Founded by Bartlett alumni Jessam Al-Jawad and Dean Pike (Architecture MArch, 2006), architectural practice Al-Jawad Pike has been shortlisted for the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize for a modern social housing project for Hackney Council.
Jessam and Dean both studied in PG17 at The Bartlett School of Architecture, led by Professor Níall McLaughlin and Professor Yeoryia Manolopoulou.
The RIBA Stirling Prize
The RIBA Stirling Prize is the highest award in British architecture, given annually to RIBA Chartered Architects and International Fellows for new buildings in the UK which have made the greatest contribution to the evolution of architecture.
Prof Níall McLaughlin won the prize in 2022 for The New Library at Cambridge’s Magdalene College.
About Chowdhury Walk
Chowdhury Walk is a development of 11 affordable houses which stands between two existing terraces and their gardens. The houses are arranged in a two-storey staggered terrace, set along a newly created public thoroughfare for pedestrians and cyclists, with private patio gardens to the rear.
In 2017, the London Borough of Hackney appointed Al-Jawad Pike to design a new housing development on an infill site adjacent to Daubeney Road. Completed in 2022, the development provides a mix of two- and three-bedroom houses, with one fully accessible four-bedroom family house. The houses replaced the garages and car park previously located on the site.
Materially, the houses are constructed from red brick with mono-pitched roofs and a base plinth with planters formed from large format granite blocks. The grey base ties in with the cobbled finish of the new cycle and pedestrian through-route that runs across the site.
In addition to being shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize, Chowdhury Walk has also won a RIBA National Award and RIBA London Award.
The RIBA Stirling Prize 2024 ceremony will be held on 16 October 2024 at the Roundhouse, London.
We were extremely honoured that Chowdhury Walk has been shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize. The project illustrates how council-led social housing can be enhanced with the involvement of young architects who are well-positioned to provide creative solutions to real problems. It marks a transitional moment for us as a practice, as we graduated to building multi-unit housing schemes that positively influence their neighbourhoods and communities, and signifies a shift in the confidence we apply to design and detailing within our practice.We remain deeply indebted to the Bartlett, where we met 20 years ago, and particularly to Níall McLaughlin and Yeoryia Manolopoulou, who invited us to join Unit 17 in 2004.We were extremely honoured that Chowdhury Walk has been shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize. The project illustrates how council-led social housing can be enhanced with the involvement of young architects who are well-positioned to provide creative solutions to real problems. It marks a transitional moment for us as a practice, as we graduated to building multi-unit housing schemes that positively influence their neighbourhoods and communities, and signifies a shift in the confidence we apply to design and detailing within our practice. We remain deeply indebted to the Bartlett, where we met 20 years ago, and particularly to Níall McLaughlin and Yeoryia Manolopoulou, who invited us to join Unit 17 in 2004."
- Jessam Al-Jawad – co-founder, Al-Jawad Pike
Other awards
The project was also named a winner in the RIBA National Awards, picking up a RIBA London Award and a RIBA National Award. Additionally it is shortlisted for the 2024 Stephen Lawrence Prize, which recognises work by ‘early-career’ architects.
Also on the Stephen Lawrence Prize shortlist is London-based practice Knox Bhavan, for a private residential scheme in Herefordshire. Fergus Knox, an associate at the practice and a Bartlett lecturer and alumnus, also won a specialist award for Project Architect of the Year at the 2024 RIBA East Awards, while their project also picked up RIBA East and RIBA London Awards.
About Al-Jawad Pike
Al-Jawad Pike is an award-winning London-based architectural studio founded in 2014, operating across a variety of sectors including private residential, multi-unit housing schemes, office fit-out, luxury retail store design and temporary installations. The studio has a strong design focus and is recognised for the quality of its built work.
More information
- View the RIBA Stirling Prize 2024 shortlist
- Visit Al-Jawad Pike’s website
- Read ‘What makes Al-Jawad Pike’s London Walks work’ in the RIBA Journal
- View Prof Níall McLaughlin’s profile
- View Prof Yeoryia Manolopoulou’s profile
- Read the PG17 Design Anthology
Images: Chowdhury Walk, photography by Rory Gardiner
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