LION GREEN ROAD DEVELOPMENT WINS 2026 STIRLING PRIZE

A housing development in Coulsdon, south London, has won the UK's most prestigious architecture award, the Royal Institute of British Architects' 2026 Stirling Prize. Mary Duggan Architects designed Lion Green Road, which comprises 157 homes across five 13-sided blocks, working with RUFF Architects for Croydon Council. The scheme mixes affordable and private housing on a site that previously held a car park. RIBA president Chris Williamson said the project offers "a new approach to higher density development", creating "a new connection between the bustling Lion Green Road and a distinctive area of green parkland beyond".

The site slopes by eight metres on the edge of green-belt land close to trees. Its blocks use soft purple and pink brickwork to blend high-density housing into the natural surroundings. Williamson said "the housing blocks blend into the parkland beyond, while small variations in pattern add texture and give each building its own identity." He said the way it fits into the hillside means "it doesn't look like a large housing scheme." The development includes community gardens, which Williamson called "the sort of place I would have liked to have grown up in." Winding paths connect the five blocks and link shared outdoor spaces.

Duggan, who grew up in south-west London, said the design "challenged conventional suburban housing layouts centred on roads, private gardens and clearly defined front and back spaces". She said she wanted the development to be a public space people felt they could belong to. Judges recognised the scheme for how it responds to its surroundings, rather than for its cost or the number of homes it delivers. Duggan said "Housing needs to be progressive."