I.M. Pei, in full Ieoh Ming Pei, (1917-2019), Chinese-born American architect noted for his large, elegantly designed urban buildings and complexes.
Pei went to the United States in 1935, enrolling initially at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and then transferring to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, as a student of architectural engineering. He graduated in 1939 and, unable to return to China because of the outbreak of World War II, carried out various architectural contracts in Boston, New York City, and Los Angeles. During World War II he worked with a unit of the National Defense Research Committee. From 1945 to 1948 he was an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Design of Harvard University, where he received a master’s degree in 1946. He became a U.S. citizen in 1954.
In 1948 Pei joined the firm of Webb & Knapp, New York City, as director of the architectural division. Working closely with the real estate developer William Zeckendorf, head of the firm, Pei created such urban projects as the Mile High Center (1955) in Denver, Colorado, the Hyde Park Redevelopment (1959) in Chicago, and the Place Ville-Marie (1965) in Montreal.
Pei formed his own architectural firm, I.M. Pei & Associates in 1955. Among the notable early designs of the firm were the Luce Memorial Chapel, Taiwan; the Mesa Laboratory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, which, located near mountains, mimics the broken silhouettes of the surrounding peaks; and the Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York, actually four buildings joined by bridges. For the Federal Aviation Agency, Pei designed a type of pentagonal control tower that was installed in many American airports.
On the basis of a 1960 design competition, Pei was selected to design the multi-airline terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City. In 1964 he was also chosen to design the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library at Harvard University. Pei’s innovative East Building (1978) of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., is an elegant triangular composition that was hailed as one of his finest achievements. In addition to designing public buildings, Pei was active in urban renewal planning. He was chosen to design the New York City Convention Center, the Gateway office complex in Singapore, and the Dallas Symphony Hall.
In general, Pei’s designs represent an extension of and elaboration on the rectangular forms and irregular silhouettes of the prevailing International Style. He was noted, however, for his bold and skillful arrangements of groups of geometric shapes and for his dramatic use of richly contrasted materials, spaces, and surfaces. Although Pei retired from his firm in 1990, he continued to design buildings, such as the offshore Museum of Islamic Art (2008) in Doha, Qatar, which extended his signature style to embrace elements characteristic of Islamic architecture in various eras.
His numerous honors included the Pritzker Architecture Prize (1983), the Japan Art Association’s Praemium Imperiale prize for architecture (1989), the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1993), a lifetime achievement award from the Cooper-Hewitt Museum (2003), and the Royal Gold Medal (2010) awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects. He also was made an officer of the Legion of Honour in 1993.
© 2020. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by I.M. Pei or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only
Pei went to the United States in 1935, enrolling initially at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and then transferring to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, as a student of architectural engineering. He graduated in 1939 and, unable to return to China because of the outbreak of World War II, carried out various architectural contracts in Boston, New York City, and Los Angeles. During World War II he worked with a unit of the National Defense Research Committee. From 1945 to 1948 he was an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Design of Harvard University, where he received a master’s degree in 1946. He became a U.S. citizen in 1954.
In 1948 Pei joined the firm of Webb & Knapp, New York City, as director of the architectural division. Working closely with the real estate developer William Zeckendorf, head of the firm, Pei created such urban projects as the Mile High Center (1955) in Denver, Colorado, the Hyde Park Redevelopment (1959) in Chicago, and the Place Ville-Marie (1965) in Montreal.
Pei formed his own architectural firm, I.M. Pei & Associates in 1955. Among the notable early designs of the firm were the Luce Memorial Chapel, Taiwan; the Mesa Laboratory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, which, located near mountains, mimics the broken silhouettes of the surrounding peaks; and the Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York, actually four buildings joined by bridges. For the Federal Aviation Agency, Pei designed a type of pentagonal control tower that was installed in many American airports.
On the basis of a 1960 design competition, Pei was selected to design the multi-airline terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City. In 1964 he was also chosen to design the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library at Harvard University. Pei’s innovative East Building (1978) of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., is an elegant triangular composition that was hailed as one of his finest achievements. In addition to designing public buildings, Pei was active in urban renewal planning. He was chosen to design the New York City Convention Center, the Gateway office complex in Singapore, and the Dallas Symphony Hall.
In general, Pei’s designs represent an extension of and elaboration on the rectangular forms and irregular silhouettes of the prevailing International Style. He was noted, however, for his bold and skillful arrangements of groups of geometric shapes and for his dramatic use of richly contrasted materials, spaces, and surfaces. Although Pei retired from his firm in 1990, he continued to design buildings, such as the offshore Museum of Islamic Art (2008) in Doha, Qatar, which extended his signature style to embrace elements characteristic of Islamic architecture in various eras.
His numerous honors included the Pritzker Architecture Prize (1983), the Japan Art Association’s Praemium Imperiale prize for architecture (1989), the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1993), a lifetime achievement award from the Cooper-Hewitt Museum (2003), and the Royal Gold Medal (2010) awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects. He also was made an officer of the Legion of Honour in 1993.
© 2020. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by I.M. Pei or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only
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| Mr. I.M. Pei |
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| 1949, corporate building for Gulf Oil 131 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta |
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| 1961, the Mesa Laboratory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research |
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| 1963, Luce Memorial Chapel, Taichung, Taiwan |
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| 1964, Society Hill Towers. Philadelphia |
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| 1965, Place Ville-Marie, Montréal |
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| 1968, Everson Museum, Syracuse, NY |
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| 1969-72, Providence's Cathedral Square, Providence RI |
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| 1973, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University |
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| 1976, John Hancock Tower, Boston |
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| 1976, The Landau Building, MIT, Boston |
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| 1978, Dallas City Hall, Dallas TX |
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| 1978, Dallas City Hall, Dallas TX |
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| 1978, National Gallery of Art East Building, Washington DC |
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| 1978, National Gallery of Art East Building, Washington DC |
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| 1978, National Gallery of Art East Building, Washington DC |
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| 1979, John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, Boston |
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| 1979, John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, Boston |
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| 1985, Wiesner Building, MIT, Boston |
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| 1986, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, NYC |
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| 1987, Miami Tower |
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| 1988, Louvre pyramid |
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| 1988, Louvre pyramid |
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| 1989, Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas TX |
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| 1990, Bank of China Building, Hong Kong |
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| 1990, Bank of China Building, Hong Kong |
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| 1990, The Gateway, Singapore |
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| 1995, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland |
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| 1997, Miho Museum, Kyoto, Japan |
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| 1997, Miho Museum, Kyoto, Japan |
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| 2006, Macao Science Center, Macau |
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| 2006, Suzhou Museum, Suzhou, China |
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| 2008, Chinese Embassy, Washington, D.C. |
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| 2008, The Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar |
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| 2008, The Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar |
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