{"id":198407,"date":"2025-10-14T02:06:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T02:06:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/198407\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T02:06:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T02:06:20","slug":"which-scheme-do-aj-readers-want-to-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/198407\/","title":{"rendered":"which scheme do AJ readers want to win?"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to an online poll, 41 per cent of the nearly 700 respondents plumped for the \u2018pioneering model\u2019 of housing for later living to land the UK\u2019s most prestigious architecture award this Thursday (16 October).<\/p>\n

The \u00a325.1 million scheme in Southwark, designed by the winner of the 2013 Stirling Prize<\/a>, received significantly more votes than any of the five other finalists.<\/p>\n

Its closest contender was Allies and Morrison\u2019s \u2018monumental\u2019 new home for the London College of Fashion<\/a>, which attracted 26 per cent of the vote. None of the others took more than 11 per cent of the total votes.<\/p>\n

Justifying Appleby Blue<\/a>\u2019s selection, readers described it as \u2018the only true contender this year\u2019, a \u2018stunning building with a social purpose\u2019 and \u2018thoughtful, life-enhancing, replicable and a useful exemplar\u2019.<\/p>\n

In third place was Purcell\u2019s refurbishment of the Elizabeth Tower (11 per cent), followed by Niwa House by Takero Shimazaki Architects (9 per cent). Bringing up the rear were the Discovery Centre (DISC) by Herzog & de Meuron\/BDP, and Hugh Strange Architects\u2019 Hastings House<\/a>, on 6 per cent each.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, bookmaker William Hill slashed its odds<\/a> on Appleby Blue to win the prize. The 5,800m\u00b2 later living development had originally been priced at 4\/1 to but odds were shortened to just 7\/4.<\/p>\n

However, Purcell\u2019s \u00a380 million restoration of Elizabeth Tower remains the bookmaker\u2019s \u2018long-term favourite\u2019 with only even money offered on a Big Ben victory.<\/p>\n

Allies and Morrison\u2019s London College of Fashion<\/a> had slipped back from 3\/1 to 4\/1, and the bookmaker has also gone cool on a victory for the Discovery Centre (DISC). The 62,800m2 project for AstraZeneca in Cambridge was priced at 7\/1, having been third favourite at 10\/3 when the betting opened.<\/p>\n

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The bookmaker\u2019s odds continue to echo the predicted winner as chosen by ChatGPT, which also backs Elizabeth Tower.<\/p>\n

ChatGPT argued that the national symbol was its likely winner because of its \u2018heritage significance\u2019 and the \u2018exceptional craftsmanship\u2019 of Purcell\u2019s refurb, while citing the \u2018meticulous\u2019 attention to detail on the restored clock face and internal elements, as well as \u2018public resonance\u2019.<\/p>\n

The winner of the 2025 RIBA Stirling Prize will be announced live at London\u2019s Roundhouse on 16 October.<\/p>\n

Judges\u2019 citations<\/p>\n

Appleby Blue Almshouse by Witherford Watson Mann Architects<\/p>\n

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\u2019s housing. The result is a new standard for inclusive social housing in later life.<\/p>\n

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Appleby Blue by Witherford Watson Mann. Photo: Philipp Ebeling<\/p>\n

London College of Fashion by Allies and Morrison<\/p>\n

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 \u2018heart space\u2019 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\u2019s industrial history create the feeling of a thriving \u2018factory for fashion\u2019.<\/p>\n

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London College of Fashion by Allies and Morrison. Photo: Simon Menges<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Tower, London, by Purcell<\/p>\n

Preservation of a national monument: Housing the symbolic \u2018Big Ben\u2019 bell \u2013 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\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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Elizabeth Tower by Purcell. Photo: House of Commons<\/p>\n

Niwa House by Takero Shimazaki Architects<\/p>\n

A blueprint for accessible housing: Meaning \u2018Garden Home\u2019 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 \u2018horizontal home\u2019 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, bathes each room in light, while a courtyard garden rising through both floors underlines the serene sense of escapism.<\/p>\n

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Niwa House by Takero Shimazaki Architects. Photo: Anton Gorlenko<\/p>\n

The Discovery Centre (DISC) by Herzog & de Meuron\/BDP<\/p>\n

A civic laboratory: AstraZeneca\u2019s 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\u2019s biomedical cluster. At its heart, a publicly accessible courtyard echoes the city\u2019s iconic college quadrangles, one of the building\u2019s many tributes to Cambridge\u2019s heritage. Inside, three 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.<\/p>\n

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The Discovery Centre (DISC) by Herzog & de Meuron\/BDP. Photo: Hufton + Crow<\/p>\n

Hastings House by Hugh Strange Architects<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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Hastings House by Hugh Strange Architects. Photo: Rory Gaylor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"According to an online poll, 41 per cent of the nearly 700 respondents plumped for the \u2018pioneering model\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198408,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-198407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}