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Jean Philippe Vassal to give Royal Academy's annual architecture lecture

Jean-Philippe Vassal to give Royal Academy's annual architecture lecture

Dezeen promotion: Jean-Philippe Vassal, co-founder of Lacaton and Vassal Architects will deliver this year's Royal Academy of Arts architecture lecture.

Vassal is set to talk though the studio's work, including its Mies van der Rohe Award-winning renovation of a post-war housing estate in Bordeaux, during the 29th Annual Architecture Lecture.

Dezeen is media partner for the lecture, which will take place in the David Chipperfield-designed Benjamin West Lecture Theatre at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) on 15 July 2019.

Last year's lecture was given by Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara of Grafton Architects, and previous talks have been delivered by Peter Zumthor, Wang Shu and Balkrishna Doshi.

Jean Philippe Vassal to give Royal Academy's annual architecture lecture
Vassal will talk about his projects including the Mies van der Rohe Award-winning housing

Vassal established his architecture studio, Lacaton & Vassal Architects, with Anne Lacaton in 1987. The studio is known for its numerous social housing refurbishments, as well as other projects including renovation of the Palais de Tokyo conversion into a contemporary arts district in 2014.

The architect intends to use these projects as a starting point to discuss the core principles that drive the studio's work.

Jean Philippe Vassal to give Royal Academy's annual architecture lecture
Lacaton & Vassal Architects's projects, including the Palais de Tokyo conversion, aim to take advantage of the existing architecture

Throughout its work Lacaton & Vassal Architects aim to have a careful and contextual approach, taking full advantage of what is already on site.

This can be seen in its renovation a crumbling 1960s Parisian tower block nicknamed Alcatraz, which the studio completed in 2013, and its construction of a translucent building alongside a former shipbuilding workshop in Dunkirk to house an art collection.

Jean Philippe Vassal to give Royal Academy's annual architecture lecture
The studio has worked on numerous social housing projects

Perhaps the studio's best-known project is Transformation of 530 Dwellings, which was completed with Frédéric Druot Architecture and Christophe Hutin Architecture.

The restoration of three social housing blocks in Grand Parc Bordeaux, France, won this year's European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture, also known as the Mies van der Rohe Award.

The annual architecture lecture takes place at the same time as the RA's summer exhibition, which has an architecture room complete with models and works selected by Spender de Grey partner at Foster + Partners. The lecture will be followed a drinks reception and private view of the exhibition.

For more information on architecture lecture visit the Royal Academy of Arts' website.