Book excerpt: Paul Andreu is well known for the more than 50 airports in Europe, Asia and Africa which he designed as head architect of the Aéroports de Paris, and for the Grande Arche de la Defense in Paris. The French Channel Tunnel terminal with the adjacent Cité Europe shopping centre is one of his recent European achievements. For several years Andreu has been increasingly active in the Far East, responsible not only for the airport of Shanghai and the Guangzhou Gymnasium, but also the Canton Sports Centre, the Osaka Maritime Museum and the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre. In 2004 the Beijing Opera house, a futuristic dome in Tianarmen Square, will be opened, one of Andreu`s most spectacular projects and crowning achievements. The internationally renowned author Philip Jodido describes and documents the most influential stages of Andreu ́s work.