Award-winning design

Appleby Blue won the 2025 RIBA Stirling Prize—the UK’s most prestigious architecture award.

The Story Behind Appleby Blue

For over 500 years, United St Saviour’s Charity has provided housing for people in Southwark. Appleby Blue is our 21st-century almshouse—a new model that reimagines what social housing for older people can be.

Named after Dorothy Appleby, whose 16th-century legacy supports our work today, and The Blue—Bermondsey’s historic marketplace—Appleby Blue brings people together in the heart of the city.

Built on the site of a former council care home, Appleby Blue was made possible through partnership between United St Saviour’s Charity, Southwark Council and JTRE London. Funded by a Section 106 agreement with a neighbouring private development, it shows what can happen when public, private and voluntary sectors work together with a shared vision.

Design Principles

Reimagining the Almshouse

Appleby Blue brings the traditional almshouse into the 21st century, offering supportive, affordable housing for older people right in the heart of Bermondsey. Designed by Stirling Prize winners Witherford Watson Mann, Appleby Blue is a new model for social housing—an urban community that balances independence with connection, blending city living with a sense of calm.

Designed with Residents in Mind

Every aspect of the design prioritizes resident needs, based on consultations with almshouse communities. Communal walkways encourage social interaction while respecting privacy, and lounge windows offer peaceful spaces for quiet reflection or connection to the city.

A Partnership that Builds Community

Appleby Blue was built on the site of a former council care home through a partnership between United St Saviour’s Charity, Southwark Council, and JTRE London. Funded by a Section 106 agreement with the luxury Triptych development, this collaboration reinvested resources into creating a community asset that benefits the entire neighbourhood.

A Sanctuary in the City

The Garden Room and central Garden Court provide calm, green spaces for residents to relax, blending seasonal plantings, water features, and urban vibrancy.

A Vision of Possibility

Appleby Blue proves that high-quality, well-designed social housing can enrich residents’ lives and strengthen communities.

Awards & Recognition

Speaking on behalf of the RIBA Stirling Prize Jury, Ingrid Schroder, Director of The Architectural Association (AA) School of Architecture, said:

“Designing social housing for later life is too often reduced to a simple provision of service. Appleby Blue, however, is a provision of pure delight. Its architects have crafted high-quality spaces that are generous and thoughtful, blending function and community to create environments that truly care for their residents.

This project is a clarion call for a new form of housing at a pivotal moment. Built against the backdrop of two crises, an acute housing shortage and a growing loneliness epidemic among older people, Appleby Blue offers a hopeful and imaginative response, where residents and the surrounding community are brought together through the transformative nature of the design.

By creating a radical and significant model that embraces co-living at a time where our demographics are shifting, Appleby Blue sets an ambitious standard for social housing among older people. Not only does it perform the rare act of freeing up accommodation while keeping residents embedded in their community, it shows that design, when infused with deep care, can meaningfully address the pressing issues of today.”

“Appleby Blue is a contemporary almshouse on a busy London high street, designed to address the social and economic challenges faced by many older people in our inner cities. Working closely and imaginatively with United St. Saviour’s Charity, we’ve created an environment that reduces loneliness, encourages connection, and supports a good later life. The charity has made social housing aspirational, enabling people to grow old locally with the right support, benefiting both residents and the wider Southwark community. We’re honoured that the RIBA Stirling Prize recognises the power of architecture to create places that genuinely transform lives.”

Stephen Witherford, Witherford Watson Mann Architects

 

Awards

  • 🏆RIBA Stirling Prize 2025 – UK’s Best New Building
  • 🏆United St Saviours Charity, winner of the RIBA Client of the Year Award 2025 for Appleby Blue Almshouse
  • 🏆RIBA Neave Brown Award for Housing 2025
  • 🏆Housing Design Awards 2024 – Winner of Winners
  • 🏆Housing Design Awards 2024 – HAPPI Award 
  • 🏆Pineapple Award for Healthy Homes 2025
  • 🏆Pineapple Award for Building 2024 
  • 🏆Inside Housing Development Award – Best Supported Housing Development (Urban)
  • 🏆Grand Prix award at the Evening Standard New Homes Awards 2024
  • 🏆2024 BALI National Landscape Awards – Community Development