After enrolling at the École des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux, Jean Nouvel ranked first in the 1966 entrance exam to the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he graduated in 1971. As an assistant to architect Claude Parent and inspired by landscape architect and essayist Paul Virilio, he began his first professional training in 1970. Soon after, he became a founding member of the “Mars 1976” movement, which aimed to oppose the corporatism of the architectural world; he later went on to found the French Architecture Union. His image and international reputation took shape through his strong positions and provocative opinions on contemporary architecture within the urban context, combined with his unfailing ability to infuse originality into all his projects. Jean Nouvel’s work does not stem from stylistic or ideological considerations, but from the pursuit of creating a unique concept for each specific combination of people, place, and time. His work has received worldwide recognition, earning numerous prestigious French and international awards. In 1989, the Arab World Institute in Paris was awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for its role as a “successful bridge between Arab and French cultures.” In 2000, Jean Nouvel received the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale. In 2001, he received three major international awards: the Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the Praemium Imperiale, and the Borromini Prize for the Culture and Conference Center in Lucerne. In 2002, he was named Honorary Doctor of the Royal College of Art. Three years later, he received the annual prize of the Wolf Foundation in Israel “for providing a new model of contextualization and redefining the dialectic between the key characteristics of contemporary architecture: permanence and ephemerality.” The Torre Agbar in Barcelona was awarded the International Highrise Award in 2006 for its significant contribution to the contemporary debate on skyscrapers. In 2008, Jean Nouvel received the prestigious Pritzker Prize. In France, he has received several honors, including the Gold Medal from the French Academy of Architecture, two “Équerre d’Argent” awards, and the National Grand Prize for Architecture. Currently, Jean Nouvel is developing several cultural projects in China. In November 2017, he completed the Louvre Abu Dhabi, a landmark museum in the Gulf region, which has received widespread international acclaim and attracted large numbers of visitors since its opening.