Bell Phillips Architects and Building with Nature named winners of Clarion's William Sutton Prize
Clarion Housing Group, the UK’s largest provider of affordable housing, has revealed the winners of the fifth William Sutton Prize at an awards ceremony which took place last week.
From a shortlist of six proposals, concepts put forward by Bell Phillips Architects and Building with Nature were named the winners.
Both will receive a share of The William Sutton Prize’s £75,000 pot to turn their ideas into reality, with the funding provided by Clarion Futures, the charitable foundation of Clarion Housing Group. Winners will also receive a tailored package of business support from Clarion as part of a 12-18 month programme that will complement the funding received.
Clare Miller (Chief Executive of Clarion Housing Group), Melissa Dowler (Director of Bell Phillips Architects), Grant Mitchell (Senior Architect at Bell Phillips Architects), Tim Bell (Director of Bell Phillips Architects) and David Orr CBE (Chair of Clarion’s Housing Association Board and one of this year’s William Sutton Prize judges)
Bell Phillips Architects’ winning proposal imagines a pathway to net zero through the development of a new ‘vernacular architecture’ for all buildings below 11m using natural building materials. This will reduce embodied carbon in construction, encourage the increased production of timber and natural building products, and contribute to reforestation.
Tim Bell, Director of Bell Phillips Architects, said:
“Nobody has all the answers on their own. Collaborating with like-minded people at Clarion will help us develop our ideas and put them into practice, and we’re so excited to be named one of this year’s William Sutton Prize winners.”
Clare Miller (Chief Executive of Clarion Housing Group), Dr Gemma Jerome (Director of Building with Nature), Sam Jones (Managing Director of The Green Partnership) and David Orr CBE (Chair of Clarion’s Housing Association Board and one of this year’s William Sutton Prize judges)
Building with Nature provides planners and developers with guidance on delivering high quality green infrastructure. Their proposal is for a framework with clear standards and guidance to better deliver the environmental, social, and economic benefits from the introduction of biodiversity and green spaces across communities. Their aim is to create a set of comprehensive and standardised practices which demonstrate ‘what good looks like’ when it comes to managing and maintaining communities for the benefit of people and nature into the long term.
Dr Gemma Jerome, Director of Building with Nature, said:
“Winning The William Sutton Prize is a huge honour and it means everything. Working with Clarion to bring this idea to life will make such a difference, helping to create green spaces where people can live and flourish for years to come.”
“The William Sutton Prize has supported many amazing projects over the past five years, advancing social good in the affordable housing sector. The world needs to accelerate progress towards net zero but it’s a challenge that can’t be overcome without collaboration and innovation, and that’s exactly what our two winners have demonstrated. We’re excited to be working with Bell Phillips and Building with Nature to help them bring their ideas to life and make a difference to our residents and communities.”
Clare Miller, Chief Executive of Clarion Housing Group
The full list of shortlisted entries for the fifth William Sutton Prize
The winners of the fifth William Sutton Prize were determined by a panel comprising:
- Yẹmí Àládérun, an architect and Head of Development at Meridian Water
- Jas Bhalla, former winner of The William Sutton Prize and founder of Jas Bhalla Architects
- Miles Lewis, Director of Sustainability at Clarion Housing Group
- Sasha Morgan, Head of Strategy at Kick It Out and member of Clarion’s Housing Association Board
- David Orr CBE, Chair of Clarion’s Housing Association Board
- Michelle Reynolds, Chief Customer Officer at Clarion Housing Group
- Nick Wood, Director of Development at Clarion Housing Group