Clarion Housing Group 2023 William Sutton Prize winner, UK Architecture awards shortlist, British architects news

William Sutton Prize 2023 Winners

24 November 2023

Bell Phillips Architects and Building with Nature named winners of Clarion’s William Sutton Prize

The William Sutton Prize for Sustainability and Placemaking Winner in 2023

From a shortlist of six proposals, concepts put forward by Bell Phillips Architects and Building with Nature were named the winners.

Clarion Housing Group, the UK’s largest provider of affordable housing, has revealed the winners of the fifth William Sutton Prize at an awards ceremony which took place last night (23 November).

Both will receive a share of The William Sutton Prize’s £75,000 pot to turn their ideas into reality, with the funding provided by Clarion Futures, the charitable foundation of Clarion Housing Group. Winners will also receive a tailored package of business support from Clarion as part of a 12-18 month programme that will complement the funding received.

Bell Phillips Architects’ winning design:

Bell Phillips Architects’ winning proposal imagines a pathway to net zero through the development of a new ‘vernacular architecture’ for all buildings below 11m using natural building materials. This will reduce embodied carbon in construction, encourage the increased production of timber and natural building products, and contribute to reforestation.

William Sutton Prize 2023 winners Building with Nature winning design – Green Infrastructure Stewardship Framework and Accreditation System:

Building with Nature provides planners and developers with guidance on delivering high quality green infrastructure. Their proposal is for a framework with clear standards and guidance to better deliver the environmental, social, and economic benefits from the introduction of biodiversity and green spaces across communities. Their aim is to create a set of comprehensive and standardised practices which demonstrate ‘what good looks like’ when it comes to managing and maintaining communities for the benefit of people and nature into the long term.

In its fifth year, the Prize shifted its focus to identify and recognise ideas that will help improve the carbon footprint of the social housing sector and accelerate the sector’s transition to net zero in a just and fair way.

The William Sutton Prize was developed by Clarion Housing Group to celebrate the legacy of its founder, William Sutton, as a 19th century innovator and philanthropist who bequeathed his fortune to improve the quality of social housing.

L-R in the Bell Phillips photo we have Clare Miller (Chief Executive of Clarion Housing Group), Melissa Dowler (Director of Bell Phillips Architects), Grant Mitchell (Senior Architect at Bell Phillips Architects), Tim Bell (Director of Bell Phillips Architects) and David Orr CBE (Chair of Clarion’s Housing Association Board and one of this year’s William Sutton Prize judges):

L-R in the Building with Nature photo we have Clare Miller (Chief Executive of Clarion Housing Group), Dr Gemma Jerome (Director of Building with Nature), Sam Jones (Managing Director of The Green Partnership) and David Orr CBE (Chair of Clarion’s Housing Association Board and one of this year’s William Sutton Prize judges).

Clare Miller, Chief Executive of Clarion Housing Group, said:
“The William Sutton Prize has supported many amazing projects over the past five years, advancing social good in the affordable housing sector.

“The world needs to accelerate progress towards net zero but it’s a challenge that can’t be overcome without collaboration and innovation, and that’s exactly what our two winners have demonstrated. We’re excited to be working with Bell Phillips and Building with Nature to help them bring their ideas to life and make a difference to our residents and communities.”

Tim Bell, Director of Bell Phillips Architects, said:
“Nobody has all the answers on their own. Collaborating with like-minded people at Clarion will help us develop our ideas and put them into practice, and we’re so excited to be named one of this year’s William Sutton Prize winners.”

Dr Gemma Jerome, Director of Building with Nature, said:
“Winning The William Sutton Prize is a huge honour and it means everything. Working with Clarion to bring this idea to life will make such a difference, helping to create green spaces where people can live and flourish for years to come.”

To find out more about The William Sutton Prize visit www.clarionhg.com/william-sutton-prize

William Sutton Prize 2023 Shortlisted Teams

The full list of shortlisted entries for the fifth William Sutton Prize is as follows:

WINNER (£20,000): A Home-Grown Solution to Delivering Net Zero

Bell Phillips Architects

A proposal that imagines a pathway to net zero through the development of a new vernacular architecture for all buildings below 11m using timber frame with a low-embodied carbon facade system comprised of timber, Hempcrete and lime render cladding. This will reduce embodied carbon in construction, encourage the increased production of timber and natural building products in the UK, help grow the domestic economy, and re-forest our countryside.

WINNER (£50,000): Green Infrastructure Stewardship Framework and Accreditation System

Building with Nature

There is a lack of comprehensive and standardised stewardship practices in green infrastructure projects across the UK. Currently, approaches can be fragmented and ineffective, leading to inconsistent outcomes and missed opportunities. The proposed framework will develop clear standards and guidance to better deliver the environmental, social, and economic benefits of sustainable stewardship.

Housing Toolkit

Allies and Morrison

A proposal for a Circular Housing Toolkit – an interactive digital platform that draws on data from Clarion’s vast portfolio to enable people designing, building, managing or residing in social housing to better implement circular economy principles and help the wider housing industry navigate the barriers typically associated with circularity.

The Common House as Community Joinery

Bridport Cohousing

Through the construction of their common house, Bridport Cohousing is joining the dots between affordable housing, local materials, sustainable land practices, community education, and local economies. This project seeks to turn the insights gained into a toolkit for other Community Land Trusts (CLTs), affordable housing developers and cohousing projects, collaborating with Clarion to map, understand and clear the roadblocks to scaling this methodology up.

Material Re-use Audit and Portal Pilot + Bridging Workshops

Material Index Ltd

Construction materials are responsible for over half of UK waste and 14% of our carbon footprint. Material Index enables materials from renovation to be digitally indexed and reused. The William Sutton Prize is an exciting opportunity for a pilot: lowering waste, costs and carbon for Clarion and helping Material Index understand housing associations’ requirements, facilitated by workshops from Balaam Murphy studio.

Pollinators for the People!

Urban Growth Learning Gardens CIC

A proposal for a project that will empower residents to enhance their communal outdoor spaces, increasing biodiversity, mitigating air pollution, urban heat island effect and flood risk. This will take the form of an innovative citizen science programme which enables residents to measure existing biodiversity, create wildflower meadows and track the impact of those changes.

The William Sutton Prize 2023 Jury

The winners of the fifth William Sutton Prize were determined by a panel comprising:

• Yẹmí Àládérun, an architect and Head of Development at Meridian Water
• Jas Bhalla, former winner of The William Sutton Prize and founder of Jas Bhalla Architects
• Miles Lewis, Director of Sustainability at Clarion Housing Group
• Sasha Morgan, Head of Strategy at Kick It Out and member of Clarion’s Housing Association Board
• David Orr CBE, Chair of Clarion’s Housing Association Board
• Michelle Reynolds, Chief Customer Officer at Clarion Housing Group
• Nick Wood, Director of Development at Clarion Housing Group

William Sutton Prize 2023 Winner: Mole Architects images / information received 241123

Previously on e-architect:

10 March 2022

Mole Architects crowned winners of Clarion’s William Sutton Prize

Mole Architects – illustrated sustainability matrix:

The William Sutton Prize for Sustainability and Placemaking Winner in 2022

5 January 2022

Shortlist for Clarion Housing Group’s revamped William Sutton Prize

The William Sutton Prize for Sustainability and Placemaking Shortlist in 2022

William Sutton Prize 2022 Shortlist

The Community Green Hub Toolkit

Optimised Environments Ltd (OPEN)

The Community Green Hub Toolkit by Optimised Environments Ltd (OPEN):

Stanmore Garden Community Masterplan

Greenspace Architects Ltd

EcoVillage, Whixall, Shropshire, England, UK, by Greenspace Architects – Village Green CGI:

William Sutton Prize for Sustainability and Placemaking

26 Mar 2021

William Sutton Prize 2021 Winner

Modular community housing project is winner of Clarion Housing Group’s William Sutton Prize

Ecomotive and SNUG Homes and illustrates their proposal for a vibrant hub of community participation that co-produces housing in response to local needs:

image courtesy of Ecomotive / SNUG Homes