Appleby Blue, our almshouse for older people in Bermondsey, has been included in RIBA’s public vote to find the nation’s favourite Stirling Prize winner of the last 30 years — part of a wider campaign marking the prize’s 30th anniversary, sponsored by HP.

Designed by Witherford Watson Mann and built in partnership with Southwark Council and JTRE London, Appleby Blue won the Stirling Prize outright in October 2025 — recognised by the judges as “a clarion call for a new form of housing” that responds to both the housing shortage and the loneliness epidemic facing older people.

A year on, the building is home to 57 residents, and has helped free up dozens of homes elsewhere in the housing chain for younger families. But for us, this vote is about more than one building. It’s a chance to make the case, nationally, that ageing well in a city shouldn’t be a privilege — and that thoughtful design and genuine community can make that possible for everyone.