I. M. Pei

Ieoh Ming Pei (; b. April 26, 1917), commonly known as his initial I. M. Pei, is a Pritzker Prize winning architect, known as the last master of high modernist architecture. He works with the abstract form, using stone, concrete, glass, and steel. Pei is one of the most successful architects of the 20th century.

Early life and education

Pei was born in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China on April 26, 1917 to a prominent banker.

His first education was in Shanghai and then at St. Paul's College, Hong Kong before moving to the United States to study architecture at the age of 18. He started at the University of Pennsylvania before going on to receive his Bachelor of Architecture degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1940. That same year, he was awarded the Alpha Rho Chi Medal, the MIT Travelling Fellowship, and the AIA Gold Medal. He enrolled at the Harvard Graduate School of Design two years later; shortly thereafter, he served at the National Defense Research Committee in Princeton, New Jersey.

In 1944 he returned to Harvard, received his master degree in Architecture in 1946 and stayed at Harvard as an assistant professor. He received the Wheelwright Traveling Fellowship in 1951 and became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1954.Official biography from Pei Cobb Freed & Partners website

Career

Pei operated his own architectural firm, founded in 1955, which was known as I. M. Pei & Partners until 1989 when it became known as Pei Cobb Freed & Partners recognizing James Ingo Freed and Henry N. Cobb.

Personal life

Pei has three sons: T'ing Chung Pei, Chien Chung (Didi) Pei, Li Chung (Sandi) Pei, and a daughter: Liane Pei. Chien Chung and Li Chung both have followed their father to the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Chien Chung Pei helped his father design the Louvre addition from 1989 to 1993. Li Chung Pei helped his father design the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong in 1989. Both became architects practicing under their own firm, Pei Partnerships. Pei has helped out at the firm since his retirement from his own firm in 1990.Conversation with I.M. Pei about JFK Museum, Boston - with Robert Campbell, critic, Boston Globe (audio/video stream)

Project list

1954–1959 — Mile High Center, in Denver, Colorado, USA
1961–1967 — National Center for Atmospheric Research, in Boulder, Colorado, USA
1961 — Kips Bay Plaza, in New York, New York, USA ^*
1961 — Government Center Master Plan, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
1962 — Place Ville-Marie, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
1962 — Kennedy Theatre, University of Hawaii, USA, Official web page
1962 — Hale Manoa Dormitory, East West Center, University of Hawaii, USA
1963 — Luce Memorial Chapel, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan
1963 — Society Hill Towers – Philadelphia, PA, Unofficial website
1964 — Green Building, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1964 — S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University — Syracuse, New York
1966–1968 — Sculpture Wing of the Des Moines Art Center in Des Moines, Iowa
- Official page of Pei's Sculpture Wing
1966 — Silver Towers at New York University
1967 — Hoffman Hall at University of Southern California
1968–1972 — 50 FAA air traffic control towers, in various locations throughout the United States.
1968–1974 — Christian Science Center, in Boston, Massachusetts
1968 — Everson Museum of Art, in Syracuse, New York
1969 — Cleo Rogers Memorial Library, in Columbus, Indiana
1969 — Academic Center, State University of New York at Fredonia, Fredonia, New York
1970 — National Airlines terminal at JFK Airport in New York, New York
1971 — Harbor Towers
1972 — Governor's Residence Halls at SUNY Buffalo
1972 — Dallas, Texas City Hall
1972 — Paul Mellon Arts Center at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut
1972 — Pei Residence Halls at New College of Florida
1973 — Commerce Court West in Toronto, Ontario
1973 — Spelman Halls at Princeton University
1973 — Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York
1974–1978 — East Building, National Gallery of Art, in Washington, DCPei's audio tour of the East Building addition to the National Gallery of Art
- Official East Building project webpage
1975 — OCBC Centre in Singapore.
1975 — The Lamar Building Penthouse in Augusta, Georgia
1976 — John Hancock Tower, in Boston, Massachusetts — Pei gives Henry Cobb the credit for this building
1976 — University of Rochester's Wilson Commons
1978–1982 — Indiana University Art Museum in Bloomington, Indiana
1979 — John F. Kennedy Library, in Boston, MassachusettsConversation with I.M. Pei about JFK Museum, Boston - with Robert Campbell, critic, Boston Globe (audio/video stream)
1979 — Baltimore World Trade Center, in Baltimore, Maryland
1979–1986 — Javits Convention Center in New York, New York
1980–1985 — Raffles City in Singapore.
1981 — the Texas Commerce Tower in Houston, Texas, currently the JPMorgan Chase Tower; (3D/International cooperated with Pei on the design of this building)
1982 — 16th Street Mall in Denver, Colorado.
1982–1990 — Bank of China Tower, in Hong Kong
- Bank of China Tower project website
1982 — Apartment for Steve Jobs
1983 — Energy Plaza, Dallas, Texas
1985 — Wiesner building, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts
1986 — Fountain Place, Dallas, Texas
1987 — CenTrust Tower, Miami, Florida
1989 — Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Texas
1989 — Carl Icahn Center for Science at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut
1989 — Headquarters for Creative Artists Agency, Los Angeles, California
1989 — Pyramids of the Louvre, in Paris, France
- Pyramide du Louvre website. (See also: La Pyramide Inversée.)
1991 — Miho Museum, Shiga, Japan
- Official museum website
- Official information on the architecture
1992 — The Kirklin Clinic of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System, Birmingham, Alabama
1995 — Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in Cleveland, Ohio
1999–2006 — Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, in Luxembourg, Luxembourg
- Official museum website
2001 — Friend Center for Engineering, at Princeton University.
2002 — Tour EDF, La Défense, France
2003 — extension building to the Deutsches Historisches Museum (German history museum), in Berlin, Germany.
2005 — Ferguson Center for the Performing Arts at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia.
2006 — Martha Stewart Center for Living at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, New York (currently under construction).

Selected works

Image:National Center for Atmospheric Research - Boulder, Colorado.JPG|1961 — National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado Image:THU Luce Memorial Chapel.jpg|1963 — Luce Memorial Chapel, Tunghai University, Taiwan Image:Green Building, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts.JPG|1964 — Green Building, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Image:Paul Mellon Arts Center - Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, Connecticut.JPG|1972 — Paul Mellon Arts Center, Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, Connecticut Image:national_gallery_of_art_usa.jpg|1974 — The East Building of the National Gallery of Art Image:Indiana University Art Museum.jpg|1978 — Indiana University Art Museum at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana Image:Bank of china night.jpg|1989 — Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong Image:DSCN4568 clevelandrockandrollhallofame e.jpg|1995 — The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, showing Lake Erie in the background

Reference

Gero von Boehm, Conversations with I.M. Pei: "Light is the Key" ISBN 3791321765
Michael Cannell, I.M. Pei : Mandarin of Modernism ISBN 0517799723 #(Excerpt)
Carter Wiseman, I. M. Pei: A Profile in American Architecture ISBN 0810934779

Wikipedia entry — Steve Jobs

External links

Pei Cobb Freed & Partners website

Biography (World of Biography)