RIBA Stirling Prize: Witherford Watson Mann's Appleby Blue Almshouse wins 2025 title of 'UK’s best new building'

Appleby Blue Almshouse, a social housing complex for senior residents in London by Witherford Watson Mann Architects, has just been selected as the winner of the Royal Institute of British Architects' 2025 Stirling Prize. 

The announcement was made yesterday at a ceremony, which also included the five other finalists unveiled last month: Elizabeth Tower by Purcell, The Discovery Centre (DISC) by Herzog & de Meuron/BDP, London College of Fashion by Allies and Morrison, Niwa House by Takero Shimazaki Architects, and Hastings House by Hugh Strange Architects.

Located in London's Southwark district, Appleby Blue replaces an abandoned care home with a contemporary reimagining of the traditional almshouse. Designed around a central garden courtyard, the 59-home development prioritizes community and connection through shared spaces, light-filled interiors, and biophilic design. 

Accessible, airy units open to terracotta-paved corridors and a roof terrace, while timber-clad communal areas and a public "garden room" are designed to foster interaction between residents and the surrounding neighborhood. The jury praised the scheme as a "pioneering model for designing high-quality housing for later living, where care and dignity are embedded into the design throughout."

"This project is a clarion call for a new form of housing at a pivotal moment," remarked Ingrid Schroder, 2025 RIBA Stirling chair and Director of the Architectural Association School of Architecture. "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." 

This win follows last year's Stirling Prize selection of the new Elizabeth Line project for the London Underground by Grimshaw, Maynard, Equation, and AtkinsRéalis.

Witherford Watson Mann Architects are no strangers to Royal Institute of British Architects awards: Appleby Blue took home a RIBA London Award earlier this year, and their Nevill Holt Opera design was a finalist for the 2019 Stirling Prize.