Jean Nouvel, winner of the 2008 Pritzker Prize, is widely regarded as
France's most original and important contemporary architect. From 1967
to 1970 he assisted influential architects Claude Parent and Paul
Virilio, before creating his own practice in Paris. His first widely
acclaimed project was the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris (1981–87).
Since then he has completed the Lyon Opera House, the Euralille
Shopping Center, Lille, and the Fondation Cartier, Paris. His major
completed projects since 2000 include the Culture and Convention Center
in Lucerne, Switzerland, the spectacular Agbar Tower in Barcelona, the
extension of the Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid, the Quai Branly Museum in
Paris, and the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Nouvel won
the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Gold Medal in 2001 and
the Pritzker Prize in 2008.
