Born in Fumel (France) 1945. After he enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux, Jean Nouvel entered the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1966 and obtained his degree in 1971. Assistant to the architect Claude Parent and inspired by urban planner and essayist Paul Virilio, he started his first architecture practice in 1970. He became a founding member of the “Mars 1976” Movement whose purpose was to oppose the architects’corporatism and then a founder of French Architecture Union. His strong stances on contemporary architecture in the urban context together with his unfailing ability to inject originality into all the projects he undertakes have formed his international image. Jean Nouvel’s approach does not result from considerations of style or ideology, but from a quest to create a unique concept for a singular combination of people, place and time. His most notable projects include the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain (Paris), the Galeries Lafayette (Berlin), the Quai Branly Museum (Paris), the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the National Museum of Qatar (Doha), the 53W53 tower (New York), the Museum of Art Pudong (Shanghai) and the Duo towers (Paris).