"The RIBA Stirling Prize 2025 has been awarded to Appleby Blue Almshouse by Witherford Watson Mann Architects, a pioneering model for housing in later life that reimagines the centuries-old almshouse for the 21st century. Replacing a disused care home in Southwark, the scheme's terracotta walkways, generous communal spaces, and street-facing bay windows foster connection while restoring dignity to older residents. With its warm material palette and quietly radical plan, Appleby Blue demonstrates how architecture can combat isolation through thoughtful design and civic care."
"This year's other RIBA awards further celebrate architecture's social conscience: St. Mary's Walthamstow by Matthew Lloyd Architects received the Stephen Lawrence Prize; Appleby Blue Almshouse also earned the Neave Brown Award for Housing; its client, United St Saviour's Charity, was named Client of the Year; and Sheerness Dockyard Church by Hugh Broughton Architects won the Reinvention Award for transforming a fire-damaged ruin into a vibrant community space."
Appleby Blue Almshouse by Witherford Watson Mann Architects won the RIBA Stirling Prize 2025. The project provides 57 social-rent apartments for residents over 65 on the site of a former care home in Southwark. The design inverts traditional almshouse planning by centring generous communal spaces — a double-height garden room, kitchen, and shared terraces — to encourage chance encounters and shared meals. Wide terracotta-paved galleries lined with planters and benches replace corridors with streets in the sky, while street-facing bay windows connect residents with the wider community. The scheme also received the Neave Brown Award for Housing and its client, United St Saviour's Charity, was named Client of the Year. Other winners include St. Mary's Walthamstow (Stephen Lawrence Prize) and Sheerness Dockyard Church (Reinvention Award).
Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine
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