A striking development in Croydon, Lion Green Road in Coulsdon, has secured the prestigious RIBA Stirling prize, marking only the second time a council housing initiative has achieved this top honor. Designed by Mary Duggan Architects in collaboration with Ruff Architects, the project consists of five crystalline towers clad in pink and brown brick. It serves as a significant case study for architects and policymakers, including those like Andy Burnham, who are exploring a potential national resurgence in public housebuilding. When Goldsmith Street in Norwich scooped the gong in 2019, for its rows of low-energy brick terraces, designed by Mikhail Riche, only once before has the RIBA Stirling prize ever been awarded to a council housing project. According to “We really pushed against the suburban model of terraces dominated by cars, with little front and back gardens,”, Duggan. According to “Brick by Brick was an amazing client,”, Duggan, who also had a small mews project in Crystal Palace on the drawing board for the council’s housebuilder, before the plug was pulled. “It was a refreshing change from h.
The project represents a poignant legacy for Brick by Brick, the council-owned housebuilder established in 2015 to tackle the failure of conventional development models to provide enough affordable units. Although the firm was shuttered in 2020 following the council’s bankruptcy, the initiative managed to complete 751 homes, with more than half designated as affordable. The success of Lion Green Road acts as a bittersweet validation of that brief, ambitious effort, which aimed to treat land as a public asset rather than a commodity. It is also a bittersweet vindication of Croydon council’s erstwhile housebuilding company, Brick by Brick, a bold and sadly brief experiment by the previous Labour administration, which was halted in 2020 when the counci. Here, they weren’t talking about the land as a commodity, but as a genuinely public asset.”.
With the government planning a £39bn investment in the housing sector, including a £10bn initial allocation announced by Burnham this August to support 70,000 affordable homes, the project highlights the potential for density without sacrificing living standards. Despite initial local resistance—the 2017 planning application received 257 objections compared to only 18 letters of support—the finished site preserves mature trees and bluebell woodlands while integrating public access, allotments, and playgrounds. The design effectively accommodated 157 flats, nearly doubling the 80 homes originally envisioned by the developer-led brief. There, nestled into a steeply sloping site, sheltered by a canopy of mature trees, stands a cluster of crystalline pink and brown brick towers, where generous flats look on to a landscape of allotments, playgrounds and to the rolling hills of south London beyond. With subtle variation in height and orientation, it offers housing at scale without uniformity.”, through a consistent specification. Arranged as she describes, but Duggan proved she could fit 157 flats, distributed between five pavilion-like towers, retaining the mature trees and bluebell woodland on the site, the original brief asked for 80 homes. Where private owners get the hotel concierge treatment, while affordable tenants enter around the back by the bins, it’s a far cry from the “poor door” apartheid of so much developer-built housing. Now built, almost a decade later, the project demonstrates how more homes than you might imagine can be constructed on the most unpromising of sites in a sympathetic way, without sacrificing greenery, views and public access – and keeping plenty of parking, too.
The architectural approach prioritized resident experience over suburban car-centric planning. Each tower utilizes a star-shaped footprint to ensure every unit is dual-aspect, maximizing natural light, ventilation, and views. By rotating these structures, the architects maintained privacy for neighbors while keeping the building clusters dense. Amenities include inset loggia balconies and carefully planned communal spaces developed with landscape practice Planit-IE. The development provides a mix of housing, with three blocks held by the council at local housing allowance rates and two towers designated for private rental.
Quality was maintained on a remarkably tight budget of £2,500 per square metre, making it the most economical project on the year’s shortlist. This sets it apart from other contenders, which included expensive private residences, an £825m office block in Paddington, and luxury projects for Cambridge colleges. The design deliberately avoids the “poor door” stigma common in many modern developments; all residents utilize the same well-appointed, welcoming lobbies and shared outdoor facilities. As RIBA president Chris Williamson noted, the project serves as proof that density can be achieved while maintaining high quality and public value.
The development’s landscape is intentionally designed as a “new kind of garden neighbourhood,” featuring sensory gardens and unique bug hotels that echo the star-shaped aesthetic of the towers. By avoiding perimeter fencing and creating winding, public-accessible routes that lead toward a historic railway embankment, the architecture integrates seamlessly into its surroundings. This achievement underscores that even on difficult sites, thoughtful planning can deliver significant housing volumes while fostering a sense of place that respects both the environment and its inhabitants. Even if it’s prize-winning, yet few people in Britain welcome the prospect of new housing in their backyards.
