The RIBA has given the 2026 Stirling Prize to Lion Green Road, 157 homes commissioned by Croydon Council in Coulsdon, south London, and designed by Mary Duggan Architects, with delivery architects RUFFARCHITECTS.
Replacing a car park on a “challenging, sloping site,” the development “creates a new connection between Lion Green Road and green parkland,” said RIBA. The scheme comprises five similar 13-sided blocks of apartments in slightly varying heights, accommodating 635 residents in a combination of privately-owned and socially-rented homes.
Nestled amongst trees on the edge of green-belt land, the development is characterised by attractive soft brownish-purple and pink brickwork which “blends high-density housing into an area of natural beauty.”
RIBA said: “Rather than treating the site’s topography as a constraint, Lion Green Road reconsiders the conventional layout of residential streets and offers a new approach to higher density development. The arrangement uses the site’s changing levels and views to create a new “living landscape” for residents.
Each of the five blocks is built to the same specification, but they are “carefully rotated and positioned to respond to the site’s topography and offer distinct views.” The design creates a “coherent family of buildings that belong within the landscape,” said RIBA.
The buildings are arranged around open, shared outdoor spaces, and with access to a new public pathway from Lion Green Road to parkland beyond, the blocks “encourage interaction between residents and help foster a strong sense of community.”
Each home is dual-aspect, with “generous daylight,” while private balconies are carefully positioned to avoid directly overlooking neighbouring homes. This allows the buildings to “sit closer together while giving residents open views from their own outdoor spaces.” The result is “density achieved through careful orientation and planning, rather than at the expense of privacy, daylight or views.”
The project was designed and built to reduce its environmental impact and carbon emissions, including using “efficient construction methods, simple finishes, and a more streamlined building process.”
RIBA ‘Special Awards’ were also given to:
York Minster by Tonkin Liu Architects – RIBA Client of the Year Award 2026 for Heritage Quad and Technology Hub, both of which comprise the York Minster Centre of Excellence
The Buttermarket by Architectural Thread – RIBA Stephen Lawrence Prize 2026 and RIBA Conservation Award 2026.
Rowan Court by Satish Jassal Architects – RIBA Neave Brown Award for Housing 2026
Oru Sutton by Samuel Chisholm Studio and Takero Shimazaki Architects – RIBA Reinvention Award 2026.