A lively art class is under way in the high-ceilinged painting studio of the John Morden Centre, visible through big picture windows from the adjacent cafe, where the facility’s residents catch up over a cuppa. Others are getting their hair and nails done in the salon next door, while some sit and admire the view of a grand old cedar tree in the cloistered garden. In the nearby knitting circle, excitement is brewing for the evening’s karaoke night.
This day centre for residents of Morden College, a retirement community in south-east London, has been named winner of the 2023 RIBA Stirling prize for the best new building in the country, and it’s not hard to see why. In its arrangement of spaces, carefully judged details and tactile material qualities, it is a model for how to create a sociable setting for life in older age – a beacon of optimism after a decade of swingeing cuts to social care.
“Loneliness and isolation cause twice the number of deaths as obesity among older people,” says Alex Ely, director of Mae, the architects behind the project. “It’s a critical health issue that simply isn’t talked about enough.” For Ely, it is a question of design just as much as social policy. He has dedicated a substantial chunk of his career to the interface of the two, as one of the brains behind the mayor of London’s housing design guide, and designer of a number of exemplary housing projects for later living and extra care across the capital.
Here in Blackheath, Ely and his team have taken their cues from the adjacent 17th-century almshouse, built by Edward Strong, Christopher Wren’s master mason, riffing off the form and materials of the stately pile. They have taken a similar courtyard arrangement but unwrapped it along the length of the long, narrow plot, creating a kind of unfolded cloister, facing on to a new garden. This timber colonnade meanders its way through the site, with the various rooms – health centre, snug, salon, studio and cafe – arranged like pavilions along its length, “dancing around the landscape”, as Ely puts it, and framing the majestic cedar tree.
Built from cross-laminated timber, left exposed on the inside, the spaces have a warm Scandinavian feel, rising to double-height volumes with windows carefully positioned in the roofs and walls to capture views of the foliage outside. Externally, the brickwork matches the colour and texture of the original almshouse, with areas of projecting “dogtooth” bricks to add variety. The pitched-roof pavilions each rise to a tall chimney, giving them the look of a cluster of little houses, and echoing Strong’s roofline – only here they provide natural ventilation, rather than flues for fireplaces. A shaggy green roof on top of the colonnade bursts with cornflowers and daisies in summer, helping to soften the hard edges.
“It’s such a sociable place,” says resident Lori Morley, 81, sitting in the cafe enjoying her third tea of the day. “I just popped out to use the photocopier this morning, and I’ve bumped into so many people I still haven’t made it home. The building has a lovely touchy-feely quality, so you just want to stay longer.”
David Rutherford-Jones, chief executive of Morden College, agrees: “It has really become the heart of our community. We’re seeing a lot more of residents who we didn’t used to see so much. It’s helped to bring people out of their rooms.”
The charity was founded in 1695 by wealthy merchant Sir John Morden, with the aim of housing 40 destitute seamen who “have lost their estates by accidents, dangers and perils of the seas”. It has since grown to a community of about 300 people across two sites, the demographic expanded beyond impoverished sailors alone. Residents must be in financial need to qualify for accommodation here, and must also have held a managerial or leadership position in their careers, leading to an unusually worldly – and exacting – bunch. “Your brick pointing is far too thick!” one resident admonishes Ely on our visit. He turns out to be a retired architect. “But otherwise, I think you’ve done a marvellous job.”
There are thoughtful details throughout, from the chunky timber window transoms, which double up as handrails, to the seating nooks set into the colonnade, with wide arms to help residents get up, to the high-contrast green edging along the floors, which makes it easier for people with dementia to navigate. Similarly, the sense of openness and transparency means you can see where you are in the building and where you’re going, while the colonnade connects to an outdoor boardwalk through the garden, so residents can walk in a continuous loop – another comforting routine for those with dementia. An existing 1950s hall at the back of the site was also cleverly integrated and upgraded with a light-touch refurb, avoiding wasteful demolition.
“The John Morden Centre’s elegance and efficacy sets a high standard for spaces that support healthier, happier and more independent lives,” says the RIBA president Muyiwa Oki. “It minimises the building’s impact on our planet’s delicate ecology, while also harnessing the therapeutic value of the surrounding nature.”
With an endowment of approximately £250m, Morden College was well placed to commission such a facility. But its key principles of openness, warmth and sociability don’t have to cost the earth. They provide an inspiring template for others to follow.
