Jean-Philippe Vassal
Jean-Philippe Vassal (; born 22 February 1954) is a French architect and academic. He runs the architectural practice Lacaton & Vassal, with Anne Lacaton. The pair were jointly awarded the 2021 Pritzker Architecture Prize. Early life and education. Vassal was born 1954 in Casablanca during the French Protectorate of Morocco. He graduated from the École nationale supérieure d'architecture et de paysage de Bordeaux in 1980. After graduating, he spent five years in Niger as an architect and town planner. Architectural practice. Vassal founded the practice Lacaton & Vassal with Anne Lacaton in Bordeaux in 1987, which moved to Paris  in 2000. The work of Lacaton & Vassel focuses on reduced-cost construction. Lacaton & Vassel carried out many international projects in the area of housing. They accomplish the high profile renovation of the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. In 2019 the Grand Parc Bordeaux (with Frédéric Druot and Christophe Hutin) was selected winner of the European Union's 2019 Mies van der Rohe Award, for the best contemporary architecture in Europe. The French architects, who are based in the Paris suburb of Montreuil, believe that every structure can be repurposed, reinvented, reinvigorated. Academic career. Vassal has been visiting professor at institutes  such as the Architecture School of Versailles (2002–2006), the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPF Lausanne; 2010–11), the Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin; 2007–10) and Universität der Künste Berlin (UDK Berlin; since 2012).