In this previously unpublished interview, Lacaton & Vassal co-founder Jean-Philippe Vassal explained why the 2021 Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning studio believes that buildings should be renovated instead of demolished.
"Just try to repair and just try to add what is missing," said Vassal. "You will give much more pleasure than by rebuilding after demolition."
Vassal, who along with partner Anne Lacaton won the 2021 Pritzker Architecture Prize earlier this week, spoke to Dezeen ahead of the annual architecture lecture he delivered at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 2019.
In the interview, the 67-year-old architect explained the thinking behind the studio's refurbishment of a complex of more than 500 social-housing units in Bordeaux, which won the 2019 Mies van der Rohe Award. Top: 530 Dwellings. Photo by Philippe Ruault. Above: Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal won the Pritzker Prize. Photo by Laurent Chalet
Instead of demolishing the 1960s housing block, Lacaton & Vassal undertook a refurbishment of the blocks, adding winter gardens at every level to give residents more space and insulate their homes. This aligns with the studio's philosophy of designing with generosity to both people and the environment.
"We cannot just do the minimum, we have to really think of how to do the maximum," said Vassal.
"This generosity is absolutely essential in any act of architecture, in any act of urban planning, I think we shoul...