One of France`s most famous architects is making his mark in Parisand other cities — even though he sometimes designs buildings that aremeant to disappear into the landscape. Earlier this year, Jean Nouvelwon the 2008 Pritzker Prize, architecture`s top honor.

Nouvel isnot very well known in the United States — he designed the GuthrieTheatre in Minneapolis and a small condo building in Manhattan.

Butin Paris, Nouvel is famous. And his most recent building — a museum ofprimitive civilizations — is very controversial. It`s on the SeineRiver near the Eiffel Tower, a spot that is sacred in many Frenchhearts. Nouvel made the museum low and set it back from the belovedwaterway. And the wall that faces the river will, he hopes, eventuallyget lost behind a garden.

"We need some years" for the landscape to improve, Nouvel said. "Youwill not really see the building after 10 years; with the trees aroundit, it will be a kind of secret building in Paris."

The approachis typical Jean Nouvel, not diverting attention from what Paris loves —its tower, its river — making a mark by fitting in.

Christine McEntee, head of the American Institute of Architects, says Nouvel does that with all his buildings.

"They`reall unique," McEntee said, "unique to where they fit and what theclient, community {or} city is looking for, what that particularbuilding is about."

Nouvel shows a high level of innovation and adaptability, says Ron Bogle, who runs the American Architectural Foundation.

"I think Nouvel would argue that he has no signature," Bogle said, "that he lets each building express itself in its context."

That quality is quite unusual for an architect — to avoid promoting, or even identifying, himself through his designs.

Inperson, Nouvel is an imposing figure. Approaching 63, the architect istall and hulkish. Yet his designs and his manner seem modest, despitethe Pritzker Prize, the brace of commissions from various emirates, andthe prospect of a 75-floor glass skyscraper next to New York`s Museumof Modern Art.

Asked what it means to an architect to be able tomake a mark on the skyline of Manhattan, Nouvel said, "You cannotimagine what this is for a little guy from the southwest of France, whowanted to become a painter and who became an architect by mistake. Thisis really something unimaginable for me."

Recently, Nouvel won acompetition for a big project in Las Vegas. It will be a 4,000-roomhotel, with a casino, a convention center, a theater and a mammothaquarium for sharks and whales. It`s a grandiose French plan for anaddition to the great American desert.