#RIBAStirlingPrize

The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members (Mahatma Gandhi). Over one million people with care needs in the UK receive no formal or informal support. We have a social care sector that is on its knees. The life we enjoy is thanks to those who have walked before us and their care is one of the greatest responsibilities we have. The John Morden Centre is designed to enrich the lives of those who use the building, but also a place that inspires the College staff, to care even more and take pride in their work.?

The John Morden Centre is a special project for us @MaeArchitects and part of its intention is to facilitate a fulfilling and purposeful life for the residents of Morden College. I am humbled that it has been shortlisted for the #RIBAStirlingPrize2023. It is the second year running M? has been shortlisted for this prestigious award and in both instances for projects that are underpinned by social, sustainable and spatial ideas. The John Morden Centre aims to address an issue often hidden from view, namely that as our physical and mental health declines as we grow old there’s a risk that we retreat into social isolation and away from public life. The centre sits at the heart of the college, it is a hub of life and activity. A place that not only inspires the College’s residents to spend time in, but enables them to feel good about themselves and about life. We also know that our social care sector on its knees, is under-resourced and under-valued and the John Morden Centre is a place that inspires its staff to care even more and recognises their importance.?

Morden College has been at the forefront of enriching older people’s lives for more than 300 years. Today the Charity’s core purpose is to provide older people in financial hardship, who are in need with a home for life, to support them as they grow older, and to provide care services, including residential care and residential nursing care, if the need arises. Morden College is a strong community, committed to enabling the older people they support to have the highest quality of life, for the rest of their life.?

The RIBA Stirling Prize is judged against a range of criteria including design vision; innovation and originality; capacity to stimulate, engage and delight occupants and visitors; accessibility and sustainability; how fit the building is for its purpose and the level of client satisfaction. The positive feedback I get from residents every time I visit the building reassures me that we are delivering on our purpose to create architecture that uplifts the spirit for the long-term. The range of activities that take place in the building remind me that we can live a rich and fulfilling life as we grow old. The spatial delight afforded by the building’s generous, vaulted spaces with views of the sky, and of the landscape enrich ones experience as one walks around it.? The evident timber construction and raw finishes remind us of the preciousness of the resources we use and the fight against the climate and ecological emergency.?

The rigorous architectural thinking and ideas that led to these outcomes convince me that architecture is needed more than ever in buildings intended for those in their later life, particularly those who are frail and infirm. I was asked in the film that has been produced by the RIBA for the Stirling Prize if buildings like the John Morden Centre could be a more common part of our social infrastructure. I answered that of course they should be and every local authority and care home needs one. On reflection though I realise this answer falls short. Good? architecture of the kind illustrated in the John Morden Centre, is needed more than ever in buildings intended for health and wellbeing from care centres to hospitals, from community buildings to education and leisure facilities. Good architecture can improve health outcomes, improve cognition and help create a more resilient society. The John Morden Centre is a microcosm of the sort of built environment society needs in order to thrive.?

M? Architects

MHA Structural Design

Clive Graham Associates Ltd

J&L Gibbons

Morden College, an almshouse charity

RIBA