The restoration of one of the UK's most recognisable landmarks, a pioneering new medical research facility, and a contemporary almshouse designed to reduce isolation among older residents are among the six projects shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize 2025. A university’s “factory for fashion”, an accessible home and a creative house extension have also been shortlisted.
The six projects in the running for the UK’s highest accolade in architecture, are:
Appleby Blue Almshouse by Witherford Watson Mann Architects
A pioneering model providing housing for later living: Replacing an abandoned care home, Appleby Blue radically reimagines the traditional almshouse to foster community and reduce isolation among residents. The layout flips a centuries-old typology, placing communal spaces at its heart to encourage interaction, while bay windows at street level connect residents to the outside world. Thoughtful details, such as the timber-clad interior, discreet accessibility features and terracotta paved hallways bursting with benches and planters, aim to deinstitutionalise the typical model of older people’s housing. The result is a new standard for inclusive social housing in later life.
Elizabeth Tower by Purcell
Preservation of a national monument: Housing the symbolic ‘Big Ben’ bell – the timepiece of the nation, the most comprehensive restoration of Elizabeth Tower in 160 years is a conservation masterpiece. Traditional materials and bespoke craftspeople were sourced from across the UK to honour the Tower’s original design, rectifying previous restoration missteps and repairing newly uncovered damage from the Second World War. Careful details, such as reinstating the Victorian colour scheme on the clock faces and reintroducing the St George’s Cross, return the tower to its former glory. Subtle improvements to accessibility, including a new visitor lift, have also opened up the monument to a broader audience for the first time.
Hastings House by Hugh Strange Architects
An inventive home extension: Instead of demolishing an ageing hillside home, Hastings House reuses and celebrates the existing structure and materials to create a house of contrasts. A restrained, updated Victorian front gives way to a modern, timber framed rear, while a rough concrete courtyard celebrates its industrial character. A series of stitched extensions step up the hillside, blending inside and outside to cleverly create light-filled, open spaces. The result goes beyond a house extension, transforming the entire home and producing a lesson in restrained, inventive reuse.
London College of Fashion by Allies and Morrison
A vertical campus for creativity: Located in the cultural heart of the Queen Elizabeth Park in Stratford, the new home for the London College of Fashion brings together its 6,000 staff and students for the first time. A constrained site prompted a vertical campus rising to 17 storeys, with dramatic staircases unfurling through a shared “heart space” to encourage collaboration. A restrained palette of materials allows the building to act as a canvas for its occupants, while long sightlines and flexible workspaces promote adaptability. Subtle nods to the area’s industrial history create the feeling of a thriving “factory for fashion”.
Niwa House by Takero Shimazaki Architects
A blueprint for accessible housing: Meaning “Garden Home” in Japanese, Niwa House is a pavilion-like oasis built on a previously derelict South London plot. Sprawling across and downwards to navigate planning constraints, this “horizontal home” is a masterclass in craftsmanship and restraint. Subtle interventions, such as a flowing open-plan layout and integrated accessibility features create a seamless experience for its wheelchair-user resident while futureproofing it for later life, demonstrating how inclusive design can be functional yet elegant. A hybrid timber and stone structure, paired with floor to ceiling windows, bathe each room in light, while a courtyard garden rising through both floors underlines the serene sense of escapism.
The Discovery Centre (DISC) by Herzog and de Meuron / BDP
A civic laboratory: AstraZeneca’s Discovery Centre radically redefines the research facility, blending cutting-edge laboratories with welcoming public spaces. The surprisingly low-rise, sawtooth-roofed building adopts a curved triangular plan, forming an inviting interface for Cambridge’s Biomedical Cluster. At its heart, a publicly accessible courtyard echoes the city's iconic college quadrangles, one of the buildings many tributes to Cambridge’s heritage. Inside, 16 glass-lined laboratories are connected by clever interconnecting corridors that balance stringent security with transparency, putting science on display. Flexible lab stations and open-plan layouts foster innovation in a bold new prototype for research facilities.
RIBA President, Chris Williamson, said:
“These projects demonstrate architecture’s unique ability to address some of the most urgent challenges of our time, responding with creativity, adaptability and care. From a monumental civic building that champions investment in arts and culture, to the sensitive restoration of one the nation’s most iconic landmarks, and a cutting-edge medical research facility, each offers a blueprint for how architecture can enrich society.
At a time when quality housing is urgently needed across the country, the residential projects stand out for their inventive, human-centred design, from social housing that combats isolation in later life, to a bold home extension that celebrates reuse, and an accessible home that proves that beauty and accessibility can coexist.
Together, these projects offer a hopeful vision for the future, one where architecture strengthens communities and helps shape a more sustainable and inclusive built environment.”
Amy Bunszel, EVP of architecture, engineering, and construction solutions at Autodesk, said:
“Congratulations to the 2025 RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist winners. These projects demonstrate how architecture can drive meaningful change- connecting people, enhancing resilience and improving how we live and work. The shortlist highlights the potential of design to meet today’s challenges with creativity, purpose and impact.”
The winner of the RIBA Stirling Prize 2025 will be announced live at London’s Roundhouse on 16 October 2025, sponsored by Autodesk.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- Media contact: Max.Heptonstall@riba.org
- Images and jury comments can be downloaded here.
- First awarded in 1996, the RIBA Stirling Prize is the UK’s most prestigious architecture award. Given to the architect of the building thought to be the most significant of the year for the evolution of architecture and the built environment, the RIBA Stirling Prize is judged on a range of criteria including design vision, innovation and originality, capacity to stimulate engage and delight occupants and visitors, accessibility and sustainability, how fit the building is for its purpose and the level of client satisfaction.
- Previous winners of the RIBA Stirling Prize include: The Elizabeth Line by Grimshaw, Maynard, Equation and AtkinsRéalis (2024); The John Morden Centre by Mæ (2023); The New Library, Magdalene College in Cambridge by Níall McLaughlin Architects (2022); Kingston University London - Town House by Grafton Architects (2021); Goldsmith Street by Mikhail Riches (2019); Bloomberg by Foster + Partners (2018); Hastings Pier by dRMM (2017); Newport Street Gallery by Caruso St John (2016); Burntwood School, London by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) (2015); Liverpool Everyman Theatre by Haworth Tompkins (2014); Astley Castle by Witherford Watson Mann (2013).
- This is the first time Hugh Strange and Takero Shimanzaki have been shortlisted for the Stirling Prize. Herzog and De Meuron has previously won in 2003 for Laban Dance Centre and were shortlisted in 2016 for Blavatnik School of Government. Witherford Watson Mann has previously won in 2013 for Astley Castle and were shortlisted in 2023 for Courtauld Institute of Art and 2019 for Nevill Holt Opera. Allies and Morrison were shortlisted in 2024 for King's Cross Masterplan, in 2012 for New Court and in 2008 for Royal Festival Hall. Purcell was shortlisted in 2024 for National Portrait Gallery.
- The RIBA Awards have been running since 1966. No matter the shape, size, budget or location, RIBA Award winning schemes set the standard for great architecture all across the country. RIBA Awards are for buildings in the UK by RIBA Chartered Architects and RIBA International Fellows. Entries are to be submitted to the region or nation in which the building is situated.
- The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a global professional membership body that serves its members and society in order to deliver better buildings and places, stronger communities and a sustainable environment. Follow @RIBA on Twitter for regular updates
- The RIBA Stirling Prize 2025 is supported by our headline sponsor Autodesk. Autodesk is changing how the world is designed and made. Its technology spans architecture, engineering, construction, product design, manufacturing, media and entertainment, empowering innovators everywhere to solve challenges big and small. From greener buildings to smarter products to mesmerising blockbusters, Autodesk software helps customers to design and make a better world for all.
