A social housing complex for the over-65s in Southwark, south London by Witherford Watson Mann Architects has been awarded the RIBA Stirling Prize.
Replacing an abandoned care home, Appleby Blue Almshouse “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,” said RIBA. The development contains 59 bright, spacious flats arranged in a U-shaped plan 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 provide uninterrupted views of the garden courtyard, and there is varied planting and a water feature “giving a sense of a woodland oasis, and allowing residents a constant connection to a green space in the heart of London.”
Terracotta paved hallways connect the flats and contain customisable planters and benches, forming a “social corridor” that encourages spontaneous interaction among residents. A generous roof terrace provides a colourful, transportive communal space for residents, where the planting beds have been raised to accommodate accessibility needs.
At street level, floor-to-ceiling bay windows create a strong social connection between residents and the surrounding community. There is a varied public calendar of events which helps to bring people to the warm, timber-clad shared spaces, including the double-height public “garden room” and community kitchen.
RIBA commented:
“Remarkable collaboration and meticulous attention to detail between architect and the client, United St Saviour’s Charity, has created a serene, social and profoundly transformational environment for the users, where the importance of the resident’s mental and physical wellbeing are each treated with equal significance.“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.”