Welcome to Mae

The John Morden Centre by Mæ has been named winner of the RIBA Stirling Prize 2023, awarded to the UK's best new building.

Ellen van Loon, Chair of the RIBA Stirling Prize jury, says:

“The John Morden Centre is a place of joy and inspiration. It sensitively and seamlessly integrates medical facilities and social spaces, delivering a bold and hopeful model for the design of health and care centres for the elderly. Dedication to creating an environment that lifts the spirits and fosters community is evident at every turn and in every detail.

This robust building provides comfort and warmth, with thoughtful features designed to prevent isolation. It illustrates how buildings can themselves be therapeutic – supporting care and instilling a sense of belonging. Great architecture orients people so they can thrive, and this building is exemplary at achieving exactly that.”

Our 75 unit housing scheme, for the London Borough of Bromley has been awarded Planning Consent. Due to start on site in spring 2024 the scheme will deliver 50% will be much needed, social rent flats. The scheme repurposes a car park on a prime location next to Bromley North railway station. The development comprises two pavilion buildings with ground floor commercial units that frame a new public space and open up a new pedestrian route to the station.

The John Morden Centre is featured in Baumeister magazine’s three part series ‘Sustainable Buildings’. Building sustainably is the greatest challenge that architects and the construction industry is confronted with today. This issue focuses on communal living and sustainable social buildings.

On 13th July Westminster City Council, Mæ and United Living hosted a reception and tours of our newly completed Daventry House on Lisson Grove NW8 .

Debbie Jackson,Executive Director Growth Planning and Housing at Westminster City Council, Caroline Lewis Managing Director of United Living New Homes and Alex Ely Director of Mæ introduced the scheme, which forms part of the Church Street masterplan.

Daventry House is a fully affordable housing development with all homes provided for social rent and forms part of the Council’s Church Street Regeneration Programme. The scheme is delivering 60 high quality homes for older people and has been designed to meet the HAPPI framework (Housing for an Ageing Population Panel for Innovation). The homes provide generous, accessible accommodation with an emphasis on neighbourliness, while an enterprise centre provides for a richer mix of activity on the site, and supports local businesses as part of Westminster City Council’s wider programme to stimulate economic development in the north of the borough. The development sits at the scheme is at the forefront of the Council's Fairer Westminster strategy.

Given in honour of social housing pioneer Neave Brown (1926-2018), the annual award recognises the UK’s best new affordable housing.

Neave Brown worked for Camden Council during the era when Sydney Cook was Borough Architect in the 60s and 70s. The schemes the borough delivered at the time are widely regarded as the most important urban housing built in the UK in the past 100 years. It seems fitting, and we are honoured, that our scheme for Camden Council has been shortlisted for this prestigious national award.

The winner will be announced at the RIBA's Stirling Prize ceremony in Manchester on 19th October.