1. Appleby Blue almshouse, London SE16
Witherford Watson Mann
The traditional almshouse reinvented in a modern urban setting. Sheltered housing that gives a haven of peace around a garden court, while connecting to the busy city life surrounding the site. If only all housing for older people could be designed this way.
2. Greville Street/ 8 Bleeding Heart Yard, London, EC1
Amin Taha/Groupwork
A drab 1970s office block renovated by veiling it in versions of the facades of the older buildings it replaced, realised in brass mesh. An architectural ghost that brings back a sense of time to the site. An inspired way to reuse a building.
3. Croydon colonnade
Atelier ANF
A public route animated by three-dimensional vitreous tiles, tactile and weighty, with what their designer Adam Furman calls a “luscious depth” of colour and crazing. Inspirations include the zigzag patterns of Durham Cathedral and the architect of Centre Point, Richard Seifert. Beautiful and delightful, a work of real craft.
4. Sunspot, Jaywick Sands
HAT
A case of doing a lot with a little, a robust and playful structure that brings much-needed employment to Jaywick Sands, Essex, which started in the 1930s as a settlement of DIY seaside holiday homes. It’s a new landmark for the resort, with the improvisational spirit of its pioneers.
5. Wedding Cake, Waddesdon Manor
Joana Vasconcelos
An inspired folly for the Rothschild manor of Waddesdon in Buckinghamshire. A three-tier, house-sized wedding cake clad in pink, green and blue ceramic tiles and decorated with dolphins, candles and mermaids. Because why not?
