Jean Nouvel

Jean Nouvel (Fumel, France, 1945) is widely acclaimed as one of the most important architects of our time: he authored some major contemporary architecture masterpieces such as the Arab World Institute (Paris, 1987), the Fondation Cartier (Paris, 1993), the Opéra de Lyon (Lyon, 1993), the culture and convention centre Musikhalle (Lucerne, 1992) and the Galeries Lafayette (Berlin, 1995); recent projects include the expansion of the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid and the Torre Agbar in Barcelona. In Nouvel’s architectural vision, diversity as a value is strongly felt, and this results in a great deal of attention being placed on the conditions of the project context, whether physical (the place) or cultural. His architecture is affected by the changes happening in today’s world and therefore expresses itself in different ways, though a variety of languages and shapes that stem from a very personal interpretation of a project’s contextual features. Nouvel’s work is suspended between two opposites: the pursue of de-materialised aesthetics in architecture – exemplified by the Tour Sans Fins (Paris, 1989) – and the attempt to reaffirm the heavy mass of Earth, with monolithic volumes shaping an artificial landscape where urban spaces and functions are interiorised – such as the Icelandic National Concert, Conference Hall and Hotel (Reykjavík, 2005).