Perrault (born April 9th 1953 in Clermont-Ferrand, France) studied architecture at the Unite Ped­a­gogique 6 de l'Ecole Na­tionale Superieure des Beaux Arts Paris, and then urban planning at the Ecole superieure des Ponts et Chaussee, also in Paris (1979) and history at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes 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.