Heart of the Matter

A lecture exploring the physical and social conditions at Astley Castle and Appleby Blue with Stephen Witherford BA Dip Arch RIBA. Stephen Witherford BA Dip Arch RIBA of Witherford, Watson, Mann Architects will relfect on two projects, 12 years apart, that won The Stirling Prize - the UK's most prestigious award for architecture. This event takes place in association with the The Architectural Association of Ireland as part of the Architecture at the Edge Festival 2026. It is not obvious how responding to the ruined remains of Astley Castle, at risk of being completely lost, might share any similarities with building the contemporary Appleby Blue almshouse, to provide the opportunity for older people to start again in life. How does making a short-term holiday rental house for 8, mostly financially well-off people, relate to making social housing for 65 people who are in some form of need, to reside for the rest of their lives? Not least, does building in Warwickshire’s rural countryside tell us something about how we might build in the heart of our cities? This talk pursues these questions with no preconceptions; exploring the deep and complex relationship between the physicality of buildings and the social experiences that unfold from these. It is never clear to us, until a building has been lived in for a period of time, what we have actually done. Only then does the reality begin to be revealed. Stephen Witherford BA Dip Arch RIBA Stephen studied architecture at Plymouth and Cambridge Universities, graduating in 1991. Since establishing Witherford Watson Mann Architects in 2001, Stephen has led projects for Amnesty International UK’s headquarters, the Bankside Urban Forest, Olympic Legacy Masterplan, Astley Castle, Appleby Blue Almshouse in London, Clare College, Cambridge and The Courtauld Institute of Art, London. The practice was awarded the RIBA Stirling Prize for Astley Castle in 2013 and in 2025 for Appleby Blue Almshouse. The practice is shortlisted for the 2026 Stirling Prize with Clare College, and in 2023 for The Courtauld Institute of Art and in 2019 for Nevill Holt opera house. Stephen is the chair of Tate Members Council. He was an artist Trustee of Tate Gallery from 2015-2019, was on the Tate Collection Committee from 2021-2025 and Tate Modern Advisory Council 2009-2021. He was previously a member of the Mayor’s Design Advisory Group to Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson, member of the British School at Rome Faculty of Fine Arts and a Visiting Fellow in Urban Design at the London School of Economics. Arts in Action is the flagship public arts, performance and creative engagement programme of the Institute for Creativity at the University of Galway.