Jean Nouvel has obtained a number of prestigious distinctions over the course of his career, including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, the Wolf Prize in Arts in 2005 and the Pritzker Prize in 2008.
12 Facts About Jean Nouvel
2.
Jean Nouvel was born on 12 August 1945 in Fumel, France.
3.
Jean Nouvel is the son of Renee and Roger Nouvel, who were teachers.
4.
Jean Nouvel's parents encouraged Nouvel to study mathematics and language but when he was 16 years old he was captivated by art when a teacher taught him drawing.
5.
When Jean Nouvel failed an entrance examination at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts of Bordeaux, he moved to Paris, where he won first prize in a national competition to attend the Ecole nationale superieure des Beaux-Arts.
6.
Jean Nouvel's third wife, Lida Guan, is a Chinese architect who worked with Nouvel.
7.
Jean Nouvel is currently living with Mia Hagg, a Swedish architect whose practice, Habiter Autrement, is based in Paris.
8.
Early in his career, Jean Nouvel became a key participant in intellectual debates about architecture in France: in 1976, he co-founded the Mars 1976 movement, a backlash against corporatism in architecture, and, a year later, the Syndicat de l'Architecture.
9.
Jean Nouvel was one of the organizers of the competition for the rejuvenation of the Les Halles district and, in 1980, founded the first Paris architecture biennale.
10.
Jean Nouvel is working on 30 active projects in 13 countries.
11.
Jean Nouvel has designed products and furniture including cutlery for Georg Jensen in 2005, a flacon for a limited edition Yves Saint Laurent fragrance, and in 2012, the So So collection for American furniture manufacturer Emeco.
12.
Jean Nouvel has designed a number of notable buildings across the world, the most significant of which are listed below.