It's Nice Today: On Climate, Comfort and Pleasure is the first scientific study of the thermal performance of winter gardens in residential construction, measuring the effectiveness of an approach Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal have pursued across more than two decades of housing practice.
About This Book
For over twenty years, French architects Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal have built a body of work defined by a single conviction: that architecture should work with climate, not against it. Their signature move — the winter garden, a glazed transitional space that blurs the boundary between interior and exterior — is more than an aesthetic proposition. This book subjects it to genuine scientific scrutiny, documenting the thermal performance of these spaces across selected residential projects. It traces the lineage from Lacaton & Vassal's earliest house, the Latapie, through to a completed apartment and office tower in Geneva, building an evidence base for climate-responsive, bioclimatic design that is long overdue.
Key Features
- 144 pages of thermal performance analysis, project documentation, and architectural photography across selected Lacaton & Vassal works
- Authors: A. Lacaton and J-P Vassal
- Notable case studies include the Maison Latapie and a completed apartment and office tower in Geneva
- Published by Ruby Press, ISBN: 9783944074375
What You'll Discover
- How the winter garden functions as a climatic buffer — not merely a spatial gesture — and what measured thermal data reveals about its residential effectiveness
- The continuity of Lacaton & Vassal's approach across building typologies, from a single family home to a multi-storey tower
- The relationship between transparency, permeability, and occupant comfort in housing that is deliberately open to its environment
- A framework for understanding bioclimatic design not as a stylistic tendency but as a quantifiable, repeatable architectural strategy
About the Author
Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal are the French architectural duo behind one of the most coherent and quietly radical practices in contemporary European architecture. Over more than twenty years, their work has centred on housing that prioritises openness, climate responsiveness, and the integration of generous transitional spaces modelled on the winter garden.
Specifications
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 144
- Dimensions: 23.5 x 2 x 33.7 cm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9783944074375
- Publisher: Ruby Press
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Architects and researchers working in sustainable housing, bioclimatic design, and climate-responsive construction; students and academics with a specific interest in Lacaton & Vassal's practice or the role of transitional space in residential architecture.