Tag: Architecture (Page 1 of 3)

The Pritzker Award Winners 2021

July 22, 2021 / Brian Kehoe / 0 Comments

The Pritzker award, established in 1979 by the Pritzker family is awarded to a living architect/s for producing consistent and significant contributions to humanity. The award is granted annually and considered to be one of the highest achievements in the world of architectural design.

Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, the 2021 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureates

This year’s 2021 Pritzker Award was awarded to Anne Lacaton, Saint-Pardoux, France & Jean-Philippe Vassal, Casablanca Morocco.

Lacation & Vassal met in the late 1970s during formal architecture training at École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture et de Paysage de Bordeaux. Lacaton went on to complete her Masters in Urban Design, while Vassal took another path deciding to relocate to Niger to practice Urban design. It was during a visit to Niger when Lacaton and Vassal started working together.

With their extensive experience in Urban Design, the two decided to explore the aspect of reusing and refurbishing existing structures rather than demolition. Some of their works to date include the following.

100 Units, Tour Bois Le Pretre, Social Housing, 2011 Paris, France

Working with Frederic Druot, the two took this tower originally built in the 1960s which was in serious need of upgrading, in all areas, went against the proposed demolition plans, turning the tower structure into a 100 unit apartment block.

Multipurpose Theater, 2013, Lille, France

Working as a multipurpose municipal hall that can host several different events. Due to its flexible floor plan, sliding doors, and windows, modular and reconfigurable seating to expand the space, the facade can retract fully and open any event onto the gardens.

Frac Nord-Pas de Calais, 2013, Dunkerque, France

This postwar Shipbuilding was due to be demolished, however, Lacaton and Vassal decided to construct a 2nd building in identical shape and size. The original shipbuilding is now used for changing public programming. The new includes galleries, offices, and storage for contemporary art.

House in Bordeaux, 1999, Bourdeaux, France

Once a cold industrial factory, now a warm inviting residential home. Replacing parts of the existing roof with transparent polycarbonate sheets, retractable walls, and oversized windows allows light to travel through the open-plan layout.

129 Units, Ourcq-Juarès Student and Social Housing, 2013, Paris, France

Located in the 19th district, Paris France. The 129 Units consist of 98 student apartments, 30 social dwelling, a specialist care home, and 3 commercial shops turning this disused structure into a busy community.

Lacaton & Vassal was established in1987 in Paris. Since 2017, Lacaton has been a professor of Architecture and Design at the Swiss Federal Institute of technology. Zurich Switzerland. Vassal is an associated professor at the Uniersitat der Kunste. Berlin, Germany, since 2012.

On behalf of the staff at Isabel Barros Architects, Wexford, we congratulate Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal on winning this prestigious award and look forward to seeing what they do next.

The 15,000 Tile Building

September 8, 2017 / barros / 0 Comments

Covering external walls with ceramic tiles is a Portuguese tradition with at least 500 years. The new MAAT (Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology) in Lisbon took this tradition one step further and used 15,000 3D wall tiles to cover its walls.

Traditional Portuguese tiles

The MAAT tiles were manufactured in Barcelona by the same company that worked with Antoni Gaudí, and it’s still working in ‘La Sagrada Família’.

Wall tiles, MAAT Lisbon

The 60cm high tiles are hollow to reduce the weight. The architect says they will (intentionally) start cracking very soon.

Some interesting facts about MAAT:

15,000 hexagonal wall tiles cover the building.
The tiles are mechanically fixed.
Designed by Amanda Levete Architects by direct invitation.
The Museum Director is an Architect – Pedro Gadanho (former MoMA curator).
420 m2 of minimal frame windows – PanoramAH system.
The central gallery has an oval shape and it is below the river level.
Construction cost: €20 million.
Construction cost per m²: €2,702. (Gross internal floor area 7,400m²).
It is possible to walk over the roof.
Owned by the Portuguese electricity and gas provider EDP.

15,000 wall tiles cover the MAAT’s walls

It is possible to walk over the MAAT’s roof.

Visit MAAT’s website here.

Extension to House Over 100 years Old in New Ross, Wexford

June 30, 2014 / barros / 2 Comments

Note: This post was previously titled ‘Extension to 1950’s House in New Ross, Wexford – SketchUp Animation’. During works we discovered the walls were not what we expected and some investigation confirmed the original house was built between 1888-1913! (The owners were not aware of this.)

We feel that our proposal is like the missing piece to complete this house puzzle.

The original house used to be a Council house and it was built in the 1950s. The owners had already built different extensions to the house but they left a big problem unsolved: the entrance and the circulation and flow of space within the house.

They approached us to get a bigger kitchen more suitable to their lifestyle. We listened and we were sensitive to all energies we could capture. We proposed a holistic approach that embraced the existing house, respecting it and making the all space a much better place to live in.

We like to think the new entrance works like the “spinal column” of the house, supporting it, organizing it and allowing the spaces to flow naturally from there.

From the entrance a new wall – the “shoulders” – is built to hold the two new extensions – the “arms” – that will hug and embrace the existing house respecting it in a complacent manner.

We felt the existing black and white palette needed a different material/texture to make it more interesting and with a warmer feeling. We propose to cover the two “arms” with timber cladding. This is a type of cladding found elsewhere on this site and it has the beauty of being a natural and environmentally friendly material that easily blends with the landscape.

Working with an existing house with a number of (more recent) extensions is always a challenge. We are often restricted by a number of factors and it requires years of experience to turn them around in our favour. We are delighted with the result and we cannot wait to see it built.

See what our clients had to say: