The Appleby Blue Almshouse social housing advanced in London, designed by native studio Witherford Watson Mann Architects, has received this yr’s RIBA Stirling Prize for the UK’s finest new constructing.
Created by Witherford Watson Mann on the location of an deserted care dwelling in Southwark, Appleby Blue Almshouse includes 57 residences for over-65s, organised round a central courtyard.
The undertaking was awarded the distinguished prize by The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in a ceremony this night, the place it additionally scooped the Neave Brown Award for the UK’s finest new inexpensive housing scheme.
It was hailed by the jury for setting an “bold customary for social housing amongst older individuals”.
“This undertaking is a clarion name for a brand new type of housing at a pivotal second,” stated this yr’s jury chair Ingrid Schroder, who’s director of London’s Architectural Affiliation (AA).
“Constructed towards the backdrop of two crises, an acute housing scarcity and a rising loneliness epidemic amongst older individuals, Appleby Blue gives a hopeful and imaginative response, the place residents and the encompassing group are introduced collectively via the transformative nature of the design,” Schroder continued.
“By making a radical and important mannequin that embraces co-living at a time the place our demographics are shifting, Appleby Blue units an bold customary for social housing amongst older individuals.”
Run by United St Saviours Charity, Appleby Blue Almshouse attracts on the almhouse typology – a historic type of low-cost sheltered housing for the aged, typically organized round a courtyard.
Nonetheless, in contrast to conventional secluded and inward-facing almshouses, it’s intentionally designed to really feel built-in inside the surrounding space, that includes expansive street-facing bay home windows.
Among the many five-story block’s stand-out options are co-living services, together with a group kitchen and double-height backyard room, a rooftop backyard and earthy terracotta-tiled hallways.
The center of the event is its central courtyard backyard, which was designed with panorama structure studio Grant Associates to emulate a woodland, full with a cascading water function, bushes and flower beds.
The RIBA Stirling Prize has been awarded yearly to the UK’s finest new constructing since 1996. Appleby Blue Almshouse was chosen from a six-strong shortlist, revealed in September.
It’s the second time a Witherford Watson Mann-designed undertaking has received the Stirling Prize, with the primary being Astley Fort in 2013. The studio was additionally shortlisted in 2019 for Nevill Holt Opera.
The undertaking was introduced as this yr’s winner in a ceremony at London’s Roundhouse this night, the place RIBA additionally revealed the winners of its 4 Particular Awards.
This included the Neave Brown Award for Housing – an annual prize given in honour of modernist architect Neave Brown – which was additionally received by Appleby Blue Almshouse.
Witherford Watson Mann attracts on conventional almshouses for Appleby Blue senior housing
In the meantime, the RIBA Consumer of the Yr Award 2025 was given to United St Saviours Charity.
The opposite two prizes had been the RIBA Reinvention Award, which recognises initiatives that reuse present buildings, and the RIBA Stephen Lawrence Prize, which celebrates initiatives led by an early-career undertaking architect.
These had been received by Sheerness Dockyard Church by Hugh Broughton Architects and St Mary’s Walthamstow by Alex Spicer at Matthew Lloyd Architects, respectively.
The winner of the 2024 RIBA Stirling Prize was the Elizabeth Line by structure studios Grimshaw, Maynard, Equation and AtkinsRéalis. Grimshaw companion Neill McClements informed Dezeen that the prize was “an endorsement of the significance of infrastructure”.
This yr’s version of the Stirling Prize has raised considerations about London bias, with 4 of the six shortlisted buildings situated within the capital metropolis. Earlier this week, we crunched the numbers to see whether or not the award for Britain’s finest new constructing actually is London-centric.
The pictures is by Philip Vile.
