University Campus UTEC Lima
"Architecture could be described as one of the most complex and most important cultural activities on the planet." So trace Yvonne Farrell the meaning of this art of designing buildings that change not only the geography of a place, but also the society that lives in it. Farrell, along with his partner Shelley McNamara , are the thinking heads of Grafton Architects (Dublin ), and have been recognized today with the prestigious architecture pritzker prize (being the fourth given to a woman in the history of the Pritzkers).
In women's week, we meet two architects who follow in the footsteps of the three Pritzker award winners in its 41-year history ( Zaha Hadid , in 2004; kazuyo-sejima , 2010; Carmen Pigem , in 2017).
Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara
Farrell and McNamara were in charge of directing the Venice Biennale in 2018 that year they dedicated to the theme 'free space' , namely " to generosity, reflection and commitment ", in the words of the architects. Three concepts that have accompanied their works since the beginning of this architecture studio.
This is how this year's jury considers it, who have decided to award them the prize "for the integrity when approaching their buildings, as well as how they put them into practice, their faith in collaboration, their generosity towards their colleagues (evidencing this last at the 2018 Venice Biennale), his tireless commitment to excellence in architecture , its responsible attitude towards the environment, its ability to find what makes places unique... for all these reasons and more, Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara receive the 2020 Pritzker Prize".
Shelley McNamara , for her part, she commented upon recognizing herself as the Pritzker winner, "we have struggled to find a space for the implementation of values such as humanity, craftsmanship, generosity and cultural connection with each place and every context in which we work".
University Campus UTEC Lima
Farrell and McNamara display all of these qualities in buildings that " maintain the proportion with the human scale but reach intimate settings in vast constructions ", as stated in the official statement of the Pritzker Awards.
Such is the case of the constructions that populate his city, Dublin. His are some of the buildings that have already become iconic, such as the Trinity College Dublin Engineering Department , the Department of Finance offices or the redesign of the famous temple bar square . And such will be the case of the projects that they will populate it , such as the future Parnell Square Cultural Quarter, the future Vicar St Hotel or the Dublin 7 Educate Together School.
All these buildings fulfill a social function, in addition to fitting in with the maxim of the Dublin studio: respect for the geography of the place, mimicry with the social context Y sustainability . "What we try with our work is to be aware of the different groups of citizens and to find a type of architecture that increases relationships between each other Farrell declares.
Parnell Square Cultural Quarter
Outside its borders, the duo has managed to leave its mark on grandiose constructions such as the Luigi Bocconi University , in Milan; the Solstice Arts Center in Navan (Ireland); the UTEC campus, in Lima (Peru); the Institute of Mines Telecom , in Paris; wave School of Economics of the Université Toulouse 1 Capitole.
Perhaps his most representative work outside the Irish borders is the UTEC campus , located between a residential neighborhood and the asphalt of a highway. How did you solve this projection? with a building 'cascading' , a open space that allows air to pass through, cooling the high temperatures of the place and minimizing the use of air conditioning in this university.
"Architecture is a framework for human life . It anchors us and connects us to the world in a way that possibly no spacecrafting discipline can."
University Toulouse 1 Capitole, School of Economics