Community housing project offering affordable homes forever up for a prestigious architecture award

Community land trust homes in London that will remain “permanently affordable” and were partly funded by Big Issue have been nominated for a prestigious architecture prize.

Citizens House in Lewisham, south-east London, opened its doors in 2023 offering 11 homes linked to local incomes at the cost of £2.5 million and 10 years of hard campaigning.

The London housing price-busting project received funding from Big Issue Invest, the social investment arm of the Big Issue, as well as the mayor of London’s community housing fund, and community shareholders in the CLT.

Now the building, designed by Archio, has been shortlisted for the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) 2025 Neave Brown Award for Housing which celebrates the UK’s best new affordable housing.

Holger Westphely, head of lending at Big Issue Invest, said: “We’re really proud to have supported Citizens House – it’s a brilliant example of what communities can achieve when they come together. The volunteers behind this project have shown incredible dedication, and this shortlisting is a well-deserved recognition of their efforts. It’s a reminder of how vital community-led housing is in creating affordable, secure homes.”

Citizens House impressed the award judges with a design that promoted interaction among residents while also offering a space for children to play.

Teacher Emma Evangelista told Big Issue in 2023 that she always though she’d never be able to afford to buy in her community and resigned herself to wasting her savings on renting or to moving away.

“In 2022 when I stumbled upon the Citizens House CLT, I almost didn’t apply as it seemed too good to be true, but I’m so thankful that I did,” she said.

“One year later and I have just moved into my dream apartment, a short walk from both my job and my family home. It’s warm, modern energy efficient and getting to know my neighbours before moving in has been an added bonus.”

Read more:

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• Here’s a radical idea to let communities buy empty homes and get rid of dodgy landlords
• Community-led housing is not just for city dwellers – it can boost overlooked rural areas too

Citizens House will go up against the Appleby Blue Almhouses, from Witherford Watson Mann Architects, addressing increased isolation in older people, and the largest co-housing development in the UK at Hazelmead, Bridport Cohousing, designed by Barefoot Architects.

Tower Court by Adam Khan Architects, Muf Architecture/Art and Child Graddon Lewis Architects – a Hackney Council-owned scheme to deliver affordable housing across 18 Hackney estates – rounds out the contenders.

Oliver Bulleid, executive director at London CLT, told Big Issue both Citizens House and another community led project – Hazelmead by Bridport Cohousing CLT – recently won regional RIBA prizes for quality of architecture.

“The shortlist for the 2025 RIBA Neave Brown Award for Housing fills us with hope for the future of affordable and community led housing,” said Bullied. “Two of the four shortlisted are for community land trust projects: a remarkable achievement and even more so when, despite the potential, at present community led housing makes up a small percentage of UK housing.

“It shows there is an alternative way to bring forward much needed housing. A holistic approach that sees development in the long term, held in perpetuity by the community; that sees housing as homes and places rather than units and profits margins; and one that values genuine community co-design and community management at all stages.

“We see a bright future for community led housing, and one that with the right support from government and local authorities, has the potential to grow and provide much needed additionality to housing, and more importantly provide genuinely and permanently affordable homes for those in housing need in local communities.”

The winner will be announced alongside RIBA’s flagship Stirling Prize at The Roundhouse in London on 16 October.

Jury chair Dean Pike, the founding director of Al-Jawad Pike, said: “This year’s Neave Brown Award for Housing shortlist reflects the enduring relevance of Neave Brown’s vision – that housing should foster community, offer dignity and be rooted in place. The jury was unanimous in recognising that each project responds, in its own way, to the social and environmental pressures shaping housing today – reworking familiar typologies and exploring new models of shared living and sustainability.  

“From urban almshouses and rural co-housing to community infill development and family homes woven into shared landscapes, each project places people at its centre. Through careful detailing, low-impact construction, and a close reading of context, they show what can be achieved within the constraints of contemporary housing delivery – affirming Neave Brown’s belief in housing as a civic, generous and transformative architecture.”

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