A 157-home council housing scheme in Coulsdon, south London, has won the RIBA Stirling Prize 2026. Lion Green Road, designed by Mary Duggan Architects with RUFF Architects, was built for Croydon Council by main contractor CField Construction under a £34 million deal.
The development occupies the site of a former car park and consists of five housing blocks. The site is sloping and varies in height by eight metres. The design uses those changing levels and views to create what the announcement calls a “living landscape” for 635 residents, while forming a new connection between Lion Green Road and the green parkland beyond.
Jury citation
Chris Williamson, RIBA President, speaking for the Stirling Prize jury, said: “At a time when we urgently need to deliver more homes, Lion Green Road shows that density can be achieved without compromising the quality of the places we create.”
He added that a consistent specification, with subtle variation in height and orientation, offers housing at scale without uniformity. The jury said the architects had created a new kind of garden neighbourhood that balances privacy and generous views with a strong connection to nature.
Design and construction
The announcement links the scheme’s efficient construction methods, simple finishes and more streamlined building process to reduced carbon emissions. It does not provide figures for the reduction. The five-block layout combines a consistent specification with changes in height and orientation, an approach the jury said avoids uniformity while delivering housing at scale.
The eight-metre level change is central to the arrangement. The design uses the site’s changing levels and views to connect the street frontage with the parkland. According to the citation, the result is a garden neighbourhood intended to give residents privacy and views while maintaining a close relationship with nature.
The jury described the project as “thoughtful, resourceful architecture” and said it proves that even the most challenging sites can be transformed into distinctive places for people to call home. The announcement frames the award around the scheme’s response to density, landscape and site constraints.
The award goes to a public housing scheme delivered at a specified cost and scale. The project provides 157 homes across five blocks for 635 residents, according to the announcement. Its selection places a council housing development at the centre of the 2026 prize.
The announcement presents the scheme as an example of how a constrained urban site can accommodate housing at scale while creating a distinct landscape. Its citation returns repeatedly to the relationship between the five blocks, the eight-metre slope and the adjoining parkland.