Jean Nouvel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jean Nouvel
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Nouvel in 2009
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| Born | 12 August 1945 Fumel, Lot-et-Garonne, France
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| Alma mater | École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Awards | Aga Khan Award for Architecture (Arab World Institute), Pritzker Prize, Wolf Prize in Arts, Praemium Imperiale |
| Practice | Ateliers Jean Nouvel |
| Buildings | Arab World Institute, Paris, Culture and Congress Centre, Lucerne, Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, Torre Agbar, Barcelona, Musée du quai Branly, Paris, Fondation Cartier, Paris, Philharmonie, Paris Louvre, Abu Dhabi |
Jean Nouvel (born 12 August 1945) is a famous French architect. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, a well-known art school. He also helped start important groups for architects, like France's first union for them.
Nouvel has won many top awards for his designs. These include the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for the Institut du Monde Arabe, the Wolf Prize in Arts in 2005, and the Pritzker Prize in 2008. Many museums have shown his amazing work.
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Jean Nouvel's Early Life and Education
Nouvel was born on 12 August 1945, in Fumel, France. His parents, Renée and Roger Nouvel, were both teachers. Because his father became a school superintendent, his family moved often.
His parents wanted him to study math or languages. But when he was 16, a drawing teacher sparked his interest in art. They agreed he could study architecture, which they thought was a safer career than just art.
Nouvel didn't pass his first entrance exam for the École des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux. So, he moved to Paris. There, he won a national contest to get into the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts. From 1967 to 1970, he worked as an assistant to architects Claude Parent and Paul Virilio. After just one year, he became a project manager for a large apartment complex.
Jean Nouvel's Family Life
Nouvel has two sons, Bertrand and Pierre, with filmmaker Odile Fillion. Bertrand is a computer scientist, and Pierre is a theater producer. With his second wife, Catherine Richard, he has a daughter named Sarah. His third wife, Lida Guan, is a Chinese architect who worked with him. He now lives with Mia Hägg, a Swedish architect.
Jean Nouvel's Architectural Career
By age 25, Nouvel finished school and started his own company with François Seigneur. Early in his career, he became important in discussions about architecture in France. In 1976, he helped start the Mars 1976 movement. This group pushed back against big corporations in architecture. A year later, he helped create the Syndicat de l'Architecture.
For 15 years, he designed exhibits for the Biennale de Paris. This helped him meet many people in the arts and theater. Nouvel also helped organize a contest to redesign the Les Halles area in Paris in 1977. In 1980, he started the first architecture biennale in Paris.
Famous Buildings and Partnerships
In 1981, Nouvel and Architecture-Studio won a contest to design the Institut du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute) in Paris. This building was finished in 1987 and made Nouvel famous worldwide. Its south wall has special mechanical lenses. These lenses look like Arabic latticework. They open and close automatically to control light inside, reacting to outside light levels.
Nouvel worked with different partners between 1972 and 1984. In 1985, he started Jean Nouvel et Associés with Emmanuel Blamont, Jean-Marc Ibos, and Mirto Vitart. Then, in 1988, he formed JNEC with Emmanuel Gattani. In 1994, he founded Ateliers Jean Nouvel, his current company, with Michel Pélissié.
Today, Ateliers Jean Nouvel is one of the biggest architecture firms in France. Its main office in Paris has 140 employees. They also have offices in Rome, Geneva, Madrid, and Barcelona. The company is working on 30 projects in 13 different countries.
Nouvel has also designed products and furniture. These include cutlery for Georg Jensen in 2005. He also designed a bottle for a special Yves Saint Laurent perfume in 2008. In 2012, he created the So So collection for the American furniture company Emeco.
Jean Nouvel's Pritzker Prize
In 2008, Nouvel won the Pritzker Prize. This is the highest award in architecture. He won it for his work on over 200 projects. Some of his famous buildings include:
- The "exotically louvered" Arab World Institute in Paris.
- The "bullet-shaped and candy-colored" Torre Agbar in Barcelona.
- The "muscular" Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis with its bridge.
- The "defiant, mysterious, and wildly eccentric" Musée du quai Branly (2006) in Paris.
- The Philharmonie de Paris (around 2012), described as a "trip into the unknown."
The Pritzker jury also mentioned other important works. These include the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art (1994) and the Culture and Convention Center in Lucerne (2000). Also, the Opéra Nouvel in Lyon (1993) and Expo 2002 in Switzerland.
The Pritzker Prize jury said that Jean Nouvel is known for bravely trying new ideas. They noted his "persistence, imagination, exuberance, and, above all, an insatiable urge for creative experimentation."
Jean Nouvel's Architectural Style
The Pritzker website says that Nouvel has created his own unique style. He started his career in the 1970s. Since then, he has moved beyond older styles like modernism. He believes it is very important for a building to fit well with its surroundings.
Nouvel once said, "Modernity is alive." He means that being modern is not just about old art movements. It's about using our past knowledge and moving forward as fast as we can.
He also believes that architecture should not be a closed field. It should get ideas from other areas of culture. He is inspired by cinema and modern philosophy. His buildings often blend boundaries and play with light and atmosphere. Examples include the Arab World Institute with its winking mechanical screens. Also, the tree-filled Fondation Cartier and the light filtering through the dome of the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Nouvel's work is very diverse. He doesn't stick to one formal style. He says, "I’m more like a movie-maker who makes movies on completely different subjects." He is proud that his buildings don't all look the same.
Notable Projects by Jean Nouvel
Jean Nouvel has designed many famous buildings around the world. The Hyatt Foundation, which gives out the Pritzker Prize, has a full list of his work. This list includes projects that were never built, those still being built, and designs that haven't started construction yet. In 2001, a documentary film called Jean Nouvel was made about five of his projects.
Completed Works
- 1987 – Nemausus 1 (Housing), Nîmes, France
- 1987 – Arab World Institute (with Architecture-Studio), Paris, France
- 1994 – Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain, Paris, France
- 1995 – Euralille (Retail / Office / Housing), Lille, France
- 2000 – Culture and Convention Center, Lucerne, Switzerland
- 2000 – Palais de Justice, Nantes, France
- 2001 – Golden Angel (Zlatý Anděl), Prague, Czech Republic
- 2002 – Monolith of Expo.02, Murten, Switzerland
- 2004 – Torre Agbar (Office), Barcelona, Spain
- 2004 – Museum Two, Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea
- 2005 – Reina Sofía Museum expansion, Madrid, Spain
- 2006 – Musée du quai Branly, Paris, France
- 2006 – Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- 2009 – Copenhagen Concert Hall, Copenhagen, Denmark
- 2010 – 100 Eleventh Avenue, Manhattan, NY, USA
- 2010 – Serpentine Gallery temporary pavilion, London
- 2010 – One New Change, London
- 2011 – Tower 25 in Nicosia, Cyprus
- 2012 – Doha Tower skyscraper, Doha, Qatar
- 2012 – City Hall, Montpellier, France
- 2015 – Philharmonie de Paris, Paris, France
- 2015 – Tour Bleue, Charleroi, Belgium
- 2016 – Le Nouvel Residences, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- 2017 – Louvre Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- 2018 – La Marseillaise, Marseille, France
- 2019 – National Museum of Qatar, Doha, Qatar
- 2020 – Stelios Ioannou Learning Resource Center for the University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
- 2022 – Cidade Matarazzo Rosewood Hotel, São Paulo, Brazil
Projects Under Construction
- The Sharaan resort in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be carved into a sandstone hill in the AlUla desert.
- The Central Park plan in Sydney will add 11 new buildings. Nouvel's 120-meter One Central Park is his first project in Australia. It will have a mirror hanging over the central square.
- In 2006, Hines asked Nouvel to build a new 82-story tower. It was first called Tour de Verre, then 53W53. It is next to the Museum of Modern Art in Midtown Manhattan. This very tall tower has luxury apartments. Three floors are used by MoMA to expand its exhibition space. At 1,050 feet tall, it is one of New York City's tallest buildings.
Proposed Projects
- Nouvel is one of the architects designing the new Slussen in Stockholm, Sweden.
- In 2008, Nouvel agreed to design a 45-story luxury condo tower in Los Angeles. This modern tower is designed to offer great views.
Projects Not Built
- 1989 – The Tour Sans Fins (Endless Tower) at La Défense, France, was never built. This design was meant to be Europe's tallest building. It was planned to change from granite to glass, looking like it disappeared into the sky.
- 2003 – The Carnegie Science Center addition by Nouvel in Pittsburgh was not built. His design was too expensive, and his contract was ended.
- 2008 – Nouvel's design won the contest for the upcoming Tour Signal in La Défense. However, this project was also abandoned.
Awards and Honors for Jean Nouvel
Nouvel and his buildings have received many awards. Some of the most important ones are listed below.
Individual Awards
- Honorary degrees from the University of Buenos Aires (1983), the Royal College of Art, London (2002), and the University of Naples (2002).
- Honorary member of the American Institute of Architects (1993) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (1995).
- In 1997, Nouvel was named Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He first joined this order in 1983. He is also Chevalier de la légion d'honneur.
- 2005 – Wolf Prize in Arts
- 2008 – Pritzker Prize
Awards for Projects
- 1989 Aga Khan Award for Architecture for the Institut du Monde Arabe. In 1987, this building also won the Équerre d'Argent, given to the best building in France each year.
- 2010 Wallpaper* Magazine Design Award, Best new public house category for Copenhagen Concert Hall.
Exhibitions of His Work
- 2001 – Centre Pompidou, Paris
- 2005 – Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
See also
In Spanish: Jean Nouvel para niños
