Lion Green Road housing in Coulsdon wins 2026 RIBA Stirling Prize

Centre · 2Lion Green Road, a housing development in Coulsdon, south London, has won the 2026 Stirling Prize from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), described as the UK's most prestigious architecture award. 1 2 Centre · 2The scheme has 157 homes in five blocks, mixing private and affordable or socially rented housing, and was commissioned by Croydon Council. Mary Duggan Architects designed it, and the BBC says it was built with RUFF Architects. 1 2 Centre · 2It replaced a former car park on a sloping site that varies in height by eight metres. RIBA president Chris Williamson called the design a "new approach to higher density development" that creates "a new connection between the bustling Lion Green Road and a distinctive area of green parkland beyond". 1 2

Centre · 1RIBA said the blocks are built to the same specification but rotated and positioned to suit the topography and give different views, some towards the Surrey Iron Railway monument. It said they create a "living landscape" for 635 residents, and that every home is dual-aspect, with balconies placed to avoid overlooking neighbours. 2 Centre · 2The BBC describes the blocks as 13-sided with soft purple and pink brickwork, while the Evening Standard, quoting RIBA, says the brickwork is in three subtle shades of brown. 1 2 Centre · 2Winding paths, planting, community gardens and allotments connect the blocks and shared outdoor spaces, with a new public pathway from Lion Green Road to the parkland. Williamson said the scheme "doesn't look like a large housing scheme" and that it is "the sort of place i would have liked to have grown up in". 1 2

Centre · 1The Evening Standard reports that the project cut carbon emissions through efficient construction methods, simple finishes and a streamlined building process. 2 Centre · 2Mary Duggan said the scheme challenged conventional suburban layouts centred on roads and private gardens, and that its significance lies in showing that "architectural ambition, social value and generosity can co-exist" in contemporary development. The BBC adds that a change in building regulations meant the project "fought against five or six circumstantial elements beyond the normal challenges". 1 2 Centre · 1The BBC lists the other shortlisted projects: a house at Fairmead, High Beach, Epping Forest by Sergison Bates; BEAM, Hertfordshire, by Bennetts Associates; Paddington Square by Renzo Piano Building Workshop with Adamson Associates; Pembroke, Mill Lane by Haworth Tompkins; and River Wing, Clare College by Witherford Watson Mann Architects. 1