Croydon council housing wins the RIBA Stirling Prize

A council-commissioned housing scheme in south London has won the RIBA Stirling Prize, the UK's most prestigious award for architecture, in the prize's 30th year.

Lion Green Road in Coulsdon, designed by Mary Duggan Architects with RUFF Architects for Croydon Council, was announced as the winner at a ceremony at Old Billingsgate in London on Thursday night.

The scheme

The development has 157 homes, a mix of privately owned and socially rented, in five blocks on the site of a former car park. The sloping site varies in height by eight metres, and rather than treating that as a problem, the architects used the changing levels and views to create what they call a "living landscape" for 635 residents.

Each block is built to the same specification but rotated and positioned differently, with some looking towards a fragment of the Surrey Iron Railway, the world's first independent public railway. The buildings are finished in brick in three shades of brown, blending into the parkland behind. A new public path links Lion Green Road with the park, and there are play areas, a sensory trail and allotments for residents.

"Density without compromising quality"

Chris Williamson, president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, said: "At a time when we urgently need to deliver more homes, Lion Green Road shows that density can be achieved without compromising the quality of the places we create. This is thoughtful, resourceful architecture that proves that even the most challenging of sites can be transformed into truly distinctive places for people to call home."

Mary Duggan said: "We believe the significance of Lion Green Road lies in what it says about the future of housing: that architectural ambition, social value and generosity can co-exist within the realities of contemporary development."

The creative industries minister, Ian Murray, said the winners showed "what's possible when great design meets public need".

Other awards

The RIBA International Prize went to the Green Field Factory in Rangpur, Bangladesh, by Nakshabid Architects, a rug factory designed around its mostly female workforce. Rowan Court by Satish Jassal Architects won the Neave Brown Award for Housing, and The Buttermarket by Architectural Thread won both the Conservation Award and the Stephen Lawrence Prize.

A message for Birmingham

The win for council housing will resonate in Birmingham, which has one of the largest council housing stocks in the country and a long waiting list for homes. The Stirling jury's verdict is a reminder that well-designed affordable homes can stand alongside the best buildings of the year.

The Stirling Prize was first awarded in 1996. Previous winners include the Elizabeth line and Goldsmith Street, a council housing scheme in Norwich that won in 2019.