Sir John Soane’s Museum has announced French architecture practice Lacaton & Vassal as the recipient of the 2023 Soane Medal. The award comes in recognition of the office’s work spanning over 3 decades. Through an honest design approach, the office became known for the resourceful repurposing of materials and existing structures to prioritize the needs of residents and local communities. For this approach, the office has been previously awarded as the 2021 Pritzker Prize 2021 Laureate.
Led by Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, the French office strives to avoid unnecessary waste by reusing the existing materials and transforming rather than demolishing the buildings to better respond to the needs of the local communities while meeting sustainability standards. This ethos of continued architectural improvements was also central to Sir John Soane’s mission, who used his private house as a place for experimentation and exploration of architecture’s role in society.
What comes after should always be better than what was there before. The buildings that people inhabit – their homes, workplaces, and social spaces – should bring pleasure; architecture should be generous and free. We are overjoyed to be awarded this year’s Soane Medal. As Soane furthered the discipline in his own time, we are pleased to join a group of Medallists who demonstrate architecture’s role in each aspect of society today. - Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal
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Pritzker Architecture Prize Ceremony Video Honors Sir David Chipperfield, the 2023 LaureateLacaton & Vassal’s work spans many scales and programs, from social housing to cultural and academic institutions. In 2012 they completed the renovation of Palais de Tokyo, stripping its interior to reveal the hidden structure and opening the space for maximum flexibility. Among their most well-known projects is the transformation of the social housing blocks in Bordeaux’s Cité du Grand Parc, saving the building from demolition and improving the living condition for the 530 dwellings. The project, completed in 2017, was awarded the 2019 EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award.
Lacaton & Vassal’s priority is to avoid unnecessary waste by transforming buildings in ways that will be beneficial for the occupants, the local community and its ecology. By doing so, they have quietly produced some of the most important buildings of our time. All their projects are defined by the needs and wishes of the people who will use them, and their personal responsibilities as architects. - Alice Rawsthorn, author, design critic and Chair of the 2023 Soane Medal Jury
Recently, Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal have contributed to the ceremonial video celebrating the latest Pritzker Prize Laureate, Sir David Chipperfield. The office continues to contribute to the ongoing discussions regarding the sustainability of preserving existing structures and the overarching space debate.
