Mary Duggan and RUFF Architects have been awarded the prestigious prize from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for their housing scheme in London
Lion Green Road, a housing scheme in Coulsdon, South London commissioned by the council, has won the RIBA Stirling Prize 2026.
The scheme contains 157 dwellings across five blocks, with both privately-owned and social rented homes for Croydon Council.
The scheme is built on grey belt land
The scheme sits on a sloping site, replacing an old car park, with height variations of eight metres. Now, the blocks help link Lion Green Road to green parkland. The site had to consider how to utilise the area’s topography, allowing each block to offer unique views through varying heights, including views of the nearby Surrey Iron Railway.
The blocks are capable of providing for 635 residents, and have a shared design unifying the development with a palette of three subtle shades of brown in the brickwork and small variations in pattern.
The development also prioritises shared outdoor spaces, with a new public pathway to the parkland, encouraging residents to interact with both each other and nature. Inside, each home is designed to draw in large amounts of daylight, and balconies are arranged to avoid looking directly into other homes.
During design, the project was intended to reduce its environmental impact through efficient construction methods, keeping finishes simple, and streamlining the building process.
Speaking on behalf of the RIBA Stirling Prize jury, Chris Williamson, RIBA president, 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.
“Through a consistent specification, with subtle variation in height and orientation, it offers housing at scale without uniformity.
“The architects have created a new kind of garden neighbourhood that balances privacy and generous views with a strong connection to nature – it’s a living landscape.
“This is thoughtful, resourceful architecture that proves that even the most challenging of sites can be transformed into truly distinctive places for people to call home.”
Other RIBA awards have also been given
Alongside the Stirling Prize, the RIBA International Prize 2026 has also been given to the Green Field Factroy in Bangladesh, by Nakshabid Architects for Karupannya Rangpur Limited.
The factory produces rugs and is seven storeys tall, creating a new workplace for the mostly-female staff and challenging traditional workplace environments.
Other awards given include:
- 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 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
- The Buttermarket by Architectural Thread – RIBA Stephen Lawrence Prize 2026
