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https://www.positive.news/society/hopeful-and-imaginative-introducing-the-uks-best-new-building/>
"A care home that fosters connections between residents and the wider community
has been crowned the UK’s best new building.
A modern reimagining of a traditional almshouse, Appleby Blue in Bermondsey,
south London, won the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Stirling
prize on Thursday night.
Featuring 59 rent-capped apartments, a community centre and rooftop gardens,
the property tackles the twin issues of loneliness and a lack of affordable
housing for elderly people. It was designed by Witherford Watson Mann
Architects for United St Saviour’s Charity, a nonprofit that aims to foster
community cohesion.
“This project is a clarion call for a new form of housing at a pivotal moment,”
said jury chair Ingrid Schroder, director of The Architectural Association
School of Architecture.
“Built against the backdrop of two crises, an acute housing shortage and a
growing loneliness epidemic among older people, Appleby Blue offers a hopeful
and imaginative response, where residents and the surrounding community are
brought together through the transformative nature of the design.”
Built on the site of a disused care home, Appleby Blue has a community centre
on the ground floor that welcomes non-residents, many of them young mothers and
their children, who can come for meetings and classes, including yoga.
“Sociability is built right into the heart of this building,” said Martyn
Craddock, chief executive of United St Saviour’s Charity. “People can engage
with each other at varying degrees; they can go down to a community centre
downstairs – they can meet people from outside or their fellow neighbours – or
they can sit on walkways outside their homes.”
Rohan, a resident, said that the property’s design “stops you from being
depressed. It’s absolutely beautiful.”"
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*** Xanni ***
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mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
