Jean Nouvel Confirmed as Winner of the National Art Museum of China Competition

Jean Nouvel has won the prestigious competition to design the National Art Museum of China in Beijing.

Nouvel's advisor Olivier Schmitt confirmed the selection in a comment on a related Dezeen article, saying: "By a notification sent on July 25th 2012 and signed by the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC), Jean Nouvel (Ateliers Jean Nouvel) and Beijing Institute of Architecture Design (BIAD) have been declared winners by the jury of the international competition for the construciton of the NAMOC in Beijing."

Rumors started surfacing last summer that the selection of Nouvel's design was—unofficially—already a done deal.

The completed museum building will find itself in close proximity to the Herzog & de Meuron-designed Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing's Olympic Park and house 20th-century art and calligraphy from China and abroad.

Also on the shortlist for the final competition round were submissions by Frank Gehry (previously on Bustler) and Zaha Hadid.