Architecture’s most prestigious award, the Pritzker Prize, was awarded on Tuesday to French architects Jean-Philippe Vassal and Anne Lacaton for environmentally considerate work that prioritises people’s wellbeing.

First awarded in 1979, the Pritzker Prize carries a $100,000 award. Vassal, then 67, and Lacaton, 65, were recognised for transforming urban housing into sustainable spaces on modest budgets, France24 reported, as relayed by Gazeta Express and KultPlus.

“The modernists’ hopes and dreams of improving the lives of many are reinvigorated through their work, which responds to the climatic and ecological emergencies of our time, as well as social urgencies, particularly in urban housing,” the jury said.

“Vassal and Lacaton achieve this through a powerful sense of space and materials, creating architecture as strong in its form as in its convictions, as transparent in its aesthetics as in its ethics,” the jury’s statement continued.

The Paris-based architects, who received France’s national architecture prize in 2008, became known for Maison Latapie, built near Bordeaux in 1993. The house became an emblem of spacious, affordable accommodation.