Perrault (born April 9th 1953 in Clermont-Ferrand, France) studied architecture at the Unité Péd­a­gogique 6 de l'École Na­tionale Supérieure des Beaux Arts Paris, and then urban planning at the Ecole supérieure des Ponts et Chaussée, also in Paris (1979) and history at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (1980).

1981 he founded his first practice in Paris - DPA Dominique Perrault Architecture. He subsequently opened offices in Berlin, Luxemburg, Barcelona and Baltimore.