Anne Lastton and Jean-Philippe Vassal follow a noble philosophy when raising their work: «Never demolish what could be redeemed and, instead, make sustainable what already exists, thus expanding through addition, respecting the luxury of simplicity and proposing new possibilities.» Known for their economic use of materials, the couple has ingeniously found ways to build larger habitable spaces more affordable, particularly for social housing projects. His best example of this is Grand Parc, which the couple renewed in 2017.
2022: Diobédo Francis Kéré
Lycee Schorge Secondary School (Koudougou, Burkina Faso)
Andrea Maretto for Kéré Architecture.
Diobédo Francis Kéré was born in Burkina Faso and is known for his sustainable projects. The whole of Francis Kéré's work shows us the power of rooting materiality in the place. His buildings, for and with the communities, are directly part of those communities: in their construction, their materials, their programs and their unique character, «the jury wrote in its justification. His best building is the Lycee Schorge Secondary School, located in the third most populated city in the native country of the architect. Nine modules are arranged in a circle, protecting the central courtyard of the wind and the dust. of local origin, but also serves as thermal mass, absorbing heat.
2023: David Chipperfield
Hepworth Wakefield (Wakefield, England)
View Pictures / Universal Images Group / Getty Images
The last winner of the Pritzker, Sir David Chipperfield, took the award in 2023: «We do not see a building by David Chipperfield recognizable instantly in different cities, but different buildings by David Chipperfield designed specifically for each circumstance,» the jury explained about the architect's merit. His best building is The Hepworth Wakefield in England. Built from 10 trapezoidal blocks, it is covered with autocompactant pigmented concrete.
Article originally published in AD Us.