while creating a new walkway and atrium.
The extension adds a wide variety of facilities, including a dance studio, recording and rehearsal studio, counselling rooms, and a roof-level skate park and garden to complement the complex’s renovated includes performance and visual arts space, a studio for drama and dance, climbing wall, music rehearsal rooms, IT suite, roof garden with a vegetable growing area, and rooftop skate park.
But adapting an existing building also introduced opportunities. We reused as much of the existing structure as possible, with concrete floors providing mass to dampen noise, and timber-suspended floors to create acoustic boxes within boxes.
The careful arrangement of walkways and varying levels effectively defined separated discrete areas, which minimized noise transmission throughout the building.
