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Agence France-Presse

The sharp lines and geometric, light-filled forms of Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei’s designs have created some of the landmarks of the world.
Pei, who was one of the most prolific architects of the 20th century, died on Thursday. He was 102. Here is a selection of his most famous works.
1. National Gallery of Art (1978)  – United States
A “study in triangles” is how Architecture Week magazine describes Pei’s East Building addition to the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

The concrete and glass structure features huge mirrored pyramids and a 15-metre (50-foot) waterfall.
The Washington Post wrote at its opening in 1978 that it was “an architectonic symphony of light and marble, colour and glass, painting and sculpture.”
“This building helped to shape attitudes to museum building throughout the United States in the 1970s and later,” architect Dennis Sharp wrote in Twentieth Century Architecture: a Visual History (2006).

2. Louvre pyramid (1989)  – France
Pei’s addition of a giant glass pyramid to the courtyard of the historic Louvre palace, today the world’s most visited museum, was highly controversial and hotly rejected by many in France.
Legendary Chinese-born US architect I.M. Pei dies at age 102
It has since become celebrated as “a symbol of the modernity of the museum and an emblem of Paris across the world,” Louvre president Jean-Luc Martinez said in 2017.
Opened to the public in 1989, the giant structure essentially provided a new entrance for the growing number of visitors.

Pei’s masterstroke was to link the three wings of the museum with vast underground galleries bathed in light streaming in through the glass and steel pyramid.
“Pei had imagined the hall under the pyramid as a space between the city and the collections, an interface between the outside and the works,” Martinez said.




3. Bank of China Tower (1989) – Hong Kong
This 367.4-metre (1,205-foot) skyscraper, which appears to be made up of triangles, is one of the tallest office buildings in Hong Kong and arguably one of the most striking on the skyline.
Its four shafts, clad in glass and aluminium, form a prism that reflects the sun and the movement of the sky.
Causeway Bay to lose an urban oasis as I.M. Pei’s Sunning Plaza faces wrecking ball
“The diagonal cuts that generate the prism create a sequence of atrium spaces that flood the tower with natural light,” says the website of Pei Cobb Freed and Partners, the firm from which Pei retired in 1990.
The 72-storey building, one of only two that Pei designed in Hong Kong – and the only one still standing – was met with some controversy after claims that its sharp, triangular design exerts bad feng shui on surrounding structures.

4. Miho Museum (1997) – Japan
Located on a mountainside in a nature preserve near the Japanese town of Shigaraki, near Kyoto, around 80 per cent of the Miho art museum is set underground to preserve its scenic setting.
Visitors are led down a walkway enveloped by cherry trees and pass through an arching tunnel and over a suspension bridge before arriving at the collection of Asian and Western antiques.
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Opened in 1997, the museum’s glass roof is made up of geometric combinations of triangles.
“I think you can see a very conscious attempt on my part to make the silhouette of the building comfortable in the natural landscape,” Pei is quoted as saying on the museum’s website.

5. Museum of Islamic Art (2008) – Qatar
“Traditional Islamic architecture meets the 21st century,” is the museum’s description of the building which incorporates geometric patterns and is lit by reflected light entering from above.
Pei told The New York Times in 2008 that he wanted the museum to embody the “essence of Islamic architecture” and spent months travelling the region for inspiration.
How an anonymous Chinese student sparked a century of cultural exchanges
“Islam was one religion I did not know,” he said. “So I studied the life of Muhammad. I went to Egypt and Tunisia.”
“The museum is an object,” he said. “It should be treated as a piece of sculpture.”


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Architecture and design

Famed architect I.M. Pei’s most memorable buildings, from Louvre pyramid to Bank of China Tower

The pyramid of the Louvre, designed by I.M. Pei. Photo: AFP

(FILES) This file photo taken on June 17, 2013 in Hong Kong shows the Bank of China tower (C-L), designed by architect I.M. Pei., and other high rise buildings. - I.M. Pei, the preeminent US architect who forged a distinct brand of modern building design with his sharp lines and stark structures, has died, The New York Times said on May 16, 2019. He was 102 years old. (Photo by Philippe LOPEZ / AFP)

ANHBEN Interior of Miho Museum in Japan designed by IM Pei

(FILES) In this file photo taken on April 8, 2007 a general view shows the new Islamic Museum of Art, designed by architect I.M. Pei., in Doha, Qatar. - I.M. Pei, the preeminent US architect who forged a distinct brand of modern building design with his sharp lines and stark structures, has died, The New York Times said on May 16, 2019. He was 102 years old. (Photo by Karim JAAFAR / AFP)

FWWJE9 Washington, D.C.  Entrance, East Wing, National Gallery of Art, architect I. M. Pei.

Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei in front of the Louvre glass pyramid, which he designed. He died on Thursday, aged 102. Photo: AP

Legendary Chinese-born US architect I.M. Pei dies at age 102

Architect I.M. Pei in the Napoleon courtyard of the Louvre museum in Paris in June 2006. Photo: AFP

(FILES) In this file photo taken on September 27, 1985 Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei poses with the architectural model of the Louvre Pyramid in Paris. - Legendary US-Chinese architect I.M. Pei has died at the age of 102, the NY Times reported on May 16, 2019. (Photo by Pascal GEORGE / POOL / AFP)

(FILES) In this file photo taken on March 29, 1989 French President François Mitterrand (R) shakes hands with Chinese American architect Ieoh Ming Pei, as Louvre Museum director Michel Laclotte looks on, during the public opening of the Louvre Pyramid on in Paris. - Legendary US-Chinese architect I.M. Pei has died at the age of 102, the NY Times reported on May 16, 2019. (Photo by - / POOL / AFP)

(FILES) In this file photo taken on July 30, 2012 the Bank of China tower (C), designed by architect I.M. Pei., and Cheung Kong center are seen in Hong Kong. - I.M. Pei, the preeminent US architect who forged a distinct brand of modern building design with his sharp lines and stark structures, has died, The New York Times said on May 16, 2019. He was 102 years old. (Photo by Philippe LOPEZ / AFP)

International House: how an anonymous Chinese student sparked a century of cultural exchanges

An 83-year-old Harry Edmonds, the founder of International House, in front of I-House Taipei on his 1966 world tour. Photo: courtesy of Alice Lewthwaite.

RIBA Gold Medal winner I.M Pei[05MAY2019 FEATURE POST MAGAZINE]CREDIT: Alamy

Handout image shows Harry Edmonds with his eldest daughter Dot and her husband Frank Darvall, taken in IH NYC. The lady in the painting is Harry’s first wife Florence. Edmonds , in 1924, opened International House New York, also known as I-House, a private, non-profit residence and program center for graduate students, scholars engaging in research, trainees and interns. The aim for establishing the House was to foster relationships between students from different countries. [POST MAGAZINE] CREDIT: Courtesy of Alice Lewthwaite

Alice Lewthwaite photographed in Cyberport. Lewthwaite is the great-granddaughter of Harry Edmonds who founded International House, a worldwide network of residences and program centers for graduate students. 25JAN19 [FEATURES] SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

Handout image shows the first group of Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program students in 1909. Future president of the Republic of China Zhou Ziqi is seated in the front center.[05MAY2019 FEATURE POST MAGAZINE]

I-House golden Jubiliee celebration booklet, dated September 11, 1974, showing photographs from the 1960s (L) and the 1970's. Harry Edmonds , in 1924, opened International House New York, also known as I-House, a private, non-profit residence and program center for graduate students, scholars engaging in research, trainees and interns. The aim for establishing the House was to foster relationships between students from different countries. [POST MAGAZINE] CREDIT: Courtesy of Alice Lewthwaite

John Davison Rockefeller Jr..[05MAY2019 FEATURE POST MAGAZINE]CREDIT: Alamy

A guqin player: the fine-fingered flutterings of an ancient civilization at the International House Gala, Shanghai, China, March 29, 2019.[05MAY2019 FEATURE POST MAGAZINE]

Black and white photograph of the eastern facade of the 1895 Low Memorial Library Building, a neoclassical structure designed by architect Charles Follen McKim, located at Columbia University in New York City, 1903. Courtesy Internet Archive. [05MAY2019 FEATURE POST MAGAZINE]CREDIT: Alamy

I-House golden Jubiliee celebration booklet, dated September 11, 1974, showing photographs from the 1920s (L) and the 1930's. Harry Edmonds , in 1924, opened International House New York, also known as I-House, a private, non-profit residence and program center for graduate students, scholars engaging in research, trainees and interns. The aim for establishing the House was to foster relationships between students from different countries. [POST MAGAZINE] CREDIT: Courtesy of Alice Lewthwaite

Lifestyle

Arts

Legendary Chinese-American architect has designed some of the most iconic buildings in the world, from East to West
Ieoh Ming Pei, who was born in Guangzhou, China, died on Thursday aged 102


The sharp lines and geometric, light-filled forms of Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei’s designs have created some of the landmarks of the world. Pei died on Thursday aged 102.


Famed architect I.M. Pei’s most memorable buildings, from Louvre pyramid to Bank of China Tower

Legendary Chinese-American architect has designed some of the most iconic buildings in the world, from East to West Ieoh Ming Pei, who was born in Guangzhou, China, died on Thursday aged 102

Legendary Chinese-American architect has designed some of the most iconic buildings in the world, from East to West

Ieoh Ming Pei, who was born in Guangzhou, China, died on Thursday aged 102