Soane Medal Lecture 2023: Lacaton & Vassal

A published edition of the lecture delivered by Lacaton and Vassal on the occasion of being awarded the Soane Medal, 28 November 2023.

The Soane Medal was established by Sir John Soane’s Museum in 2017 and continues the mission of the Museum’s founder, the celebrated Regency architect Sir John Soane, to encourage a better understanding of the central importance of architecture in culture and society. The Medal recognises architects, educators and critics who have made a major contribution to their field through practice, history or theory.

Introducing Lacaton & Vassal

For over 30 years, Anne Lacaton & Jean-Philippe Vassal have been recognised for their honest approach to architecture whether private or social housing, academic institution, or public space. By repurposing materials and existing structures, Lacaton & Vassal transform buildings in a way which centres the needs of residents and local communities, while remaining conscious of environmental concerns or impacts.

A pursuit of continued architectural improvement underpins all their projects, demonstrating the importance of architecture in people’s lives. This was central to Sir John Soane’s own mission, who not only used his house as a place of experimentation, but to inspire and educate those who visited on architecture’s role in society.

Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal said: “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.”

Recent work of note includes the Palais de Tokyo, Paris, the Architecture school in Nantes, the FRAC, Regional Collection of Contemporary Art in Dunkerque, France, alongside significant housing projects: House Latapie, Bordeaux, "Cité Manifeste", social housing in Mulhouse and Paris, the transformation of modernist social housing blocks in Paris and Bordeaux and a housing tower block in Geneva.

In 2021, Anne Lacaton & Jean Philippe Vassal received the Pritzker Architecture Prize 2021. Other awards include: BDA Grand Prize (2020), EU Mies Van der Rohe Award (2019), Grand Prix National d'Architecture, France (2008), Global Award for Sustainable Architecture (2018), Heinrich Tessenow Award (2016), Berlin, Rolf Shock Prize in Visual Arts, Stockholm (2014), The Daylight Award (2011) by Velux Foundations, Copenhagen, International Fellow of Royal Institute of British Architects (2009), Erich Schelling Award (2006) - Fondation Erich Schelling, Karlsruhe.

Specifications

• Paperback Edition
• Page Count: 56
• Dimensions: 122 x 210mm
• Language: English and French