RIBA Stirling Prize 2023

The John Morden Centre by Mæ has been named winner of the RIBA Stirling Prize 2023, awarded to the UK's best new building.

An inspiring example of architecture enabling elderly living without isolation, the John Morden Centre has been designed to encourage connection and movement among residents, supporting healthier and longer lives. This 300-year-old residential and nursing facility has been given a new lease of life with treatment rooms, a hair salon, nail bar, events space and wellbeing facilities in a beautiful setting in Blackheath, London.

Praising its use of social spaces and commitment to design for health and care, the jury named the John Morden Centre the UK’s best building as the winner of the 27th RIBA Stirling Prize.

Ellen van Loon, Chair of the RIBA Stirling Prize jury, says:

“The John Morden Centre is a place of joy and inspiration. It sensitively and seamlessly integrates medical facilities and social spaces, delivering a bold and hopeful model for the design of health and care centres for the elderly. Dedication to creating an environment that lifts the spirits and fosters community is evident at every turn and in every detail.

This robust building provides comfort and warmth, with thoughtful features designed to prevent isolation. It illustrates how buildings can themselves be therapeutic – supporting care and instilling a sense of belonging. Great architecture orients people so they can thrive, and this building is exemplary at achieving exactly that.”

Entries to the RIBA UK Awards 2024 are now open. The deadline to enter is 5pm GMT on Thursday 7 December 2023.

Visit the RIBA Stirling Prize 2023 shortlist exhibition at 66 Portland Place, London until 10 November.

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The RIBA Stirling Prize is judged against 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.

The RIBA Awards are the most rigorously judged prizes for architectural excellence in the UK, with the winning buildings then eligible for the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize. 

Born in 1996 out of its predecessor, The Building of the Year Award, The RIBA Stirling Prize is presented annually to RIBA Chartered Architects and International Fellows for buildings in the UK which have made the greatest contribution to the evolution of architecture.

The RIBA Stirling Prize is named after James Stirling. Stirling won the Royal Gold Medal in 1980 'in recognition of past achievements which exist in their own right, as well as the potential of unbuilt projects, both past and future, which are an inseparable part of the Stirling vocabulary'.

Often described as a 'prophet without honour in his own country', he did not live long enough to achieve the public recognition and success his peers achieved after his untimely death. He died, at the height of his powers, following a routine operation.