Shortlists revealed for the William Sutton Prize 2025

To mark its 125^th anniversary Clarion Housing Group have announced the shortlists for the sixth William Sutton Prize.

Five projects have been selected to compete for this year’s award and the winner will be revealed at a ceremony in London on 25^th September.

Some of the projects that have been shortlisted include:

• An AI-powered ‘super neighbour’ to bring communities together
• A new outdoor gym in Bromley built from knives removed from the streets
• A programme that empowers under-represented young social housing residents aged between 14-16 to become future STEM leaders

Image: illustration of Bromley’s outdoor gym by Richard Carman.

Clarion Housing Group – the UK’s largest housing association – founded the prize in 2019 alongside the Helen Hamlyn centre for Design at the Royal College of Art (RCA).

This year the housing association are celebrating their 125^th anniversary and to mark the occasion they have increased the prize pot to £125,000.

The awards are spilt into two categories – suitability and connected communities – and winners will be able to take home a share of the funding.

Shortlisted applicants are able to bid for a grant worth £50,000 for the sustainability category and up to £25,000 for connected communities.

Clare Miller, chief executive of clarion housing group, said: ‘Innovation is the engine that drives progress in sustainability and in building stronger, more connected communities. At Clarion, we believe that empowering people to turn bold ideas into reality is essential for building a better future, and that’s why we created The William Sutton Prize.’

‘The William Sutton Prize not only unlocks funding – it unlocks potential,’ Clare added. ‘It’s about backing the thinkers, the doers, and the dreamers who are shaping homes, places, and lives for generations to come, and it’s inspiring to see such cutting-edge, creative thinking reflected in this year’s shortlist.’

Previous winners of the award include Bell Philips Architects, Jas Bhalla Works, the Hackney School of Food and Pride of Place Living.

Image via Richard Carman

In related news:

Data centres could transform energy landscapes, with the right planning

House price growth ‘remains resilient’ throughout July