Anne Lacaton (born 2 August 1955) is a French architect and educator. She runs the architectural practice Lacaton & Vassal, with

Jean-Philippe Vassal Jean-Philippe Vassal (; born 22 February 1954) is a French architect and academic. He runs the architectural practice Lacaton & Vassal, with Anne Lacaton. The pair were jointly awarded the 2021 Pritzker Architecture Prize. Early life and educ ...

. The pair were jointly awarded the 2021

Pritzker Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international architecture award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produ ...

Early life and education

She was born in Saint-Pardoux-la-Rivière on 2 August 1955. Lacaton graduated in architecture from the École nationale supérieure d'architecture et de paysage de Bordeaux and received a master's degree in urban planning from the

University of Bordeaux The University of Bordeaux (French: ''Université de Bordeaux'') is a Lists of universities in France, public university based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in Southern France, southwestern France. It has several campuses in the cities and towns of Bor ...

in 1984. Lacaton often visited Vassal in

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages

Architectural practice

In 1987, Lacaton formed the practice Lacaton & Vassal, with

. Initially based in Bordeaux, the practice moved to Paris in 2000. Lacaton & Vassal's work focuses on reduced-cost construction. Many projects are hybrids between a contemporary building concept and more diverse techniques, upsetting

building contractor A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...

s' standard practices. The firm renovated the

Palais de Tokyo The Palais de Tokyo (''Tokyo Palace'') is a building dedicated to modern and contemporary art, located at 13 avenue du Président-Wilson, facing the Trocadéro, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The eastern wing of the building belongs to ...

contemporary art museum in Paris, completed in 2001. The project, a bare bones reclamation of an art deco building near the Seine, was short-listed for the EU Mies Award in 2003. In 2005, Lacaton & Vassal and architect Frédéric Druot were selected to reshape the Tour Bois le Prêtre, a 17-story housing tower on Paris' northern edge designed by architect Raymond Lopez in 1957. The team cut away most of the thick façade's panels, installing balconies and large sliding windows in their place, opening the apartments to more natural light. The units were also enlarged and opened, and the firm installed new plumbing, bathrooms, ventilation, and electric systems. The project was a runner up in the Design of the Year award from the UK's

Design Museum The Design Museum in Kensington, London exhibits product, industrial, graphic, fashion, and architectural design. In 2018, the museum won the European Museum of the Year Award. The museum operates as a registered charity, and all funds generate ...

in 2013, coming top of the architecture category. L'école d'architecture (Nantes) (9304278276)

The practice has also worked on the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture in Nantes; the art collection project FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais in Dunkirk; the Cap Ferret residential building in Cap Ferret, and the Grand Parc Bordeaux (with Frédéric Druot and Christophe Hutin). This last project was the winner of the EU Mies 2019 Award, for the best contemporary architecture in Europe. Lacaton & Vassal have worked with Frederic Druot on sustainable housing projects, reinventing old 1960s era social housing in a project called Plus. Plus is an initiative to upgrade old social housing into better living spaces. They've published literature on the project.

Academic career

Lacaton was visiting professor at the Higher Technical School of Architecture of Madrid (2007–13); EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; 2004, 2006, 2010–11 and 2017–18);

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

(2012);

State University of New York at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

(2013); Pavillon Neuflize OBC-Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2013–14); and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

. Lacaton was appointed as Associate Professor of Architecture & Design at

ETH Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , a ...

in 2017. Her academic teaching focuses on an ideological and socio-political approach to architecture. Lacaton's designs and constructions support human use rather than iconic display, concerned with the people involved. Her designs aim to promote user participation, such as residents in areas undergoing redevelopment. Anne Lacaton served as a jury member for

The Daylight Award The Daylight Award is awarded every second year since 2016 "to honor and support daylight research and daylight in architecture, for the benefit of human health, well-being and the environment. The award puts specific emphasis on the interrelation ...

in 2020 and 2022.

Awards

Lacaton & Vassal

* Lauréats des Albums de la Jeune Architecture, France – 1991 * Grand Prix National d’Architecture Jeune Talent, France – 1999 * Erich Schelling Award − 2006 * Fondation Erich Schelling, Karlsruhe Award “Sustainability and Residential Innovation”, City of Madrid – 2006 *

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

International Fellowship in 2009. * Grand prix national de l'architecture in 2008 * Paris, France Equerre d’Argent Award (with Frederic Druot) – 2011 * Paris Daylight & Building Components Award – 2011 * Design of the year, architecture category (with Frederic Druot) – 2013 * Rolf Schock Prize in the Visual Arts in 2014 * Life Time Achievement – Trienal de Arquitectura de Lisboa – 2016 * Académie de l’Architecture France – Gold Medal – 2016 * Simon Architecture Prize/ Fondation Mies Van der Rohe – The Living Places (with Frederic Druot) – 2016 *

Heinrich Tessenow Medal The Heinrich Tessenow Gold Medal (Heinrich-Tessenow-Medaille) is an architecture award established in 1963 by the Alfred Toepfer Stiftung F.V.S. of Hamburg in honour of Heinrich Tessenow. It is awarded by the Heinrich-Tessenow-Gesellschaft e.V. ...

in 2016 *

Global Award for Sustainable Architecture The Global Award for Sustainable Architecture was founded in 2006 by architect and scholar Jana Revedin. The Global Award Community, which in 2022 consists of the 75 contemporary architects or architect collectives from around the globe who have ...

(with Frederic Druot) in 2018 * Mies van der Rohe Award in 2019 *

Pritzker Architecture Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international architecture award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produ ...

in 2021

References

External links

*Denis Bocquet,
More Space, More Light, More Green: A New Vision of Social Housing'. A Dialogue with Anne Lacaton
, Speech, 2014. * – video interviews, philosophy, and work retrospective. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lacaton, Anne 1955 births Living people 20th-century French architects 21st-century French architects French women architects People from Dordogne Pritzker Architecture Prize winners University of Bordeaux alumni 20th-century French women 21st-century French women Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts