Philippe Prost and Renée Gailhoustet win the 2022 Grand Prix national d’architecture !

14.12.22

Presentation of the Grand prix national de l’architecture, 13 October 2022 – © Ministère de la Culture / Mehrak Habibi

Graduating as a D.P.L.G. architect from the Versailles School of Architecture in 1983, Philippe Prost obtained his D.E.S.S. in Urban Planning from the University of Paris 8 in 1985, before founding the AAPP – Agence d’architecture Philippe Prost agency in 1993. Initially associated with Catherine Seyler, he was joined by Gaël Lesterlin and Lucas Monsaingeon in 2019. 

Philippe Prost has worked on a number of major projects, including the renovation of the Citadelle Vauban in Belle-île-en-mer in 2004; the Anneau de la Mémoire in Albain-Saint-Nazaire in 2014, to mark the centenary of the Great War; the Musée de la Monnaie in Paris in 2017; the restructuring of the Lille Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2018; and the renovation of the Cité des Électriciens in Bruay-la-Buissière in 2017. The agency is currently working on the redevelopment of public spaces at the Port Vauban in Antibes, as well as on the extension of the casino and theatre in Evian-les-Bains.

Sketch, Monnaie de Paris, MétaLmorphoses project, 2017 – © All rights reserved – Atelier d’architecture Philippe Prost

Atelier central d’outillage et gravure, (ACOG) Monnaie de Paris, 2015 – © All rights reserved – Atelier d’architecture Philippe Prost

In addition to these projects and lectures, Philippe Prost has published several books on military and historical architecture: Les fortifications du littoral : la Charente-Maritime in 1993, La ville en guerre in 1996 and Vauban, le style de l’intelligence in 2007. 

Philippe Prost has received a number of awards over the course of his career in recognition of the quality of his architecture and his writings, including the Prix du livre d’architecture awarded by the Académie d’Architecture in 2008 and the Prix d’honneur Vauban, awarded for his written and built work, in 2021. The “L’Anneau de la Mémoire” project has received numerous awards, both in France and internationally (Prix de l’Equerre d’Argent pour la Culture, Prix Duo at Work, both in 2014, the German Iconic Award Best of Best in 2015 and, in 2016, the Excellence in Concrete Construction Award from the American Concrete Institute and the R.I.B.A. International Award for Excellence). La cité des Électriciens is also an award-winning project, winning the Geste d’or in 2017 and the Gubbio Prize in 2018.

AAPP – Agence d’architecture Philippe Prost has made restoration and renovation its field of choice, attaching great importance to architectural heritage and history. The architect’s motto is “interested in the past, passionate about the future”. He works on a variety of scales, from the individual room to the city block, not forgetting the building itself. Philippe Prost’s aim is to keep the memory alive, without neglecting the creative aspect. It was also with a concern for the environment in mind that the jury awarded the prize to Philippe Prost, whose architectural practice is characterised by the re-use of existing spaces.

Anneau de la mémoire, 2014 – © All rights reserved – Atelier d’architecture Philippe Prost

After obtaining a degree in literature, Renée Gailhoustet joined Marcel Lods’ studio at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts in 1952. After graduating in 1961, she joined the Roland Dubrulle agency in 1962, before founding her own architecture studio in 1964. With Jean Renaudie, she became chief architect of Ivry-sur-Seine and worked on the new master plan for the town centre.

Renée Gailhoustet’s practice is characterised by the construction of social housing, which was of little interest to architects at the time. In Ivry-sur-Seine, for example, she designed a number of public housing buildings: the Raspail and Lenin towers between 1963 and 1968, the Spinoza complex between 1966 and 1973, the Liégat complex between 1971 and 1986 and the Marat complex between 1971 and 1986. In Aubervilliers, Renée Gailhoustet designed the La Maladrerie development between 1975 and 1986, while in Villejuif she built a 35-home development on Place de la Fontaine between 1978 and 1981.

West facade, Tour Raspail, 1966 – © FRAC Centre – Donation Renée Gailhoustet

Renée Gailhoustet’s work has only recently been rewarded. In 2018 and 2019, she received the Medal of Honour of the Academy of Architecture and the Berlin Grand Prize for the Arts respectively, while the Royal Academy of Arts, in the United Kingdom, awarded her in May 2022. 

Although its architecture initially followed the trends of the time, with imposing monolithic towers such as the Raspail and Lenin towers, it gradually turned towards architecture that could be described as experimental, with a tendency to proliferate, but retaining a brutalist style. Already in the Spinoza complex, although inspired by Corbusé, with its rough-cut concrete and internal streets, elements of post-modern inspiration can be seen: a library with hexagonal modules and a medical-psycho-educational centre with triangular modules. It was with the Le Liégat project that Renée Gailhoustet’s desire to distinguish herself from the modern architecture of the large housing estates was more clearly asserted. This project uses stepped architecture and circular modules to create a wide range of flat types. Greatly influenced by Jean Renaudie, with whom she worked on a number of projects in Ivry, including the Jeanne Hachette scheme (1970-1975), Renée Gailhoustet set about creating social housing that was more in tune with the needs of local residents and broke with the monotony of suburban architecture.

3rd floor plan, Building H, Le Liégat, 1978 – © FRAC Centre – Donation Renée Gailhoustet

Plan of the nursery school, La Maladrerie, 1975-1986 – © FRAC Centre – Donation Renée Gailhoustet

Davide Tarditi