Honest architecture for the poor. Projects of Pritzker laureates 2021

The first joint project of Anne Lakaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal was a straw hut in Niger. Graduates of the École architecture school in Bordeaux agreed that the main role of an architect is not to serve the whims of elites, but to strive to make the world a little more fair.

 

So, in the 80s of the XNUMXth century, a young couple was shocked by the poverty of Niger's population and the beauty of wild desert landscapes. Architects watched with interest how people, having minimal resources at their disposal, show rare ingenuity, creating dishes and household items, building houses from dry grass, clay and branches.

Anne Lakaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal are Pritzker laureates of 2021. Photo courtesy of Laurent Chalet. Source: pritzkerprize.com

The straw hut is Lacaton & Vassal's first project in Niger. Source: pritzkerprize.com

Anne and Jean-Philippe researched the ancient construction technology and tried to apply the knowledge gained in order to create new, more comfortable living spaces. To their surprise, the straw hut turned out to be surprisingly resistant to wind and rain and lasted for more than two years.

"Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, and the people are so incredible, so generous, they do almost everything from nothing, but with optimism. They are full of poetry and ingenuity," recalls Vassal

Returning to France, the architects first took small private orders. They were approached by people who sought to solve urgent household problems for little money. But, as the founders of Lacaton & Vassal proved, budget architecture can also be Architecture with a big letter.

Villa Latapie House is a family home in the town of Fluarac, France. Photo courtesy of Philippe Ruault. Source: pritzkerprize.com

Slate, plywood, steel, polycarbonate - the simplest and cheapest building materials are used for the construction of Latapie House. Photo courtesy of Philippe Ruault. Source: pritzkerprize.com

Villa Latapie House, created by them for a married couple with children, is a textbook example of how to create a flexible space for a happy and comfortable life with the help of inexpensive materials and simple volumes. The winter, heated room made of plywood, insulation and slate, with the onset of warm sunny days, opens into a garden-greenhouse, for the construction of which the architects used polycarbonate and metal supports.

Reconstruction of a building for 129 apartments, student and social housing in Urk-Juar. Photo courtesy of Philippe Ruault. Source: pritzkerprize.com

Reconstruction of a multi-storey building with 53 apartments. Social housing. Photo courtesy of Philippe Ruault. Source: pritzkerprize.com

Reconstruction of a multi-storey building with 100 apartments, Tour Bois le Prêtre Social Housing project, implemented together with Frédéric Druot. Photo courtesy of Philippe Ruault. Source: pritzkerprize.com

Anne and Jean-Philippe literally challenged the architectural community by fundamentally rejecting projects that involved the construction of elite real estate on the site of city slums and hostels. But they willingly accepted proposals from municipalities and city communities, which provided for the reconstruction of dilapidated social housing, or the transformation of industrial or office facilities into housing.

Campus of the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture in Nantes. Photo courtesy of Philippe Ruault. Source: pritzkerprize.com

According to architects Lacaton & Vassal, budget projects are by no means boring! Buildings that do not represent historical value are an excellent basis for creative rethinking. "Dressing" old shabby high-rise buildings in a new skin made of glass, concrete and metal, architects expanded cramped and uncomfortable living spaces, filled apartments with light and air.

"Buildings are beautiful when people feel good in them" is the belief of Ann Lakaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, reflecting their understanding of the relationship between aesthetics and ethics

FRAC Museum Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Dunkirk, France. Photo courtesy of Philippe Ruault. Source: pritzkerprize.com

Hall-greenhouse of the FRAC museum. Photo courtesy of Philippe Ruault. Source: pritzkerprize.com

Public buildings - hospitals, theaters, museums, schools - were designed by an architectural duo according to the same principle. They are as transparent and inclusive as possible. According to the judges of the Pritzker committee, all the buildings that Ann Lakaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal had a hand in fully demonstrate the democratic spirit of architecture - and this is the very fifth element that is so sorely lacking today.