IOEH MING PEI

• Ieoh Ming Pei (born April 26, 1917), commonly known as I. M. Pei, is a Chinese American architect, often called a master of modern architecture

• Born in Canton, China and raised in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Pei drew inspiration at an early age from the gardens at Suzhou

• In 1935 he moved to the United States and enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania's architecture school, but quickly transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• He was unhappy with the focus at both schools on Beaux-Arts architecture, and spent his free time researching the emerging architects, especially Le CorbusierSUZHOU GARDENS

WIESNER BUILDING, MIT (designed by Pei)

• After graduating, he joined the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) and became friends with the Bahaus architects Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer

• Pei spent ten years working with New York real estate magnate William Zeckendorf before establishing his own independent design firm that eventually became Pei Cobb Freed & Partners

• His first major recognition came with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado

• His new stature led to his selection as chief architect for the John F. Kennedy Library in Massachusetts

• He went on to design Dallas City Hall and the East Building of the National Gallery of Art

• He returned to China for the first time in 1974 to design a hotel at Fragrant Hills, and designed a skyscraper in Hong Kong for the Bank of China fifteen years later

DALLAS CITY HALL

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, EAST WING

MESA LABORATORY - NATIONAL CENTRE FOR ATOMIC RESEARCH

• In 1960 the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) designated the Table Mesa below the Flatirons sandstone cliffs as the NCAR’s laboratory site

• Utilizing the deans of architecture at the UCAR constituent universities as an expert committee, they eventually selected I. M. Pei as the project's architect

• Until this time, Pei had been known for large-scale urban projects and his innovative use of concrete in building but lacked a reputation in rural projects or laboratory constructions

• Pei based his design on the Anasazi cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde

ANASAZI CLIFF DWELLINGS, MESA VERDE

• He also laid out the building in a maze-like fashion to encourage greater interaction among the scientists

• In January 1963 the NSF approved Pei's design, modifying it by removing the south tower and conference center to meet the budget constraints. Construction began in April 1964 and completed by 1966. It is greatly appreciated in scientific and architectural communities and remains the primary NCAR laboratory

• It is a perfect example of a modern building in vernacular style

• Through his design process he moved from a single tall tower concept to a series of three 5 story towers set up in a village-like model

• He used techniques such as bush-hammering the concrete, laying out geometric shapes for the buildings, and using a local pinkish aggregate to help the complex blend in with the surrounding Flatirons hills on the Table Mesa

MESA LABORATORY - NATIONAL CENTRE FOR ATOMIC RESEARCH

JOHN F. KENNEDY LIBRARY, MASSACHUSETTS

• Pei was chosen as chief architect of the Kennedy library by a board headed by Jacqueline Kennedy

• President Kennedy had begun considering the structure of the library soon after taking office, and wanted to include archives from his administration, a museum of personal items, and a political science institute

• After the assassination, the list expanded to include a fitting memorial tribute to the slain president

• The variety of necessary inclusions complicated the design process and caused significant delays

• The site and design both had to be completely re-done to meet the favour of various boards involved

• Jacqueline Kennedy, however, was full of praise for his work saying, "He didn't seem to have just one way to solve a problem, he seemed to approach each commission thinking only of it and then develop a way to make something beautiful.”

• Pei described it as his most important commission as his involvement in it marked him as an architect of note

• By the mid-70s, Pei tried proposing a new design, but the library's opponents resisted every effort

• Finally the project moved to Columbia Point, whose site was less than idea as it was located on an old landfill, and just over a large sewage pipe

• Pei's architectural team added more fill to cover the pipe and developed an elaborate ventilation system to conquer the odor

• A new design was unveiled, combining a large square glass-enclosed atrium with a triangular tower and a circular walkway

• Pei's first proposed design included a large glass pyramid that would fill the interior with sunlight, meant to represent the optimism and hope that Kennedy's administration had symbolized but this project met opposition

JOHN F. KENNEDY LIBRARY, MASSACHUSETTS

BANK OF CHINA, HONG KONG

• In 1982 Pei was approached to design a new tower for the Bank of China. This building had to demonstrate China as an economic strength and as superpower to be reckoned with

• The proposed site was less than ideal with a tangle of highways on three sides

• The small size of plot called for a high-rise and Pei usually shied away from such projects, especially in Hong Kong, where up till then skyscrapers lacked any real architectural character

• I. M. Pei came up with the cascading form of the Bank of China while experimenting with a bundle of sticks

• The design was not only unique but sound enough to pass the city’s rigorous standards for wind resistance

• The tower was planned around a visible truss structure, which distributed stress to the four corners of the base

• Using the reflective glass that had become something of a trademark for him, Pei organized the facade around a series of boxed X shapes

• He designed the roofs at sloping angles to match the rising aesthetic of the building

• Pei became the first foreign architect to work on the Louvre. He felt a reconstruction was necessary for the future of the museum

• The heart of the new design included not only a renovation of the Cour Napoléon in the midst of the buildings, but also a transformation of the interiors

• Pei proposed a central entrance, not unlike the lobby of the National Gallery East Building, which would link the three major buildings

• Below would be a complex of additional floors for research, storage, and maintenance purposes

• During the construction they came upon 25,000 historical items; these were incorporated into the rest of the structure to add a new exhibition zone

LE GRAND LOUVRE, PARIS

LE GRAND LOUVRE, PARIS

• At the center of the courtyard he designed a glass and steel pyramid, first proposed with the Kennedy Library, to serve as entrance and anteroom skylight

• It was mirrored by another inverted pyramid underneath, to reflect sunlight into the room

• These designs were partly an homage to the fastidious geometry of the famous French landscape architect André Le Nôtre

• Pei also found the pyramid shape best suited for stable transparency, and considered it "most compatible with the architecture of the Louvre, especially with the faceted planes of its roofs"

• Biasini and Mitterrand liked the plans, but the scope of the renovation displeased Louvre director André Chabaud. He resigned from his post, complaining that the project was "unfeasible" and posed "architectural risks“

• The public also reacted harshly to the design, mostly because of the proposed pyramid

• In an attempt to soothe public ire, Pei took a suggestion from then-mayor of Paris Jacques Chirac and placed a full-sized cable model of the pyramid in the courtyard

• Some critics eased their opposition after witnessing the proposed scale of the pyramid

• The new Louvre courtyard was opened to the public on October 14, 1988, and the Pyramid entrance was opened the following March

• By this time, public opinion had softened on the new installation; a poll found a fifty-six percent approval rating for the pyramid

• Prince Charles of Britain surveyed the new site with curiosity, and declared it "marvelous, very exciting“

• A writer in Le Quotidien de Paris wrote: "The much-feared pyramid has become adorable.”

• The experience was exhausting for Pei, but also rewarding. "After the Louvre," he said later, "I thought no project would be too difficult

• The Louvre Pyramid has become Pei's most famous structure

LE GRAND LOUVRE, PARIS

STYLE AND ACHIEVEMENTS

• Pei's style is described as thoroughly modernist, with significant cubist themes

• He is known for combining traditional architectural elements with progressive designs based on simple geometric patterns

• His designs are modular in nature

• His concepts are too individualized and dependent on context to give rise to a particular school of design

• He has authored several books including American Architecture Now and Breathing

• In 1997 a documentary, First Person Singular featured him speaking about his most famous works

• Pei has not been without struggle, and though celebrated he hasn’t had exemplary financial success

• His colleague John Portman once told him: "Just once, I'd like to do something like the East Building.“ Pei replied "Just once, I'd like to make the kind of money you do."

• In the words of his biographer, Pei has won “every award of any consequence in his art“

• This list includes:-– Arnold Brunner Award from

the National Institute of Arts and Letters (1963)

– Gold Medal for Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1979)

– AIA Gold Medal (1979)– The first Praemium Imperiale for

Architecture from the Japan Art Association (1989)

– The Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cooper-Hewitt

– Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects(2010)

• Most notably, in 1983 he was awarded the Pritzker Prize, considered the Nobel Prize of architecture

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

PRESENTED BY:-

MOHOR BOSE3RD YEAR

SECTION AROLL NUMBER- 23

VASTU KALA ACADEMY