Reading's Hub for Young People
Client: No5 Young People
What we did: End-user engagement workshops, vision document & visualisation; Feasibility Study
No5 is a free counselling service for Young People (11-24) in West Berkshire, England. They are partnering with other charitable organisations providing similar services to create a ‘Hub for Young People’ – a much needed space to provide key skills and training to young people, and a safe space for them to seek guidance and support from adults and peers.
Involving the end user is key to the project aim, so we held workshops with young people, staff & partners to establish how they wanted the new venue to look, and more importantly make them feel. We used this feedback to create a brief for the design of the new hub.
Inclusive spaces and services, sustainability and sensory engagement was key to the brief; and young people expressed a desire for calming spaces, providing stability and a homely, comforting atmosphere.
The feedback culminated in a ‘vision document’, which acts as a brief, and a constant reference for stakeholders during decision making within the design process.
We have now been appointed by No5 to carry out further workshops with parents and professionals to add additional information to the feedback; and to carry out a number of feasibility studies on potential sites for the new venture.
The building needs to be solid. It should feel secure, like it will always be there for us...
Anonymous
No5 Young Person
It has been really wonderful working alongside Dan so far – he brings all his skills and expertise with such kindness and understanding and has engaged with our team and young people in such a way as to truly listen, understand their needs and what they are asking for rather than make assumptions and presume he already knows.
The way he visualises the space, and the potential for our Hub, has brought such excitement and enthusiasm and we have felt like we are in the safest hands when it comes to considering all of the possibilities, sustainability, accessibility and inclusivity the whole way through the project so far.
We are delighted to have Dan on this journey alongside us and to continue to work with him on the development of Reading Young People’s Hub
Carly Newman
No5, Operations & Relationship Manager
