The French architects have adopted the mantra: ‘never demolish, never remove or replace, always add, transform, and reuse!’
The prestigious Pritzker Prize has been awarded to the French architecture duo Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe vassal. The duo have developed a reputation for sustainable architecture and the transformation of neglected buildings, through the practice Lacaton & Vassal, founded in 1987 in Paris.
Their projects include the Latapie House in Floirac, House in Cap Ferret, and the 2012 expansion of the Palais de Tokyo gallery in Paris. They are well known for their work on various housing schemes in France and abroad, revitalizing post-war social housing including the Grand Parc Bordeaux.
‘Good architecture is open – open to life, open to enhance the freedom of anyone, where anyone can do what they need to do,’ said Lacaton. ‘It should not be demonstrative or imposing, but it must must be something familiar, useful and beautiful, with the ability to quietly support the life that will take place within it.’
In 2004, the duo co-authored a manifesto encouraging the refurbishment rather than demolition of public housing: ‘Never demolish, never remove or replace, always add, transform, and reuse!’
‘The modernist hopes and dreams to improve the lives of many are reinvigorated through their work that responds to the climatic and ecological emergencies of our time, as well as social urgencies, particularly in the realm of urban housing,’ the jurors said in a statement.
The award was inaugurated by the Pritzker family in 1979 through the Hyatt Foundation, to recognise ‘a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision, and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.’ The prize’s first laureate was Philip Johnson. The 2020 laureates were Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara – the first time the prize has gone to two women.
The 2021 jurors included Alejandro Aravena, Barry Bergdoll, Deborah Berke, Stephen Breyer, André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, Kazuyo Sejima, Benedetta Tagliabue, Wang Shu and Martha Thorne.
