The London-based architecture firm RCKa has been honored as the AJ Architect of the Year 2025, receiving recognition for their exceptional community-centered approach to design and development. The practice, founded in 2008 by Russell Curtis, Dieter Kleiner, and Tim Riley, was specifically commended by the AJ Architecture Awards judges for their outstanding Highgate Newtown Community Redevelopment project, which won this year's Community and Faith Project category.
The award-winning project particularly impressed judges due to RCKa's exemplary co-design process and extensive community consultation efforts. "It's a really admirable project," said one judge of the development, which is located within the London Borough of Camden's Dartmouth Park conservation area. Another judge emphasized the quality of the engagement process, commenting: "It was an exemplary consultation process. The commitment of the council to this process is to be commended, too."
Unlike many community consultations that are often criticized as superficial exercises designed to smooth the path for inevitable development or gentrification, RCKa's approach was genuinely comprehensive and inclusive. The firm engaged with 178 stakeholder groups through public exhibitions and open forums, conducting over a dozen workshops to ensure authentic community input. The result is a building that gives significant value back to the community while seamlessly integrating with its neighborhood, despite facing several challenging site constraints.
This commitment to capturing the nuances of community needs has become a defining characteristic of RCKa's forward-thinking approach to architecture. This quality has made them highly valued by their diverse client base, which includes local authorities, housing associations, and major private sector developers such as Ballymore, Lendlease, and Pocket Living. The firm's people-centered philosophy is evident across multiple projects, including the Nourish Hub in Shepherds Bush, the TNG Youth and Community Centre in Sydenham, and Pitfield Street, which transformed a former storage site near Old Street into six new social tenure homes.
As RCKa describes their mission: "Our focus is always on how we can create positive outcomes for all: outcomes which promote wellbeing and prosperity, whilst treading lightly on the world." This approach becomes particularly impactful when combined with the practice's broader thought leadership work, where they help councils and other organizations unlock development sites and create innovative delivery models through consultancy and policy-development initiatives addressing issues such as small site guidance and solutions to homelessness.
One notable recent example of their innovative approach is a modular housing prototype developed in collaboration with main contractor Wates and offsite specialist Rollalong. This groundbreaking design features two- or three-bedroom apartments that can be installed anywhere in London in under two hours. According to its developers, this type of home provides high-quality housing at a significantly lower cost than traditionally constructed homes, offering a potential solution to the capital's housing crisis.
The AJ editorial team praised RCKa's unique position in British architecture, stating: "All in all, RCKa now occupies a distinct and impressive role in British architecture. It combines high-quality architectural design with business-model thinking underpinned by a profound dedication to creating social value." The winners across 19 categories, plus three editorial-chosen awards, were announced at a celebratory dinner event held at the Royal Lancaster London on November 27, 2025, marking a new venue for the prestigious awards ceremony.
