John Puttick Associates was awarded the 2021 World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize, recognizing its thoughtful and detailed conservation of Preston Bus Station, located in Preston, UK, a civic monument of central importance that serves as a hub for mass transit.

Preston Bus Station was designed in 1968 by Keith Ingham and Charles Wilson of the Building Design Partnership (BDP) and the engineering firm Ove Arup. The station was designed to be the hub and municipal transit center for Central Lancashire New Town. When it opened to the public in October 1969, it was Europe's largest bus station.

The station is representative of brutalist architecture and transport planning of the post-war era in its use of exposed reinforced concrete structure, which houses an integrated car parking, bus, and taxi facility. In 2012, Preston Bus Station was included on the World Monuments Watch as a response to the threat of demolition and to raise awareness about the significance of brutalist architecture in the UK. In 2015, after years of neglect, a design competition was held by the building's new owners, Lancashire County Council, leading to the appointment of John Puttick Associates to restore the station...

2021 WMF/Knoll Modernism Prize