Spotlight Youth Centre, Poplar

Development of a new three-storey youth centre including a boxing gym with changing rooms and a sauna, social lounges, games hall with café, training, meeting and homework rooms, music laboratory, recital suite, health counselling suite and all supporting services for Poplar HARCA in Tower Hamlets.

The design was completed by Astudio with the RPS Architecture taking the role as working Architect. The Youth Centre is situated directly opposite the Langdon Park Station on the Docklands Light Railway.

The design includes two interlocked cubes which create a vibrant, colourful, creative space. One reflects the adjacent school buildings, whilst the larger ‘youth’ cube is clad in colourful bespoke aluminium cladding panels, developed from the Spotlight logo, which is based on the lens of a spotlight. The two large interlocked cubes reach 14 metres high to provide performance space.  A central atrium is the main focal point to the building and runs the full height of the building. The project achieved BREEAM Excellent standard.