As part of the myplace programme, Hackney Council is investing a total of £5m to build four new or refurbished youth centres in the borough, linked to a flagship centre in the heart of Hackney (Forest Road). The plan is to develop four 'spoke' centres - one in each neighbourhood. The Homerton spoke will be at the Concorde Centre for Young People on Kingsmead Way.

In 2010 the architects for the scheme (Shepheard Epstein and Hunter) visited the Concorde Centre to ask young people there how they thought the centre could be improved and what kind of activities they'd like to see there. Following this workshop, they came up with a model and some drawings of the proposed scheme, based on young people's ideas and suggestions.

And here they are...

This is a view of the new centre from above (if you removed the roof)

These plans reflect some of the suggestions made by young people in the initial consultation:

• more light and space
• the route through to the rear of the building opened up
• a central chill-out area, with space for games such as pool and table tennis
• a large open-plan kitchen area
• separate room for IT and recording
• the hall to remain, but with improved facilities for dance and indoor sports.

Here's some interior views. First, the refurbished lobby:

These show what the centre might look like if you were standing in the chill-out space:

The team went back to the centre and asked the young people what they thought of these initial ideas. If you'd like to read the comments that young people and staff made, click here

Like what you see? Want to find out more about the plans? If you'd like to receive regular updates about Young Hackney centres, email: tom.sheppard@hackney.gov.uk