Lori-Ann Bellissimo

The architect Jean Nouvel (born August 12, 1945) is a French architect I first experienced in Lucerne in 2000 at the Culture and Convention Center (KKL, 2000). The flat roof intrigued me. L'Institut du monde arabe (Arab World Institute) building in Paris, whose construction was completed in 1987 and brought Nouvel international fame has also been an endearing experience for me. Mechanical lenses reminiscent of Arabic latticework and mosaics in its south wall open and shut automatically, controlling interior lighting as the lenses' photoelectric cells respond to exterior light levels. Pop culture note in relation to Galileo's Assistant: Brad Pitt (an architecture aficionado) and Angelina Jolie named their first-born child Shiloh Nouvel in homage to Jean Nouvel's work.