One of the world's most important architectural honors, the Pritzker Prize for 2021, has been awarded to the founders of French office Lacaton&Vassal. Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, among others, are the creators of the transformation of the Grand Parc estate in Bordeaux, for which they received the 2019 Mies van der Rohe Prize.
Grand Parc in Bordeaux
photo by Philippe Ruault / Pritzker Prize
On March 16, Tom Pritzker, chairman of the Hyatt Foundation, announced Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal as the winners of the 2021 Priztker Architecture Prize, one of the industry's most important honors. Past winners of the prize include Arata Isozaki, Oskar Niemeyer and Zaha Hadid. The jury that selected the French architect duo included Alejandro Aravena, Barry Bergdoll, Deborah Berke, Stephen Breyer, André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, Kazuyo Sejima, Benedetta Tagliabue, Wang Shu, Manuela Lucá-Dazio and Martha Thorne. This is a group of prominent architects, architecture critics and scholars emphasized the priority for "enriching human life" in relation to the individual and the city, which the award-winning architects included in many of their designs. In designing private and social housing, cultural and academic institutions, public spaces and urban development, Lacaton and Vassal give new meaning to sustainability in their respect for pre-existing structures, developing projects by first taking stock of what already exists.
École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Nantes
photo by Philippe Ruault / Pritzker Prize
Good architecture is open - open to life, creating a sense of freedom and freedom of action for each of its users. It should not be demonstrative or imposing, but must be something familiar, useful and beautiful, to skillfully and unobtrusively support the life that will be lived within it.
Anne Lacaton
Adheringto the principle of "never demolish," Lacaton and Vassal make restrained interventions to modernize an existing structure while allowing the building's enduring qualities to remain. This approach can be seen in the design of the adaptation of post-industrial buildings for the FRAC in Calais, or the award-winning revitalization of the Grand Parc estate in Bordeaux. This is not to say that the office specializes only in adaptations. Much of their work involves new buildings. The École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Nantes architecture school is such an example. Located on the banks of the Loire River, this large, two-story, three-bay building has a concrete and steel frame enclosed in retractable polycarbonate walls and sliding doors. Areas of different sizes are evenly distributed, and all spaces are intentionally functionally indeterminate and adaptable to changing needs. The auditorium can open onto the street, and the high ceilings create the generous spaces needed for construction workshops.
FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais
photo by Philippe Ruault / Pritzker Prize
This year, more than ever, we felt that we are part of humanity. Whether for health, political or social reasons, there is a need to build a sense of community. As in any system of interdependent actors, fairness to the environment, fairness to humanity, is fairness to the next generation.
Alejandro Aravena
The origins of the Lacaton & Vassal office date back to 1987. Operating out of Paris, the firm has completed more than 30 projects in Europe and West Africa. Their notable works also include the Cap Ferret House (Cap Ferret, France 1998), 14 social houses for Cité Manifeste (Mulhouse, France 2005); Pôle Universitaire de Sciences de Gestion (Bordeaux, France 2008); a multipurpose theater (Lille, 2013), Ourcq-Jaurès student and social housing (Paris, France 2013); and a residential and office building in Chêne-Bourg (Geneva, Switzerland 2020).
129 Units, Ourcq-Juarès Student and Social Housing
photo by Philippe Ruault / Pritzker Prize
About the prize
The Pritzker Prize was founded in 1979 by the late Jay A. Pritzker and his wife Cindy. Its purpose was to annually honor a living architect or architects whose work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment that bring consistent and significant contributions to the culture of humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.
