Neave Brown Award for Housing

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has named Chowdhury Walk by Al-Jawad Pike as winner of the 2024 Neave Brown Award for Housing.  

Given in honour of modernist architect and social housing pioneer, Neave Brown (1926-2018), the annual Award recognises the UK’s best new affordable housing.    

Named in memory of the late Dr Abdul Chowdhury who campaigned for additional PPE for frontline workers during the coronavirus pandemic, Chowdhury Walk is part of an ambitious programme of new generation council housing by Hackney Council.   

Built on a plot previously occupied by garages and ad-hoc parking, the development has created 11 new two, three and four bedroom dwellings, seven of which are for social rent.   

The houses are uniquely staggered, moving away from the UK’s traditional linear terrace house arrangement. This not only gives the development a distinctive sculptural quality but provides residents with added privacy and supports passive solar gain.  

Astrid Smitham, Jury Chair and 2023 Neave Brown Award for Housing winner, said: 
“Chowdhury Walk is part of Hackney Council’s programme to build new council homes on small sites, providing eleven two-storey terraced houses on a former garage site. A new public mews provides both informal space to play and a well-used new public route. The homes feel uplifting upon entering, with the simple intuitive floor plan making efficient use of space while supporting the busyness of family life. "

Jessam Al-Jawad, Founding Partner at Al-Jawad Pike, said:
“Chowdhury Walk, an infill housing scheme in Hackney, London is both modest and pioneering. It demonstrates what is possible when a local authority elects to develop its own brownfield sites to address housing need and enhance the local neighbourhood. The design shows that even with a limited budget, creative solutions can produce social housing that offers moments of joy. It's a clear commitment to tackling the housing crisis by employing young local architects to deliver innovative solutions for the community” 

Find out more about the Special Awards and hear from the winners on RIBAJ

Astrid Smith (Chair), Founder of Apparata Architects, winners of Neave Brown Award for Housing 2023 for their project, A House for Artists

Bob Allies, Partner, Allies and Morrison and RIBA Awards Group Member

Zoe Brown, daughter of Neave Brown. 

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