French architects Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal have just been awarded the Pritzker Prize, the world's highest accolade in architecture, often described as the Nobel Prize of architecture. Two French architects have previously received it: Jean Nouvel in 2008 and Christian de Portzamparc in 1994.
The architects, who designed the école d'architecture in Nantes among other projects, are renowned for their expertise in controlling construction costs. At the FRAC in Dunkirk, they delivered twice the volume called for in the brief while remaining within budget. In a different register, they completed spacious, light-filled housing in Chalon-sur-Saône at a total cost of €815/m² in 2016.
Yet at Lacaton & Vassal, financial discipline goes hand in hand with sustainability. Plant lovers, the 2021 Pritzker Prize winners have developed over the course of their career a know-how in the management of building services and thermal comfort. The cultural centre in Lille-Sud is a case in point. Their projects give pride of place to what already exists, while also taking into account how it will be managed over time.
Finally, Lacaton & Vassal's buildings are flooded with light. Adepts of the "box within a box" concept, the architects create spaces halfway between inside and outside, which brighten the daily lives of the families, often of modest means, who live in them.
