Stirling Prize 2025 Shortlist building + architects, UK architecture award, Building design news

Stirling Prize 2025 Winner News

17 October 2025

UK’s best new building – Appleby Blue Almshouse wins RIBA Stirling Prize 2025 for architecture

RIBA Stirling Prize Shortlist 2025 Winner News

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has named Appleby Blue Almshouse, a social housing complex for over-65’s, by Witherford Watson Mann Architects, as the winner of the RIBA Stirling Prize 2025. Presented since 1996, the prestigious annual award recognises the UK’s best new architecture.

photo : Philip Vile

Stirling Prize 2025 Winner

Replacing an abandoned care home, Appleby Blue radically reimagines the traditional almshouse, flipping the centuries-old typology by placing shared spaces at its heart to foster community and reduce isolation among residents. The development contains 59 bright, spacious flats arranged in a U-shape around a central garden courtyard.

Inside, generous homes with discreet accessibility features offer an aspirational living environment, standing in stark contrast to the institutional atmosphere often associated with older people’s housing. Large kitchen windows draw in natural daylight and provide residents with uninterrupted views of the garden courtyard. A variety of plants, trees and a gentle water feature, that echoes throughout the building, gives a sense of a woodland oasis, allowing residents a constant connection to a green space in the heart of London.

Light-flooded, terracotta paved hallways connect the flats and contain customisable planters and benches, forming a “social corridor” that encourage spontaneous interaction among residents. Cleverly designed automated vents alongside the double-glazed windows allow the corridors to collect heat in the winter to create a warm winter-garden for residents, and release heat to stay cooler in the summer. Above, a generous roof terrace provides a colourful, transportive communal space for residents, where the planting beds have been raised to accommodate accessibility needs.

Appleby Blue Almshouse, Southwark by Witherford Watson Mann Architects

photo : Philip Vile

At street level, floor-to-ceiling bay windows create a strong social connection between residents and the surrounding community. A direct view of the bus stop on the main street allows for chance interactions and residents to observe the daily bustle of city life. A varied public calendar of events also helps draw people inside to the warm, timber-clad shared spaces. The generous double-height public “garden room” and community kitchen provide spaces for everyone to come together and socialise, offering residents a form of co-living centred around communal spaces.

Remarkable collaboration and meticulous attention to detail between Witherford Watson Mann Architects and the client, United St Saviour’s Charity, has created a serene, social and profoundly transformational environment for the users of Appleby Blue, where the importance of the resident’s mental and physical wellbeing are each treated with equal significance and priority.

Appleby Blue gently reimagines later living as a collective experience, drawing its residents together in spaces that elevate the everyday. The result is a pioneering model for designing high-quality housing for later living, where care and dignity are embedded into the design throughout.

Speaking on behalf of the RIBA Stirling Prize Jury, Ingrid Schroder, Director of The Architectural Association (AA) School of Architecture, said:
“Designing social housing for later life is too often reduced to a simple provision of service. Appleby Blue, however, is a provision of pure delight. Its architects have crafted high-quality spaces that are generous and thoughtful, blending function and community to create environments that truly care for their residents.

This project is a clarion call for a new form of housing at a pivotal moment. Built against the backdrop of two crises, an acute housing shortage and a growing loneliness epidemic among older people, Appleby Blue offers a hopeful and imaginative response, where residents and the surrounding community are brought together through the transformative nature of the design.

By creating a radical and significant model that embraces co-living at a time where our demographics are shifting, Appleby Blue sets an ambitious standard for social housing among older people. Not only does it perform the rare act of freeing up accommodation while keeping residents embedded in their community, it shows that design, when infused with deep care, can meaningfully address the pressing issues of today.”

Stephen Witherford, on behalf of Witherford Watson Mann Architects and United St. Saviour’s Charity, said:
“Appleby Blue is a contemporary almshouse on a busy London high street, designed to address the social and economic challenges faced by many older people in our inner cities. Working closely and imaginatively with United St. Saviour’s Charity, we’ve created an environment that reduces loneliness, encourages connection, and supports a good later life. The charity has made social housing aspirational, enabling people to grow old locally with the right support, benefiting both residents and the wider Southwark community. We’re honoured that the RIBA Stirling Prize recognises the power of architecture to create places that genuinely transform lives.”

The 2025 RIBA Stirling was chaired by Ingrid Schroder, Director of The Architectural Association (AA) School of Architecture, with: Anna Lisa McSweeny, UK Network Lead, Built by Nature, (Sustainability Expert); Chris Williamson, RIBA President; Neill McClements, Director, Grimshaw and winner of RIBA Stirling Prize 2024; Simon Gillis, Technical Director at Autodesk; Victoria Tang-Owen, Creative Director, Designer, Consultant and Brand Collaborator (Lay Assessor).

The winner was announced at a ceremony on 16 October at London’s Roundhouse.

The ceremony also included the announcement of four RIBA Special Award-winning schemes:

• United St Saviours Charity, winner of the RIBA Client of the Year Award 2025 for Appleby Blue Almshouse
• Appleby Blue Almshouse by Witherford Watson Mann Architects, winner of the RIBA Neave Brown Award for Housing 2025
• Sheerness Dockyard Church by Hugh Broughton Architects, winner of the RIBA Reinvention Award 2025
• St Mary’s Walthamstow by Alex Spicer at Matthew Lloyd Architects, winner of the RIBA Stephen Lawrence Prize 2025

The RIBA Stirling Prize 2025 is sponsored by Autodesk.
Amy Bunszel, EVP of Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Solutions at Autodesk, said:

“Each project recognised by the Stirling Prize sets a powerful example for the industry, showcasing how dedication and creative vision shape the spaces where we live, work, and connect. Autodesk is honoured to support the award and to celebrate the thoughtful design and innovation behind this year’s winning project.”

4 September 2025

RIBA Stirling Prize Shortlist 2025 News

The UK’s best architecture – RIBA Stirling Prize 2025 shortlist announced

Thursday 4th of September 2025 – The restoration of one of the UK’s most recognisable landmarks, a pioneering new medical research facility, and a contemporary almshouse designed to reduce isolation among older residents are among the six projects shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize 2025. A university’s “factory for fashion”, an accessible home and a creative house extension have also been shortlisted.

The six projects in the running for the UK’s highest accolade in architecture, are:

Appleby Blue Almshouse by Witherford Watson Mann Architects

A pioneering model providing housing for later living: Replacing an abandoned care home, Appleby Blue radically reimagines the traditional almshouse to foster community and reduce isolation among residents. The layout flips a centuries-old typology, placing communal spaces at its heart to encourage interaction, while bay windows at street level connect residents to the outside world. Thoughtful details, such as the timber-clad interior, discreet accessibility features and terracotta paved hallways bursting with benches and planters, aim to deinstitutionalise the typical model of older people’s housing. The result is a new standard for inclusive social housing in later life.

Elizabeth Tower by Purcell

Preservation of a national monument: Housing the symbolic ‘Big Ben’ bell – the timepiece of the nation, the most comprehensive restoration of Elizabeth Tower in 160 years is a conservation masterpiece. Traditional materials and bespoke craftspeople were sourced from across the UK to honour the Tower’s original design, rectifying previous restoration missteps and repairing newly uncovered damage from the Second World War. Careful details, such as reinstating the Victorian colour scheme on the clock faces and reintroducing the St George’s Cross, return the tower to its former glory. Subtle improvements to accessibility, including a new visitor lift, have also opened up the monument to a broader audience for the first time.

Hastings House by Hugh Strange Architects

An inventive home extension: Instead of demolishing an ageing hillside home, Hastings House reuses and celebrates the existing structure and materials to create a house of contrasts. A restrained, updated Victorian front gives way to a modern, timber framed rear, while a rough concrete courtyard celebrates its industrial character. A series of stitched extensions step up the hillside, blending inside and outside to cleverly create light-filled, open spaces. The result goes beyond a house extension, transforming the entire home and producing a lesson in restrained, inventive reuse.

London College of Fashion by Allies and Morrison

A vertical campus for creativity: Located in the cultural heart of the Queen Elizabeth Park in Stratford, the new home for the London College of Fashion brings together its 6,000 staff and students for the first time. A constrained site prompted a vertical campus rising to 17 storeys, with dramatic staircases unfurling through a shared “heart space” to encourage collaboration. A restrained palette of materials allows the building to act as a canvas for its occupants, while long sightlines and flexible workspaces promote adaptability. Subtle nods to the area’s industrial history create the feeling of a thriving “factory for fashion”.

Niwa House by Takero Shimazaki Architects

A blueprint for accessible housing: Meaning “Garden Home” in Japanese, Niwa House is a pavilion-like oasis built on a previously derelict South London plot. Sprawling across and downwards to navigate planning constraints, this “horizontal home” is a masterclass in craftsmanship and restraint. Subtle interventions, such as a flowing open-plan layout and integrated accessibility features create a seamless experience for its wheelchair-user resident while futureproofing it for later life, demonstrating how inclusive design can be functional yet elegant. A hybrid timber and stone structure, paired with floor to ceiling windows, bathe each room in light, while a courtyard garden rising through both floors underlines the serene sense of escapism.

The Discovery Centre (DISC) by Herzog and de Meuron / BDP

A civic laboratory: AstraZeneca’s Discovery Centre radically redefines the research facility, blending cutting-edge laboratories with welcoming public spaces. The surprisingly low-rise, sawtooth-roofed building adopts a curved triangular plan, forming an inviting interface for Cambridge’s Biomedical Cluster. At its heart, a publicly accessible courtyard echoes the city’s iconic college quadrangles, one of the buildings many tributes to Cambridge’s heritage. Inside, 16 glass-lined laboratories are connected by clever interconnecting corridors that balance stringent security with transparency, putting science on display. Flexible lab stations and open-plan layouts foster innovation in a bold new prototype for research facilities.

RIBA President, Chris Williamson, said:

“These projects demonstrate architecture’s unique ability to address some of the most urgent challenges of our time, responding with creativity, adaptability and care. From a monumental civic building that champions investment in arts and culture, to the sensitive restoration of one the nation’s most iconic landmarks, and a cutting-edge medical research facility, each offers a blueprint for how architecture can enrich society.

At a time when quality housing is urgently needed across the country, the residential projects stand out for their inventive, human-centred design, from social housing that combats isolation in later life, to a bold home extension that celebrates reuse, and an accessible home that proves that beauty and accessibility can coexist.

Together, these projects offer a hopeful vision for the future, one where architecture strengthens communities and helps shape a more sustainable and inclusive built environment.”

Amy Bunszel, EVP of architecture, engineering, and construction solutions at Autodesk, said:
“Congratulations to the 2025 RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist winners. These projects demonstrate how architecture can drive meaningful change- connecting people, enhancing resilience and improving how we live and work. The shortlist highlights the potential of design to meet today’s challenges with creativity, purpose and impact.”

The winner of the RIBA Stirling Prize 2025 will be announced live at London’s Roundhouse on 16 October 2025, sponsored by Autodesk.

Stirling Prize 2025 Shortlisted Buildings and Architects

Appleby Blue Almshouse, Southwark by Witherford Watson Mann Architects

photo : Philip Vile

Elizabeth Tower Palace of Westminster Renovation by Purcell

photo courtesy of the Purcell architects office

Hastings House by Hugh Strange Architects

photo : Rory Gaylor

London College of Fashion, Stratford Cross by Allies and Morrison

photo : Simon Menges

Niwa House by Takero Shimazaki Architects

photo : Anton Gorlenko

First awarded in 1996, the RIBA Stirling Prize is the UK’s most prestigious architecture award. Given to the architect of the building thought to be the most significant of the year for the evolution of architecture and the built environment, the RIBA Stirling Prize is judged on a range of criteria including design vision, innovation and originality, capacity to stimulate engage and delight occupants and visitors, accessibility and sustainability, how fit the building is for its purpose and the level of client satisfaction.

Previous winners of the RIBA Stirling Prize include: The Elizabeth Line by Grimshaw, Maynard, Equation and AtkinsRéalis (2024); The John Morden Centre by Mæ (2023); The New Library, Magdalene College in Cambridge by Níall McLaughlin Architects (2022); Kingston University London – Town House by Grafton Architects (2021); Goldsmith Street by Mikhail Riches (2019); Bloomberg by Foster + Partners (2018); Hastings Pier by dRMM (2017); Newport Street Gallery by Caruso St John (2016); Burntwood School, London by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) (2015); Liverpool Everyman Theatre by Haworth Tompkins (2014); Astley Castle by Witherford Watson Mann (2013).

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