Dominique Perrault, born at Clermond Ferrand in 1953, graduated in Architecture from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1978. In 1981 he opened his first design practice in Paris, followed by offices in Berlin (1992), Luxembourg (1999), Barcelona and Baltimore (2001). A member of the Académie d'Architecture, Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, president of the Istitut Français d'Architecture from 1998 to 2001, honorary member of the bda (the Association of German Architects) and the Royal Institute of British Architects, Perrault has lectured in various universities, including the etsab in Barcelona and the eth in Zurich. He has taken part in numerous competitions in France and abroad. His major completed projects include: the Bibliothéque Nationale de France (1989-95), a cycling stadium (1992-97) and swimming pool (1992-99) for the Olympic Games in Berlin and the Central Mediathèque in Vénissieux (1997-2001). Currently Dominique Perrault is completing the extension to City Hall at Innsbruck and is working on projects for the extension of the Courts of Justice of the European Union, in Luxembourg, the Montigalà stadium at Badalona, Barcelona, the new Olympic tennis complex in Madrid; the planning of the central area of Donau-City in Vienna, and much else. Among the awards he has received for his work are the Grand Prix National d'Architecture (1993), the Mies van der Rohe Foundation Prize and the European Parliament Award (1997) for the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.