The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the four projects shortlisted for the 2023 Neave Brown Award for Housing.
Named in honour of modernist architect Neave Brown (1929 – 2018), the award recognises the best new examples of affordable housing in the UK.
The four shortlisted buildings are all commended as exceptional examples of affordable housing, but the judges also note that each demonstrates, in its own way, how innovative architectural design can play a significant role in helping to address wider societal issues.
In Yorkshire, a development for older people (New Lodge Community) is embedded in the heart of the local area, with flexible design ensuring residents can age-in-place by adapting to their changing needs.
An apartment complex in east London (A House for Artists) offers an imaginative response to rising housing costs. In exchange for reduced rent, resident artists use a street-facing exhibition space to deliver free creative programmes for benefit of the local community.
In London’s Camden, the regeneration of an existing estate (Agar Grove Phase 1b) is a pioneering example of sustainable social housing, on track to become the UK’s largest Passivhaus (an outstanding energy efficiency standard) scheme.
And in North London, three housing blocks (Taylor & Chatto Courts and Wilmott Court, Frampton Park Estate) illustrate how outstanding design can integrate seamlessly into and enrich an existing urban environment.
Jury Chair and Director at Peter Barber Architects, Alice Brownfield, said: “This is a really exciting shortlist illustrating that housing design has a significant role to play in helping address wider societal issues and, moreover, that social and affordable housing is often at the forefront of this.
“From housing design that facilitates a rethinking of traditional rent models, protecting space for creatives in our cities with genuinely flexible and creative co-housing, to highly sustainable council homes and dignified housing for our aging population placed at the heart of a community. The projects evidence how exemplary design can be transformational to people’s lives.”
RIBA President Simon Allford said: “At a time when the cost of living is among the most pressing issues of the day, these examples of affordable housing outline possibilities for a better future. We need more homes, that are better designed in terms of amenity, carbon, context, community and culture – we must focus on them all.
“Collectively, these schemes help raise the bar for architecture with purpose, showing how forward-thinking design can enrich the lives of both residents and the wider community. Congratulations to all of those involved in the shortlisted projects.”
The shortlist was selected from the 2023 RIBA Regional Awards winners by an expert panel of judges: Jury Chair Alice Brownfield, Director at Peter Barber Architects, Prisca Thielmann, Associate Director at Maccreanor Lavington, and Aaron Brown, son of Neave Brown, Design Director at Smith & Brown Ltd.
The winner of the 2023 Neave Brown Award for Housing will be announced at the RIBA Stirling Prize ceremony on Thursday 19 October 2023 at Victoria Warehouse in Manchester.
