The work of Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal reflects their ideas that architectural space should be generous, open in use and flooded with natural light. In over three decades, they have designed private and collective housing, cultural and academic institutions, public spaces and urban interventions. Here are 10 highlights in the work of Lacaton & Vassal.
1. Latapie House, Floirac, France, 1993
Latapie House was the architects’ initial application of greenhouse technologies to design a larger, efficient residence, creating space for the clients’ children to run and grow, on a modest budget. Through the use of retractable and transparent polycarbonate panels on the east-facing rear of the home, the communal areas of the residence gain significant space and flexibility of use, extending outdoors, and allowing natural light and air to circulate through the dwelling.
2. École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Nantes, Nantes, France, 2009
As with all of their projects, every nuance of this building and site was considered to accommodate the evolving teaching, learning and building needs of the growing student body. Located on the bank of the Loire River, this large-scale, double-height, three-story building features a concrete and steel frame, encased in retractable polycarbonate walls and sliding doors. Areas of various sizes exist throughout, and all spaces are deliberately unprescribed and adaptable. An auditorium can open to extend into the street and high ceilings create generous spaces necessary for construction workshops. Even the wide, sloping ramp that connects the ground to the 2,000 square meter functional rooftop is intended as a flexible learning and gathering place. While the brief stipulated 15,150 square meters of space, the final result was significantly expanded by the architects through the addition of 4,430 square meters of internal space and 5,305 square meters of functional outdoor space, and for the same budget.
3. 53 semi-collective housing units, Saint-Nazaire, France, 2011
This low-income development consists of 53 units organized in a series of three-story buildings, each with six apartments. The units include private gardens for each ground-floor residence and balconies or winter gardens on those of the upper floors. The architects’ use of transparent, retractable polycarbonate panels and insulating thermal curtains throughout the interior rooms create comfortable environments full of light that are also ecologically and economically responsible.
4. Transformation de la Tour Bois le Prêtre, Paris, France, 2011
Originally built in the 1960s, during an era of large-scale social housing construction, the Tour Bois le Prêtre was in dire need of infrastructure, plumbing, ventilation and electrical upgrades. Lacaton and Vassal rejected the city’s plans to demolish the 17-story, 96-unit building, and instead modified it. The architects increased the interior square footage of every unit by removing the original facade, extending the footprint of the building, and enclosing it with a new self-supporting facade. As a result, previously constrained living rooms now extend into terraces and flexible space featuring large windows for unrestricted views of the city. Residents were not displaced during the construction and a fixed rent was negotiated by the architects, thus reimagining not only the aesthetic of social housing, but also the intention and possibilities of such communities.
5. Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France, 2012
The architects’ second phase of development for Palais de Tokyo took place one decade after their initial restoration of the space in 2002. Drawing inspiration from the idea that this is a museum that “visitors can make their own”, they increased the interior by 20,000 square meters, in part by creating new underground space, and assured that every area of the building was reserved for the user experience. Retreating from white cube galleries and guided pathways that are characteristic of many contemporary art museums, the architects instead created voluminous unfinished spaces. These spaces allow artists and curators to create free-flowing exhibitions for all mediums of art within a range of physical environments, from dark and cavernous to transparent and sunlit, that encourage visitors to linger late into the evening.
6. FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais, Dunkirk, France, 2013
Rather than demolishing Atelier de Préfabrication no. 2 (AP2), a postwar shipbuilding facility at the shoreline of a waterfront redevelopment project, the architects chose to erect a second building, identical in shape and size to the first. With transparent, prefabricated materials, it provides unhindered views through the new to the old. The original landmark, designated for flexible and changing public programming, and the newer structure, which houses galleries, offices and storage for the regional collections of contemporary art, can function independently or together. An internal street is located in the void between the old and new structures, and there are plans to connect this space to an exterior elevated walkway in the future.
7. Polyvalent theater, Lille, France, 2013
Built as part of the renewal of Parc Arras Europe in Lille, the theater serves as a multipurpose municipal hall that can accommodate an extensive range of programming. The flexible floor plan, through the use of sliding doors and windows, modular and reconfigurable seating, and a facade that can retract in its entirety to extend the space outdoors onto a sloping public garden, opens up numerous possibilities for space and functions.
8. Student and social housing Ourcq-Jaurès, Paris, France, 2014
Situated on the outskirts of Paris along the Canal de l’Ourcq and next to La Petite Ceinture, an obsolete railway, this mixed-use building includes 98 student apartments, 30 residences, an assisted living facility, and three commercial spaces. Each residential unit features a balcony or winter garden and the assisted-care residents share a ground-floor outdoor garden space. While the occupants range in family composition and demographics, the overall goals of resource and energy conservation are achieved through the careful siting and layout of the buildings along with design features in harmony with the climate and light.
9. Transformation of 530 dwellings, Bordeaux, France, 2017
The three buildings within this 1960s social-housing development, range from ten to fifteen stories and include 530 apartments. Similarly to the transformation of Tour Bois le Prêtre (Paris, 2011), qualities of space and comfort were achieved by removing the building facade and extending the interiors outward to create new spaces, forming bioclimatic winter gardens or balconies. The result was the near doubling of size of some units and a dramatic visual reinvention that challenges the aesthetic conventions of social housing.
10. Residential and office building, Geneva, Switzerland, 2020
Located in the Chêne-Bourg municipality in the canton of Geneva, Switzerland, this mixed-use building houses 101 residences, 250 offices and ground-floor commercial space. The building gives its occupants direct connection to the city and its offerings, which is further enhanced by the nearby, new underground Chêne-Bourg CEVA train station. Signature to their residential work, each unit features a flexible winter garden or balcony extension, with floor-to-ceiling exposures and lined energy-efficient thermal curtains, resulting in maximum space, light and warmth. The professional spaces also allow for flexibility, through their modular offices and adaptable configurations. Furthermore, five floors operate as flexible levels that may be converted into housing or tertiary spaces.
