AAI Lecture Series: Witherford Watson Mann Architects
About this Event
Social Inclusivity In Architecture
The theme will focus on Social Inclusivity and placemaking in Architecture. The series aims to explore how architecture can foster more equitable, accessible, and inclusive environments. The series will examine design approaches that respond to the needs of diverse communities.
With thanks to Trinity College Dublin for their valued collaboration on this series.
The AAI is thrilled to welcome Witherford Watson Mann Architects as the first speakers of the lecture series. They will give a presentation titled The Heart of the Matter - exploring the physical and social conditions at Astley Castle and Appleby.
The Heart of the Matter
Through the repetition of chance, winning two Stirling Prizes, 12 years apart, I thought it would be interesting to reflect on the two winning projects and consider them together – the conditions that we encountered, the way we re-imagined these, and the physical and social outcomes that have evolved from this imagination.
It is not obvious how responding to the ruined remains of Astley Castle, at risk of being completely lost, might share any similarities with building the contemporary Appleby Blue almshouse, to provide the opportunity for older people to start again in life. How does making a short-term holiday rental house for 8, mostly financially well-off people, relate to making social housing for 65 people who are in some form of need, to reside for the rest of their lives? Not least, does building in Warwickshire’s rural countryside tell us something about how we might build in the heart of our cities?
This talk pursues these questions with no preconceptions; exploring the deep and complex relationship between the physicality of buildings and the social experiences that unfold from these. It is never clear to us, until a building has been lived in for a period of time, what we have actually done. Only then does the reality begin to be revealed.
We are a versatile architectural studio, designing imaginative and lasting solutions for complex situations. We use the physical continuity of buildings to support the social transformation of cities and institutions. The pioneering nature and high quality of our work have been recognised by two RIBA Stirling Prizes, in 2013 and 2025.
We started off our collaboration, nearly thirty years ago, with a series of walks through the edges of London. The spirit of exploration remains embedded in our practice, with every project approached as an open-ended enquiry. Equally, we remain alert to the strategic dimensions of each project, enabling us to intervene minimally but holistically. Our work ranges from the city scale, to historic sites, institutions and urban housing.
The urban and social character of our early work led to a series of commissions to reshape our city, including contributing to the Olympic Legacy Masterplan and helping deliver a major multi-functional open space, the 200 hectare Walthamstow Wetlands nature reserve.
Our understanding of complex systems and historically layered sites has led us to an extensive engagement with heritage buildings. In these projects, we work with what we find. By understanding the structure and capacity of what is already there, by removing as little as possible and adding judiciously, we turn the constraints of inherited situations into surprising opportunities. We have transformed a furniture factory into a human rights centre, a library into an art gallery, a pumping station into a nature reserve visitor centre, a stable courtyard into a theatre, and a service passage into a cafe. At Astley Castle, for the Landmark Trust, we bound and buttressed the fragile medieval remains with a bold but minimal new structure. This pioneering transformation was awarded the 2013 RIBA Stirling Prize for its distinctive entwining of past and present, and its carefully-judged combination of craft and invention.
We are highly attentive to social dynamics and future opportunities. We have worked closely with a series of higher education and cultural institutions to reflect their enduring values within their buildings, intervening and adding in support of new operational necessities and cultural opportunities. We engage extensively with our clients and wider communities. At Clare College, Cambridge, The Courtauld Institute of Art, The Royal College of Art and the Albany, Deptford, we have observed and listened carefully, and collaborated closely, in order to understand the shared values and ambitions, and to translate these into clear and robust strategies, and crafted, durable spaces.
Our designs for urban housing carry the same communitarian thinking: the common parts, shared courtyards and gardens, and social facilities all reinforce collective identity, and contribute to the life of the street and wider city. Our Appleby Blue Almshouse, for United St. Saviour’s Charity, has won numerous awards for our bold reimagining of this ancient social housing typology - including the 2025 RIBA Stirling Prize.
Directors Stephen, Chris and William are closely involved in all projects, supported by experienced associates, a talented team and robust infrastructure.
Stephen Witherford BA Dip Arch RIBA
Stephen studied architecture at Plymouth and Cambridge Universities, graduating in 1991. Since establishing Witherford Watson Mann Architects in 2001, Stephen has led projects for Amnesty International UK’s headquarters, the Bankside Urban Forest, Olympic Legacy Masterplan, Astley Castle, Appleby Blue Almshouse in London, Clare College, Cambridge and The Courtauld Institute of Art, London. The practice was awarded the RIBA Stirling Prize for Astley Castle in 2013 and in 2025 for Appleby Blue Almshouse. The practice is shortlisted for the 2026 Stirling Prize with Clare College, and in 2023 for The Courtauld Institute of Art and in 2019 for Nevill Holt opera house. Stephen is the chair of Tate Members Council. He was an artist Trustee of Tate Gallery from 2015-2019, was on the Tate Collection Committee from 2021-2025 and Tate Modern Advisory Council 2009-2021. He was previously a member of the Mayor’s Design Advisory Group to Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson, member of the British School at Rome Faculty of Fine Arts and a Visiting Fellow in Urban Design at the London School of Economics.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
EUR 7.50 to EUR 15.00
