Hackney School of Food by Surman Weston wins 2022 Stephen Lawrence Prize

"Due to limited space and budget, Surman Weston looked to retrofit the existing building to realize the client’s vision," explains the RIBA's project description. "Whilst externally, the house appears unchanged, inside, it is transformed by the removal of the first floor to create an impressive double-height space. Outside, the derelict gardens have been overhauled to provide vegetable patches, greenhouses, and outdoor cooking and eating spaces, forming part of the welcoming oasis for children to learn all about food."

"The success of the Hackney School of Food is not limited to this one site," remarked Matthew Goldschmied, Prize Chair and Co-Trustee of the Marco Goldschmied Foundation. "The architect and client have developed an inspirational blueprint to teach others how to regenerate and enliven their own communities in a similar way. This bold and inventive investment exemplifies the power of architecture to transform not only the building it touches but the community it serves."

Joining Goldschmied on this year's judging panel were Doreen Lawrence, the mother of aspiring young architect Stephen Lawrence whose life the prize memorializes, and the winner of the 2021 trophy and Director at Tonkin Liu, Mike Tonkin.