the import of i.m. pei
DESCRIPTION
ÂTRANSCRIPT
THE IMPORT OF
I.M. PEI
The Life, Work, + Philosophy of
an Architect
Edited byTimothy Dansby
the import of i .m. pe i
E d ited by Timot hy Da nsby
TABLE OF CONTENTS
the life of pei
early life university + training formative years
the work of pei
ncar mesa lab jfk library dallas city hall national gallery east bldg ocbc center miami tower bank of china tower grand louvre miho museum suzhou museum islamic art museum
the legacy of pei
an award-winning career the heights of fame the scions of pei references
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l i f e i s a r c h i t e c t u r e a n d a r c h i t e c t u r e i s t h e v e r y m i r r o r o f l i f e .
t he l i fe of pe i
I
pei fa mily ^
With a mobile banker for a father and a Chinese herbalist as a grandfather, Pei’s itinerant upbringing was a blend of the modern and the traditional .
LIO
N G
RO
VE
GA
RD
EN
| 23 Yuan
lin Road, Su
zhou, Ch
ina | 31.3232ºN
120.6251ºW | 1342
01 EARLY LIFE
On April 26th, 1916, in southern China’s bustling port of Guangzhou, Tsuyee and Lien
Kwun Pei proudly welcomed their second child and first son into the world. They named the
baby Ieoh Ming, meaning “to inscribe brightly”. It was thought to be an auspicious birth.
People born under the sign of the Snake are thought to be charming, intelligent, and cre-
ative. They are also said to be determined and independent-minded. Pei said his father was
“not cultivated in the ways of the arts”, but the pragmatic sort, and wished his oldest son to
be a doctor or a banker, following in his footsteps.
Life began for Ieoh Ming Pei in a wealthy household situated on the banks of the Pearl River in the city of Guangzhou, in Canton.
pei a s a child ^
Pei was less close to his father than he was to his mother, a very devout Buddhist who was locally recognized for her skills as a f lautist.
1
t h e l i f e of pe i
It was the Warlord Era, full of
strife and poverty. Pei’s paternal
grandfather, Litai, negotiated
with militia, begging them not to
destroy his beloved city of Suzhou,
while Pei’s father, a banker in
pre-Communist China, requested
a branch relocation and moved
his family to the safety of British-
occupied Hong Kong. Living in the
colony gave young Ieoh Ming his
first window to the world outside
of China, especially of the West. As
was customary for boys of well-to-
do families, he attended a formal
school run by English Protestant
missionaries, taught in both
English and Chinese.
A few years later, Tsuyee was
promoted by the Bank of China
and given a manager’s position in
Shanghai. He moved with his wife
and five children to the divierse
westernized city.
Shanghai’s many international
elements gave it the name “Paris of
the East”. The global architectural
f lavors in its heart actually had a
profound inf luence on Pei, from
the modernizing Bund waterfront
area to the soaring 23-story Park
Hotel, newly built in 1934. Pei
attended St. John’s, a private school
featuring Western-style education.
Byt he time he was 18, Pei could
read and speak English f luently.
2
pei of the cit y ^
As a youth, Pei watched the 1930 s cityscape in Shanghai, which planted the seeds for his love of architec-ture. “In Suzhou I was very much conscious of the past, but in Shang-hai I saw the future ahead.”
3
t h e l i f e of pe i
Young Ieoh Ming was impressed
by the many gardens of Suzhou
where he spent summers studying
Confucian ethics with his grand-
father. His paternal family
owned the Shizilinyuan, or the
Lion’s Grove Garden—named for
lion-like rock scuptures built in
the 14th century by a Buddhist
monk—and was especially
inf luential on him. Its unusual
rock formations, stone bridges,
and waterfalls remained etched
in Pei’s emory for decades. He
spoke later of his fondness for the
garden’s blending of natural and
human-built structures.
lion grov e >
Suzhou gardens are meant to imitate the natural world. Labyrithine stone paths and tunnels, rock sculptures, green ponds, lush f lora, arched bridges, white stucco walls, and gray-tiled roofs comprise the gardens of Pei’s ancestral home.
MIT
| Massachu
setts Ave, C
ambrid
ge, MA
| 42.3598ºN, 71.0921ºW
| 1935
mugging at mit ^
Pei poses for a photograph with classmates in the middle of les-sons about leverage and weight distribution of solid forms.
6
pei a s a student ^
At MIT Pei learned the science and technique of building, which was just as essential to his architecture education.
02 UNIVERSITY + TRAINING
In 1935 Pei boarded the SS President Coolidge and sailed to San Francisco, then traveled
by train to Philadelphia. What he found, however, differeed vastly from his expectations.
Professors at the University of Pennsylvania based their teaching on the Beaux-Arts style,
rooted in the classical traditions of Greece and Rome. Furthermore, its heavy emphasis on
fine draftsmanship was not well-suited to his interest in structural engineering. That same
year he enrolled instead in engineering at Massachussets Institute of Technology (mit) in
Boston, Massachusetts.
Drawn to the energetic and free-wheeling youth culture depicted in 1930’s Hollywood movies, Pei was determined to attend school not in Oxford as encouraged by his father, but in the U.S.
7
t h e l i f e of pe i
Pei decided to abandon architecture upon transferring to mit. Once he arrived, however,
William Emerson, the Dean of Architecture school, commented on his eye for design and
convinced Pei to return to his original major. mit’s architecture faculty was also focused
on the Beaux-Arts school, and Pei found himself uninspired by the work for some time.
Although he disliked the emphasis, Pei excelled in his studies. “I certainly didn’t regret the
time at mit”, he said later. “There I learned the science and technique of building, which
is just as essential to architecture.” Pei received his Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1940
before attending graduate studies at Harvard Graduate Design School where, in 1942, he
studied with Walter Gropius and Michel Breuer and recieved his master’s degree before
taking on professorial duties himself.
8
THAT’S NONSENSE. I DON’T KNOW OF ANY CHINESE THAT CAN’T DRAW!
—dean william emerson
9
t h e l i f e of pe i
MAJOR INFLUENCESLuminaries of the era were pivotal to I.M. Pei’s style
wa lter gropius v
lecor busier v
A World War II refugee, Gropius came to Harvard in the 1940s and gave structure to the university’s burgeoning modernist movement.
Pei was inspired by the innovative designs of the new international style, characterized by simplif ied form and the use of glass and steel materi-als. From Lecorbusier Pei learned to relate his work to a larger movement.
10
m a rcel br euer v
Pei and Breuer developed a very close friendship, collaborating on many projects; a relation-ship which lasted until he died.
a lva r a a lto v
Pei used to go to dinner with Alvar Aalto, who he admitted “ drank schnapps like a f ish.” He learned human perspective from Aalto, but not how to hold liquor, he confessed.
t h e l i f e of pe i
WE
BB
& K
NA
PP
| 600 F
ifth Ave, N
YC
, NY
| 40.453ºN, 73.5845ºW
| 1948 —
56
a certa in br eed of boss ^
One of Zeckendorf ’s biggest achievements was assembling some 75 parcels of land on the East Side of New York—formerly home to smelly slaughterhouses— into a bundle that eventually became the foundation for the United Nations. He seemed to have a knack for f inding New York’s next thriving market.
12
03 FORMATIVE YEARS
Pei finally his architecture come to life in when he designed a two-story corporate building
for Gulf Oil in Atlanta, Georgia. His use of marble for the exterior curtain wall brought
praise from the journal Architectural Forum. This brought more clients to the firm. Soon
Pei was so inundated with projects that he asked Zeckendorf for assistants, which he chose
from his associates at the GSD, including Henry N. Cobb and Ulrich Franzen. They set to
work on a variety of urban proposals. These projects helped Pei conceptualize architecture as
part of the larger urban geography. These lessons became essential for later projects.
Pei’s career as a Harvard professor ended in 1948 when he was hired to direct the architectural division of Webb + Knapp, a famed New York City contracting firm owned by the loquacious and flamboyantly wealthy businessman William Zeckendorf.
pei a nd zeck endor f <
Pei found Zeckendorf ’s personality the opposite of his own; his new boss was known for his loud speech and gruf f demeanor. Nevertheless, Pei found the experience personally enriching. Zeck-endorf was well connected politically, and Pei enjoyed learning of the social world of New York’s city planners.
13
t h e l i f e of pe i
Zeckendorf ’s real estate firm was one of the most
aggressive builders in the post-war period. Unlike
most young architects who find their early work in
residences and other small scale projects, Pei was
thrust immediately into the world of big business.
Among the projects undertaken by Zeckendorf, and
supervised by his Director of Architecture, were the
Mile High Center in Denver, Place Ville Marie in
Montreal, and Kips Bay Plaza in New York City.
The low budgets for early radical housing and
urbanism projects such as Kips Bay in New York City
forced Pei to experiment with materials. This was
architecture of the minimum. Brick was too expensive,
so Pei argued for in-situ concrete—the facade was the
structure. Kips Bay agave him his first experience of
master-planning, a subject still dear to his heart.
These large-scale a projects involved the kind of
rigorous planning and appreciation of urban focus for
which Pei’s organization would be acclaimed.
Not only did the years which Webb and Knapp
offer Pei an extraordinary immersion into the world
of corporate architecture, it also introduced him to
the men who would soon become his partners in
one of the most successful U. S. architectureal prac-
tices. Working with Henry Cobb, Eason Leonard,
and later James Ingo Freed was a golden ratio. With
Cobb and Leonard as the original partners, I.M. Pei
formally established his own firm, Ieoh Ming Pei
and Partners, in 1960. The end of the Zeckendorf
era came amicably, something of a graduation,
I.M. Pei having already begun to accept projects
outside the Webb & Knapp aegis in the 1950s.
14
15
t h e l i f e of pe i
»
P E IC O B B+F R E E DArchitects llc
y o u h a v e t o l e a r n t o e l i m i n a t e , a n d c o m e t o t h e h e a r t o f t h e p r o b l e m .
t he wor k of pe i
II
mesa l a bor atory ^
The laboratory building sits atop a small highland, above the city of Boulder, Colorado, and in the shadow of red sandstone rock formations called “Flat irons”, which tower to the west.
NC
AR
| 1850 Table M
esa Drive, B
oulder, C
O | 39.977ºN
, 105.2749ºW
| $4.5M | 1961 –
67
20
01 NCAR MESA LAB
The National Center for Atmospheric Research was established on the threshold of a new
age of scientific exploration. More than simply provide optimum facilities for theoretical and
practical scientists, the building was undertaken to create a national symbol of atmosphereic
research, ocnfirming its legitimacy as an exact science. From 1962 to 1964 Pei dedicated a
great deal of his time designing the lab. Through revision he moved from a single tower to a
series of three towers set up in a village-like model.
NCAR’s Boulder facility was Pei’s first real work outside of large-scale urban projects. Though he lacked a reputation in rural projects, he was known for his innovative use of concrete and he applied his experience generously to suit the needs of the scientific complex. Pei needed NCAR and NCAR needed him.
floor pl a n ^
Pei laid out the main building in a maze-like fashion to encourage interaction amongst the resident scientists.
21
t h e wor k of pe i
Pei moved from a single-stage construction to an incremental two phase approach to better suit ncar’s National Science Foundation-imposed budget constraints. The vastness of the Rocky Mountains gave him a significant design challenge. Inspired by Indian cliff dwellings in nearby Mesa Verde, it comes to terms with nature
through elemental forms, the absence of identifiable human scale, and the use of indigeonous materials. The innovative architectural concrete walls were colored by local aggregates and bush-hammered to better merge with the mountain setting. Set into the corner of the site, the tiered building is glimpsed from a mile-long curved approach
22
carefully threaded up the mesa to preserve the natural terrain. It has been noted for its Anasazi-inspired architecture and the use of the special concrete to blend its form with the surrounding area. The laboratory was named the 1967 Industrial Research Magazine’s Laboratory of the Year. Despite later problems with leaky roofs and personnel f low, the
building was considered a success in the scientific and architectural communities and remained the primary ncar laboratory for years. The main building was expanded underground in 1977 to make room for the expanded supercomputers and in 1980 an above-ground annex provided even more space for expansion on Pei’s widely acclaimed work.
23
t h e wor k of pe i
a coa sta l r epose
The library grounds cover only ten acres, perching on Columbia Point, a peninsula jutting from the maintland into Dorchester Bay, Massachusets.
,
JFK
LIB
RA
RY
MU
SE
UM
| Colu
mbia Point, B
oston, MA
| 42..3159ºN
, 71.0341ºW | $20.8M
| 1964
–79
24
floor pl a n
The design is a simple geometric structure witha large glass pavilion. The concrete tower stands 125 f t and houses of f ices and archives.
02 JFK LIBRARY + MUSEUM
The list of prospects included Louis Khan, Mies van der Rohe, Alvar Aalto, Franco
Albini, Llucio Costa, Pei, and five other relatively unknown architects from around
the world. Despite the credentials and name recognition of the other architects
Jacqueline Kennedy saw potential and creativity in her choice. I.M. Pei. He was
young, f lexible, and enthusiastic; she saw in him the same energy and relatability as
her husband. Ultimately, it is said that Kennedy made her choice based on her per-
sonal connection with Pei, calling it “really an emotional decision” for her.
One month before President Kennedy was assassinated, he began plans for a grand presidential library and museum to be built in his name. After his death, a committee headed by Jacqueline Kennedy selected I.M. Pei to realize his this vision.
25
t h e wor k of pe i
The original site that President Kennedy had
selected at Cambridge faced opposition from
n.i.m.b.y. protesters, and quickly became super
unrealistic after it was bogged down by bureacratic
delays. Years passed, and costs ballooned. Finally,
in 1975 a new site was selected at Columbia Point
in Boston. The site was originally a garbage dump.
Pei asserted that one could toss a lit match to
the earth and watch the ground ignite as the soil
emitted methane gas. However, the site boasted 9.5
acres and views of Boston Harbor and skyline. Pei
can could finally move forward.
The main body of the structure consists of
a singular and brilliant triangular tower that
protrudes from an expanding base of geometric
forms. A cube of steel and glass rose along with
the concrete tower; hollowed and hallowed it
came to represent ref lection on the great void.
Pei’s signature geometric shapes of concrete
steel and glass created an appropriate stately
monumentality. Critics generally liked the
finished building, but the architect himself was
unsatisfied. Years of conf lict and compromise
had changed the nature of the design, and Pei
felt the final result lacked its original passion.
“I wanted to give something very special to
the memory of President Kennedy” he said in
2000. “It could have been a great project.”
Perhaps the most important consequence of
the Kennedy project for Pei was his elevation
in the public’s consciousness as an architect of
note. Pei considered the John F. Kennedy Library
“the most important commission of my life.”
It was a major milestone for him., one of the
first in a series during his long, varied career.
26
27
t h e wor k of pe i
DA
LL
AS
CIT
Y H
AL
L | 150
0 Marilla, D
allas, TX
| 42.3159ºN
, 71.0341ºW | $70.4M
| 1966–1977
voice of the people ^
“When you do a city hall , it has to convey an image of the local people, and this had to represent the people of Dallas... The people I met —rich and poor, powerful and not so powerful—were all very proud of their city. They felt that Dallas was the greatest city there was, and I could not disappoint them.”
28
03 DALLAS CITY HALL
The design of the project would involve more than just the building. It extended to the
relationship of the new Municipal Center to neighboring structures, to nearby undeveloped
parcels of land and to the whole of downtown. Under Pei’s hand, Dallas City Hall was made
an inseparable combination of building and park. Giving much-needed open space to the
center city and catalyzing future development, the bold design created a balanced dialogue
with Dallas’ skyscrapers, created an aesthetic and place decisive to the city’s identity and life.
The assassination of JFK seemed to turn the world against Dallas, as it became known as a “City of Hate”. Mayor Erik Jonsson made it a priority to reinvent the city’s image. It was the start of a civic movement to modernize Dallas, beginning with a modern City Hall.
floor pl a n
The design is a simple geometric structure witha large glass pavilion. The concrete tower stands 125 f t and houses of f ices and archives.
29
t h e wor k of pe i
30
the pay of pei >
The building’s lower f loors house busy public facilities with easy access from the surrounding streets. Upper f loors, by contrast, of fer the building’s employees additional space needed for larger, less public municipal of fices. Flexible interiors were designed to accomodate the changing needs of the growing city.
I.M. Pei’s modernist inverted
pyramid design is actually a result
of space requirements from the
city council. The public areas and
citizen services required so much
less space than offices that in the
government and overhanging f loors
were allowed to be larger than the
public spaces below. The building
slopes at a 34 degree angle, with
each of the 7 above-grade f loors
being 9 1/2 feet wider than the
one below. This inclined facade
interacts with the buildings it faces
downtown, energizing the space
while providing protection from the
weather and burning Texas sun.
Pei persuaded the city of Dallas to
acquire an additional six acres in
front of the building as a plaza and
buffer zone for his grand public
strcture. A car parking garage was
built beneath the plaza, and the
extra income helped supplement the
funding of the building.
The buff-colored concrete
used was specifically chosen for
the main building material; its
color resembled local earth tones.
Since concrete was the primary
building and finsh material,
close attention was paid to every
aspect of its mix and placement to
synergize with its environment.
31
t h e wor k of pe i
NG
A E
AS
T B
LD
G | 6th &
Con
stitution Ave, W
ashin
gton DC
| 38.891°N 77.020°W
| $70.4M | 1968
–78
voice of the people ^
“When you do a city hall , it has to convey an image of the local people, and this had to represent the people of Dallas... The people I met —rich and poor, powerful and not so powerful—were all very proud of their city. They felt that Dallas was the greatest city there was, and I could not disappoint them.”
32
04 NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, EAST BUILDING
The West Building of the National Gallery of Art has an extensive collection of paintings
and sculptures by European masters from the medieval period through the late 19th century,
as well as pre-20th century works by American artists. Highlights of the collection include
many paintings by Jan Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and
Leonardo da Vinci. In contrast, the design of the East Building by Pei is rigorously geometri-
cal, dividing the trapezoidal shape of the site into two triangles: one isosceles and the other a
smaller right triangle. The space defined by one triangle came to house public function while
the other became a study center. The triangles became the building’s organized motif, echoed
and repeated in every dimension.
Rarely in the 20th century has so much attention been paid to a work of architecture, and rarely has it come from such a wide range. When this hard-edged assemblage of triangular forms opened, critics were unanimous in their praise of its geometry.
floor pl a n
The complexity of the design went through many iterations, but remained rooted in the original parallelagram shape envisioned by Pei. Its knife edge alarmed of f icials, but is loved by visitors.
33
t h e wor k of pe i
The Gallery’s East Building was constructed in the 1970s on the scrap of remaining land left over from the original congressional joint resolution from 1935. It was funded by the original donor’s children Paul Mellon and Ailsa Mellon Bruce. Designed to to complement the older West Building, ref lect the modern sensibility of its collection, and to fit within the constraints of available land, the contemporary structure was completed in 1978 and was opened in June of that year by President Jimmy Carter. The new building was built to house the Museum’s collection of modern paintings, drawings, sculptures, and prints, as well as study and research centers and offices. The design received a National Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects in 1981. The West Building was dressed in a rare pink Tenessee marble in 1935. The donor, Paul Mellon, specified the same pink marble for the East but the original quarry was long closed by the 1970s. Ever a stickler for detail, Pei requested the quarry reopened and an original stoneworker was brought out of retirement to help select the stone. Sadly, Pei had to settle for a blend of five gradations (instead of fifteen) and 3-inch slabs instead of the now cost-prohibitive 9-inch slabs used in the first building, but he saw it as challenge.
Another major problem presented itself in the form of thermal stresses because, unlike the Beaux-Arts build-ing, there were no columns or moldings to conceal expansion joints, just great unbroken expanses of wall, as much as 180 feet in length. A system of double-wall construction was developed whereby marble panels were individually supported by stainless-steeel plates anchored onto a brick wall behind so that the stone, f loating freely, could expand the constract indepen-dently. Non-weight-bearing neoprene gaskets, colored to match the stone, filled the spaces in between.
While the addition appears smaller than the original museum, it is actually 150,000 square feet larger; one-third of its mass is tunneled under Fourth street to functionally unite the entire National Gallery. The two-story link houses temporary exhibition space, a ninety-seat lecture hall, 422-seat auditorium, 700-seat cafe, museum shop, loading docks, storage, labora-tories, work areas, and all the other in-house services that could be squeeze in to update the museum, over-coming tremendous physical challenges of the time. Pei later became well-known for this solution.
patter ns w ithin patter ns
To relieve the depth of orderly precision throughout the museum, Pei made such unexpected gestures as lightheartedly scooping out the wall next to the ecscalator.
Triangles meet triangles, f lying up, swooping down, and meeting at acute angles throughout the East Building. The effect produced is apparently random, visual collisions created by the repetition of the geometric motif, but it is all underlain by a rigorous abstract order. Because of this, the modernity of the angular structure contrasts and complements, rather than clashes or competes with its more traditional twin. Another unifier is an axial link where the entry-way is aligned along the West Building’s east-west axis, opening up a plaza space between the buildings.
The building’s most dramatic feature is its high atrium designed as an open interior court, it is enclosed by a sculptural space frame spanning 16,000 square feet (1,500 m2). The atrium is centered on the same axis that forms the circulation spine for the West Building and constructed in the same Tennessee marble. The East Building focuses on modern and contemporary art. The East Building also contains the main offices of the National Gallery of Art and a large research facility, the core of the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (casva).
OC
BC
BU
ILD
ING
| 65 Chu
lia Street, Dow
ntown C
ore, Singapore | 1.285°N
103.849°E
| $60.5M | 1970
–76
38
05 OVERSEAS CHINESE BANKING CORPORATION CENTRE (OCBC)
I.M. Pei was among the first outside architects to be invited to Singapore after the country’s
independence in 1965. ocbc’s president was a Pei family friend who made clear he wanted
a national monument to replace ocbc’s existing six-story headquarters. ocbc tower was
therefore designed to be a symbol of strength and permanence, and its structure made of two
semi-circular reinforced concrete cores as well as three lateral girders which helped make
construction faster. It was also motivated by pragmatic concerns for the quality execution of
a 929,000 ft2 tower in a developing country where the tallest building was only eight stories.
OCBC Centre is a 649 ft, fifty-two-story skyscraper in Singapore. Serving as the headquarters of OCBC Bank, it was completed in 1976 and was not only tallest tower in the country, but in all of South East Asia at that time.
thr ee in one >
Not wishing to challenge contractors in the building of the country’s f irst skyscraper, Pei simplif ied, designing three f if teen story buildings stacked on top of one another.
the pay of pei <
Singaporeans saw in the design Pei’s Chinese signature, which is incidentially the character which relates to an ancient symbol for money. “Just local gossip,” dismissed the architect with a laugh. “The important part, the legs, are not even there!”
39
t h e wor k of pe i
a room with a view <
OCBC Centre dominates the skyline in a view over the Singapore River, 1976
The building is divided into three sections due to the steel trusses being constructed off-site and were put into position. Beginning with the two structural cores, concrete was poured into slipform molds moved up continuously in minute increments, leaving an evergrowing exrusion of pre-stressed, hardened concrete behind. At the 4th, 20th, and 35th f loors the freestanding cores were spanned, like the rungs of a ladder, by tremendous steel trusses that effectively formed the ground f loor of each “15-story building”, and allowed them to be constructed simultaneously, even while the f loors beneath were incomplete. The trusses house all the mechanical and electrical systems for each section and transfer its loads to the cores. Each section consists of f loors that are cantilevered from each column, with load transfer girders spanning at each end taking up boxed sections of the concrete.
a trussed-worth y tow er >
“With trusses,” Pei explained to the Singaporeans, “ the loading doesn’t continue all the way down. It’s like water; you want to channel of f some before it becomes a f lood.”
Pei had originally hoped to construct the tower in architectural concrete but when it was found too porous to prevent discoloration from an indigenous fungus, he realized imagery of ocbc’s “Solid as a Rock” motto by facing the cores in granite. Matching off-white glass mosaics exposed surfaces of the sunscreened office f loors, which cantilever out fifteen feet to widen office f loors by ninety-five feet. The building has been locally nick-named the calculator due to its f lat shape and windows which look like button pads. The ocbc center was only the first of his three projects in the country, and has since become part of Pei’s inf luence which made significant and enduring impact on the nation’s overall physical development through building projects which were sited strategically along the river and greens to connect the modern city with higly visible urban markers.
4040
41
MIA
MI T
OW
ER
| 100 SE
2nd St, Miam
i, FL
| 25.772°N 80.191°W
| $160M | 1983
–86
a tier ed monolith of light ^
The Miami Tower—continually bathed in glow—is transformed into a ritual beacon of holiday cheer, a 47-story spectacle of lights. In various seasons, the color palette varies from basic white to the full spectrum of the rainbow. Local businesses can buy colors for the night; you can create your very own monolith of light.
42
06 MIAMI TOWER
Originally known as CenTrust Tower, the building project was undertaken to accommodate
the explosive growth of Miami during the early 1980s as a center of international trade and
finance. CenTrust Savings Bank wanted to establish a distinctive identity on the developing
skyline while adding a civic dimension to the street. The challenge was to achieve these goals
on a small site hemmed in by an elevated highway at the back edge of the commercial zone
without waterside frontage or a prominent street address. It was an identity which relied on
architectural image, and Pei rose to this challenge with great relish.
It is, without a doubt, the most striking building on the Miami skyline. Designed directly by Pei, the shimmering Miami Tower curves on one side, rises sharply on the other and glows in the nighttime sky. Today, millions of Americans know it from the opening credits of the hit television show “Miami Vice.”
floor pl a n
The scalloped seashell-shape of the f loor plan enhances the views while ensuring maximum 120º visibility for the building. Its curve can be seen from several angles at the same time.
43
t h e wor k of pe i
Whether known as CenTrust Tower, Bank of America building, Miami Trade Center, or just Miami Tower, the 47-f loor building ranks in the top ten tallest skyscrapers in Miami and in Florida. At a height of 625 feet (191m) it is known for its elaborate night-time illuminations and its dramatic three glass tiers. Designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, the tower consists of two separate structures: A 10-story parking garage owned by the city and the 37-story office tower built upon the air rights of the garage which has seen various owners since its construction.
Preliminary planning for the tower began in February 1980 while construction on the garage began by November. The garage was completed in February 1983 and the tower began construction. On August 1984, while the tower was under construction, a five-alarm fire began on the ninth f loor;. Construction was subsequently delayed for several weeks. But on December 15, 1985, the tower was lit for the first time in Miami Dolphins aqua and snowflakes, a tradition of shifting illumination which continues to this day.
construction centrust tow er mi a mi tr a de center
Erection of Miami Tower and its garage took three years. Pei revisited the design at various stages, and the three-tiers began to take shape as the building rose towards the sky.
CenTrust Savings and Loan began the tradition of nighttime lighting. The founder of the bank was indicted for fraud later and his corporation crashed. The tower went on the market.
The building was bought by Winthrop Management in 1991 and known as Miami Trade Center for several years.
THE MANY FACES OF MIAMI TOWERMiami Tower has changed hands more times almost as of ten as the cit y government has since.
44
nationsba nk tow er ba nk of a mer ic a tow er mi a mi tow er
NationsBank moved into the tower in 1996, dismantled the lavish penthouse and sold it piece by piece. Bathed in light, with a sleek style that has been copied many times, the tower becomes a become a staple of the Miami skyline.
Owners came and went, and Bank of America took up the building in the 2003 for $85 million. For seven years they rented the f loors of the of f ice tower which by now has become an international landmark.
I&G Miami, Inc. purchased the of f ice building from owner Blue Capital US East Coast Properties, L .P. for $105.5 million in 2010. It goes by Miami Tower, an icon of the city and a lasting jewel in the work of Pei.
It’s easy to see why Miami Vice used images of the tower in full luminescent glory as a pulsing semiotic shorthand for the city. One building, cast as a featured player in the opening credits of an overripe television show, captured the gorgeous— and grotesque—excess of the city forever. Aptly enough, the Miami Tower came to embody a different strain of wild and woolly Miami: the rogue banking culture of the 1980s. Still, the tower remains an example of solid engineering paired with impeccable showmanship which has made it an enduring icon on the city horizon for years.
45
t h e wor k of pe i
BA
NK
OF
CH
INA
TO
WE
R | 1 G
arden Road, H
ong K
ong | 22.16
45ºN, 114.0941ºE
| $5.2B | 1983
–89
hong kong sk y line ^
The Bank of China Tower is located in the central business district on Hong Kong Island, next to the HSBC Building, Cheung Kong Center, and Jardine House.
46
07 BANK OF CHINA TOWER
The building was the Hong Kong branch of the Bank of China, a project that had been set in
motion when Britain agreed to turn the colony of Hong Kong over to the mainland Chinese
control. The transfer was scheduled for 1997, and the bankers of the People’s Republic were
eager that they should have a building in Hong Kong that would stand as a monument
both to the unification of the former colony with the mainland and to their country’s
reemergence as a full participant in international financial affairs. The decision to ask Pei
to design the building might at first have seemed improbable. Even though the Communist
government had invited him to design works before, and buried any lingering animosity
about his lineage, this was not a tourist facility, but a building intended as a symbol of the
Communist government’s financial power. Yet Pei’s father had been the first to serve Chiang
Kai-shek in the losing battle against the Communists. Here, suddenly, were some of the same
Communists calling on an archenemy’s son to do what he might rightly have expected to do
by his father if the Nationalists had won in 1949. It was a dilemma they too were sensitive to.
Graceful, concise, and structurally expressive, the triangular, stepped-back plan for the Bank of China’s Hong Kong tower was not only a visual marvel, but also an impressive engineering feat. It is a tribute to Pei’s father, a former banker for the company.
47
t h e wor k of pe i
When planning for the building began in 1982, the Chinese first sent emissaries to New York where Pei’s father, then eighty-nine, was living. They asked him if it might be appropriate for them to approach the son for such an undertaking. “That is very Chinese,” Pei told an English reporter, “very respectful, even though they were politically at odds. With one hand my father wanted to have nothing more to do with it, and with the other he thought it important for me to do it.” In time the iconic Bank of China Tower would rise to 1,033 ft high with its two masts marking a total height 1,200 ft. It was to be the tallest building Asia from 1989 to 1992, and it was the first building outside of the United States to break the 1,000 ft mark. It would be the fourth tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong, after International Commerce Centre, Two International Finance Centre and Central Plaza. Hung Chen, then the deputy manager of Bank of China (Hong Kong branch) negotiated with Hayden Cave for the land plot, which was not auctioned in the open market; and invited I. M. Pei to design the tower. As Pei’s father was a former manager of Bank of China; this personal connection was one of the reasons that Pei accepted the project, despite the much restricted budget then available for the tower, which—he understood—would inevitably be compared with the another tower: the nearby 43-story hsbc building,
fr amed for strength <
In architecture and structural engineering, a space frame is a truss-like, lightweight, rigid structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. They can be used to span large areas with few interior supports. It is strong because of the inherent rigidity of the triangle.
48
Hong Kong’s leading colonial bank designed by British architect Norman Foster. Foster’s building, which stood only two blocks away from the boc site, was a complicated mass of columns, trusses, and pipes that had set the international community astir when it opened in 1985. Indeed, Pei was well aware that, even if the Bank of China’s goal was unstated, he had an implicit responsibility to outdo Foster architecturally. From the beginning, the Bank of China project was fraught with challenge. The proposed site in Hong Kong’s Central District was less than ideal; a tangle of highways lined it on three sides. The area was also unlucky: it been headquarters for Japanese military police during World War II and notorious for prisoner torture. The tiny parcel of land was only 90,000 square feet and dictated a small building —or made a tall tower necessary; Pei usually shied away from such projects. Existing skyscrapers, too, lacked any real architectural character. Lacking inspiration and unsure of how to approach the building, Pei took a weekend vacation to his family home in Katonah, New York. There he found himself experimenting with sticks until he happened upon a cascading sequence of forms. Seizing upon the idea, he decided designing a beacon of stark geometry was the answer to solve the problems of cost, environment, and architectural aesthetic.
an inauspicious knife >
In the popular imagination the building’s prof ile from some angles is said to resemble that of a butcher’s meat cleaver. Over the years this has earned it the slang nickname Yi Ba Dao, in mandarin literally meaning ‘One Knife’ .
49
t h e wor k of pe i
The unorthodox design that Pei developed for the Bank of China needed approval of his client, and to win support for the unique, stepped form among the tradition-conscious Chinese, Pei invoked an image of the trunk of a bamboo pushing upward with each joint; a metaphor for the search for strength and excellence. Building on this concept, the tower was not only to be unique in appearance, but also 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 corners of the base. Using his trademark ref lective glass, Pei organized the facade around a series of boxed x shapes. At the top, he designed the roofs at sloping angles to match the rising aesthetic of the building. The whole structure is supported by the five steel columns at the corners of the building, with the triangular bracing transferring the weight of the structure onto these five columns away from horizontal f loors and its gleaming curtain walls. This structural adaptation was important to lend the tower great strength, as one of Pei’s greatest environmental challenges was constructing the skyscraper to withstand Hong Kong’s fierce typhoon winds, which are seven times stronger than those of New York. Due to its engineering, Pei’s tower was an architectural
50
success which easily beat out his competition. Foster’s 800,000 ft2 hsbc building costed $650m. By contrast, Pei’s tower contained even more f loor space—1.4 million ft2—and its innovative system saved forty percent steel, working out to one fifth the cost. While its distinctive look makes it Hong Kong’s most identifiable landmark today, it was a source of controversy at the time, as the bank is the only major building in the city to bypass the convention of consulting with feng shui masters prior to its construction. In simplest terms, feng shui philosophy began as a set of rules for surveying land based on such commonsense principles as not building on sand and not putting large windows in the north wall. But over the centuries feng shui evolved into a complex blend of practical advice and mysticism whose masters are said to be able to gauge prospects for success or failure according to whether shape and location are pleasing to supernatural forces. Pei’s tower design lacked strict adherence to the orthopraxy: its sharp edges and negative symbolism conveyed by the numerous ‘x’ shapes in its original design caused a public outcry. Ultimately Pei and officials responded with token adjustments to the final design—hiding exposed horizontal beams to turn x’s into lucky diamonds—prior to the tower’s construction.
51
LO
UV
RE
PY
RA
MID
| 75001 P
aris, France |48.861°N, 2.3360°E
| $15.8M | 1984
–93
52
08 GRAND LOUVRE PYRAMID
Pei was in his sixties, and at the pinnacle of his career when, in 1983 the French government
first invited him to Paris. Would he, they asked, undertake the mammoth project of
modernizing the sprawling sacred giant? His client would be the glory of France, a privilege
the French usually reserved for themselves. It was the most ambitious undertaking in
Pei’s career. It also called upon every facet of it; design, urban planning, engineering, and
closing the distance between the past and the spirit of modern times. Pei recounts his first
uncertainty with the commission: “I did not accept the honor immediately, for very, very
good reason. I wanted to be sure that I am the right person to do the work. And I was not
sure! The president was sure, but I was not sure. That’s how it began.”
In 1983, French President François Mitterrand proposed a project to renovate the Grand Louvre plan, I. M. Pei was awarded the project and proposed a great, glass-paned pyramid to stand over a new entrance in the existing main court, the Cour Napoléon.
py r a mida l gr ace <
The design is a simple geometric structure crowning a new entrance hall . Seen through the southern doorway of the museum, prismatic light casts the courtyard aglow in colors, an ef fect planned by Pei.
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53
Pei began with the problem as he always did. He began at home. He spent time in retreat. He f lew out to the site and he examined it and tried to absorb its very being. He walked the grounds of the endless, antiquated corridors of the world’s largest museum. Then, as always, he searched for the essence of the problem.
“We came to conclusion that the centre of gravity, let’s call it, was at the crux, it is right where the pyramid is today. At that time the place was nothing—some ugly looking trees; it was a parking lot. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could make the entrance there? And there is where the reception is. Well, how can you do it? Nobody would accept putting a structure right in that place. Would should it be? Should it be some 19th century pastiche? And yet, if I don’t build something there, the only way you can get to the center of gravity is by some kind of subterranean approach. Like a subway. And that was not acceptable at all. After all, Louvre is Louvre! And so, the pyramid—glass so as not to detract from the majesty of the existing structure. The pyramid became the answer.”
5454
WE CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THE CENTER OF GRAVITY WAS AT THE CRUX.
—i.m. pei, on the louvre
55
t h e wor k of pe i
55
Design: Pei’s Pyramid Perplexes ParisThe architect plans to put an expanded Louvre under glassBy Wolf Von Eckardt | Monday, Feb. 27, 1984The Paris newspaper Le Monde indignantly compared it to “an annex to Disneyland.” A consortium of French environmental groups said it would be suitable only if it were built in the middle of a desert. Worse yet, the General Inspector of National Palaces lamented that the architect, however distinguished, was a foreigner, alors.The cause of all this furor is a plan by U.S.
Architect I.M. Pei to build a 66-ft-high glass pyramid smack in the center of one of the sacred precincts of French culture: the courtyard of the venerable Louvre Museum. While critics have lauded the architect’s past achievements in China and Singapore, Perisians watch the progress of the renovation with the ultimate disdain of
CONTROVERSYPei faced public resistance in his groundbreaking museum renovation
56
Of all the Grands Projets in Paris, none created such a stir as the Pei Pyramids in the courtyard of the Grand Louvre Museum. Spectacular in concept and form, they provide a startling reminder of the audacious ability of modern architects to invigorate and re-circulate traditional architectural forms. Not since Gustave Eiffel made the first climb to the top of his tower 100 years ago was the inauguration of a structure in Paris been as dreaded and eagerly awaited as the opening of I. M. Pei’s glass pyramid in the middle of the courtyard of the Louvre. Critics called it an attempt by President Mitterand to make a concrete memory as the pharoahs of old Egypt did. Pei dug in his heels as criticism was launched at his design. He pointed out that, yes, it was a pyramid, but it would not be the only structure in Paris with Egyptian associations. The 4000 year old obelisk in the Place de la Concorde was an example, as well as Foire du Caire.
The story of the 71-foot-high structure of glass and metal, which would serve as the main public entrance to a significantly remodeled Louvre, bears other resemblances to that of the Eiffel Tower. Like the tower, the pyramid was at first bitterly denounced by many prominent people in the arts, who viewed it as an unwelcome intrusion of harsh modernism into the sacred precincts of Paris. But also as with the tower, the Parisian mood mellowed as construction proceeded. As the pyramid reached its completion, five years after the unveiling of its design provoked international controversy and accusations that an American architect was destroying the very heart of Paris, President Francois Mitterrand quietly snipped a ribbon, officially opening the pyramid. Its sharpest critics seemed to retreat, and it gradually became fashionable in the city not only to accept the building but even to express genuine enthusiasm for it.
57
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57
The central spire of the Pyramide du Louvre is basically a complex inter-linked steel structure sheathed in ref lective glass. In fact it is an entrance doorway providing long-overdue entrance portico to the main galleries of the Louvre. As one descends into the interior entrance foyer, the dramatic nature of the intervention becomes apparent. The main pyramid, which certainly disturbs the balance of the old Louvre courtyard, is countered by four smaller pyramids, which provide further illumination and ventilation to the subterranean spaces. The original buildings of the Louvre, which surround the pyramid on three sides, are visible through it, owing to unusually clear and colorless glass the architects ordered from the St. Gobains, the French glassmakers. The clear glass, for which the Louvre has specially budgeted for an exterior cleaning twice a month, is held in place by a tension structure of thin metal cables, inspired by sailboat construction and by the work of R. Buckminster Fuller, reknowned for his glass geodesic domes.
The pyramid is but the tip of the iceberg of the new Louvre, however, which under Pei’s guidance has transformed itself into a new kind of museum based largely on American models. The largest part of the project, which costed more than $1 billion by the time it was completely finished in 1993, is beneath the pyramid and the Cour Napoleon, the Louvre’s central courtyard. More than 650,000 square feet of new space has been built underground, an underground addition that contains more than the entire f loor area of the structure that was heretofore Pei’s most famous museum, the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington. The vast new underground Louvre contains a 29-foot-high main hall beneath the glass pyramid, shops, cafeterias, an auditorium and education and information facilities for visitors, and storage and work areas for the staff. Mindful of the grand as well as human level, Pei also provided for an underground bus depot as well, to accommodate the dozens of tour buses that bring most of the museum’s visitors.
58
59
MIH
O M
US
EU
M | 30
0 Shigarakicho T
ashiro, K
oka, Japan | 42.3159ºN
, 71.0341ºW | $70.4M
| 200
0–
03
a pe ach blossom dr e a m
The placement and architecture of the Miho museum is inf lu-enced by a Japanese folk tale, meant to evoke the aesthetic of traditional and modern, as a Shangri-La discovered by contemporary explorers in an ancient mountain retreat.
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09 MIHO MUSEUM
In 1988, Pei decided that he would no longer taken on very large projects, only carefully
selected smaller ones. His first project after deciding to retire had been a bell tower, spon-
sored by the matriarch of a spiritual organization called Shinji Shumeikai and inaugurated in
a wilderness site near Kyoto, Japan in 1990. Mihoko Koyama, called Kaishusama, was one of
the richest women in Japan and her next task for the aging architect was a small museum for
oriental art which she had amassed over the years. Her rapport with Pei was in part formed
by their shared literary culture. Koyama was well-educated in the Chinese classics and they
were able to communicate in writing in Chinese. When Pei quoted a fourth-century poem
called ‘Peach Blossom Spring’ it struck a chord with her and she immediately embraced this
concept for the Japanese museum.
The Miho Museum is a joint Japanese and American project completed by I. M. Pei and Kibowkan International. The idea for it was conceived in August of 1996 on a scenic mountainside in a nature preserve near the town of Shigaraki, Japan.
floor pl a n <
The f loor plan shows the main entrance level with the sus-pension bridge in the upper right extending towards the isolated museum terraces.
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t h e wor k of pe i
MIHO MUSEUM ISTHE IDEALS OF
—TRUE BEAUTYESSENCE OF THEHIGHEST VIRTUE
ACKNOWLEDGINGWITHIN NATURE.
BY THE BUILDINGMASTERPIECES IN
AN EXPRESSION OF SHINJI SHUMEIKAI DERIVES FROM THE NATURAL WORLD.COMES FROM ONEMANKIND’S PLACETHEY REALIZE THISOF ARCHITECTURALREMOTE PLACES
The site for the museum was remote like the tower, and had a difficult approach. Pei worked with and within the hilly landscape with the unusual proposal to construct a tunnel combined with a suspension bridge to get to the site without destroying the natural environment. As a bonus, the mountain ridge would permit a surprise to the final approach to the museum. In this way, the journey could be deliberately prolonged and characterized by concealment and unveiling. The orchestration heightens the temporal experience of the site, invoking the Japanese principle of ma, or the time-structured experience of space. Today, a single route leads up to the museum site. Visitors arive from Kyoto by bus or car to a reception pavilion, located a short distance away from the museum hidden amid a forest of cedars. The bulk of the museum is obscured by mountain
slope. Visitors may make their way on foot or take electric cars through the tunnel to the mountain which opens to a 400 ft f lying bridge spanning a deep valley. The bridge uses an innovative combination of cantilevered, cable-stayed, and post-tensioned design that permits it to be just 6.5 ft deep. In 2002, it received the prestigious Outstanding Structure Award from the International Association for Bridge and Structureal Engineering for its “light and airy structure, epitomizing structural beauty and artistic elegance while preserving the nature reserve below.” Entering the hidden valley the final shape of the building coalesces. The museum is naturally informed by the topography of the site, but also by prefectural regulations, which allowed only a fraction of the building exposed to the surface. 85% of it is set into the deep hill. Pei’s working within these restrictions is felt in every aspect. The museum’s details ref lect the architect’s innovative endeavors to break new ground, as with the novel appearance of sloped glass roofs composed of space frames, the warmth of the materials used, especially Magny Doré limestone from France and colored architectural concrete, and the system and the equipment which he selected for exhibiting the works of art under the optimum conditions. Pei’s work on the Miho Museum represents his working to create a synthesis, isolating the essence of different historical and philosophical strands, and bringing them together in a resolutely modern form.
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t h e wor k of pe i
SU
ZH
OU
MU
SE
UM
| 204 Don
gbei Jie, Suzhou, C
hin
a | 31.323ºN, 120.632ºE
| $52.1M | 20
00
–06
66
Pei’s involvement in Suzhou included involvement in study and implementation of policies
for the preservation of Suzhou’s historic district, and was significant because it was a kind
of return to his roots, and it demonstrated his strong belief in the importance of his-
tory. The new Suzhou Museum is located almost adjacent to the Humble Administrator’s
Garden in the heart of the historic city. The garden, the largest in Suzhou, measures almost
13 acres and was built after 1513 by a retired imperial inspector named Wang Xian Chen.
This garden, together with three others in Suzhou was added to the unesco world heritage
list in 1997 and the new Suzhou Museum was constructed around it.
Constructed in the town of his ancestors, the Suzhou Museum is the third building designed by I.M. Pei in China. In many ways it is a legacy that he leaves in the home of his ancestors. The building seeks to build on Chinese tradition and remains modest in scale.
SUZHOU MUSEUM10
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t h e wor k of pe i
Pei was clearly inspired by the surroundings and notably the gardens of Suzhou in designing the museum. “When you are looking for old architecture in China, there is not that much of it,” he explained. “There are palaces like the Forbidden City or Buddhist temples and monasteries. The rest is made up of villages and towns where people live and work. In cultural buildings, garden and building are one—they are not seperate. I can’t imagine doing a building in China without a garden. There is no distinction between garden and rooms; they are joined together. It cannot be too big—they are always on a human scale.” In this way the Suzhou museum is related to the tradtion of the Chinese house, which has a tradition of gardens behind walls.
In contrast to his earlier work in China there is significant difference; they all had f lat roofs. Pei gave the Suzhou Museum a volumetric solution, and that was a major change. Though there are slopes in the roof configurations, the basic design remains rectilinear, rising in orchestrated pattern. Within the walls of the Suzhou Museum one of the most notable featurs is the large pond. “Water is very important,”says Pei. “Chinese gardens conssit of three elements—water, rock, and plants. There is no such thing as a lawn in China. You don’t go out into the garden and play badminton. People like to meander and to lose themselves in a garden. In the case of the museum we did not want people to meander outside, but to stay in the museum.”
68
The blocky building had an unusually favorable public reaction. Despite past criticism with the Louvre it should be unsurprising. The warm acceptance is likely related to the fact that Pei made a considerable effort to fit its gray and white structure into its historical environment while providing a modern facility. Similarly, the museum’s collection is heterogeneous; it houses works from the Neolithic all the way to the contemporary, which makes sense in the context of a building where ancient Chinese traditions are sublimated and brought forward into the present. There is a modern character mirrored in Pei’s later projects like the Suzhou Museum which is in stark contrast to the utopian purity of his tutors Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius in that they represent a
formidable quest to capture the undeniable essence of cultures. There is a continuity that links the museums of the Louvre to Suzhou to Doha, and it is not merely stylistic. His interest in the past does not make him an apostate of modernism; rather it reveals, yet again, his personal search for ways to express the deep links that can exist between a truly modern building and the past. From carefully selected trees to slices of mountain rock farmed from the ancient lakes, much effort was expended to align with guiding principles for one of the most sensitive districts of Suzhou, which he hoped might show the way for general redevelopment and revitalization of the area while maintaining and enhancing its historical character, from long-term planning to implementation.
a v iew of pa st a nd futur e <
The geometer’s touch is seen in a hexagonal window framing the view towards a stylized garden court.
a nd ev ery thing in its pl ace v
Pei had a hand in the small details of structure, right down to supervising arrangement of foliage and rocks.
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t h e wor k of pe i
MU
SE
UM
OF
ISL
AM
IC A
RT
| Doh
a Port, Doh
a, Qatar | 25.174ºN
, 51.322ºE | $330M
| 200
0–
08
con v ergence of pa st a nd futur e ^
The Islamic Museum of Art was the f irst of Qatar’s large museums, and was also one of its most iconic. Rising from the embrace of a crescent-shaped, man-made island on the Persian Gulf, its cuboid form can be seen from miles away.
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11 MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART
Doha is located on a peninsula in the Persian Gulf. It has a long history of weaving and
fabric-making. With the accession of His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani in
1995, Qatar entered a new period of modernization and social transformation. The most vis-
ible aspect of this can be seen in the capital of Doha, a modern yet austere city which retains
many aspects of its traditions, earning it the name “City of Balance”. Its 4.6-mi long water-
front promenade, called the Corniche, is bordered by a number of high-rise buildings and is
the capital’s most central and popular feature. It was here that Qatari officials wished Pei to
build a masterpiece museum.
At the age of 91, Pei was coaxed out of retirement to undertake the Museum of Islamic Art. His work on the Louvre taught him the importance of grasping local imperatives, so in order to prepare, he traveled through the Muslim world on a six-month quest to learn about Muslim architecture and history.
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t h e wor k of pe i
v iews of doh a >
The main building angular volumes step back progressively as they rise around a one-hundred-sixty-foot-high domed atrium, which is concealed from outside view by the walls of a central tower. The museum’s arcades embrace pavilions, courtyards, and other meeting spaces
contempor a ry e x pr ession <
Declining to build the structure on any of the proposed sites along the Corniche, Pei suggested a stand-alone island be created to ensure future buildings would never encroach on the museum. Its cubist profile stands unin-terrupted on the horizon of Qatar.
the sa nctit y of light gi v en for m v
The austerity and simplicity of the museum has a severe architecture which comes to life in the light of the sun, casting striking shadows and variations of colour.
a ncient model s <
Pei’s inspiration was the 13th-century ablutions fountain of the Mosque of Ahmad Ibn Tulun in Cairo, Egypt. The ancient structure of fered an almost Cubist expression of geometric progres-sion, evoking an abstract vision of the key design elements of Islamic architecture.
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s u c c e s s i s a c o l l e c t i o n o f p r o b l e m s s o l v e d .
III
t he l eg ac y of pe i
RE
TIR
EM
EN
T | 257 P
ark Avenue, N
ew York, N
Y | 25.174ºN
, 51.322ºE | 2010
a leg ac y to r emember
“There’s no instant gratif ication in creating a work of art, I just don’t f ind that that is possible. So a work of art—archi-tecture or whatever it is—I think needs time to f inally make a judgement as to whether it’s right or not. And I think the time factor is very important to my work.”
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01 AN AWARD-WINNING CAREER
In the words of his biographer, Pei has won “every award of any consequence in his art”,
including the Arnold Brunner Award from the National Institute of Arts and Letters (1963),
the Gold Medal for Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1979),
the AIA Gold Medal (1979), the first Praemium Imperiale for Architecture from the Japan
Art Association (1989), the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cooper-Hewitt, National
Design Museum, and the 2010 Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British
Architects. In 1983 he was awarded the Pritzker Prize, sometimes called the Nobel Prize of
architecture. In its citation, the jury said: “Ieoh Ming Pei has given this century some of its
most beautiful interior spaces and exterior forms [...] His versatility and skill in the use of
materials approach the level of poetry.” In being awarded the 2003 Henry C. Turner Prize by
the National Building Museum, then-museum board chair Carolyn Brody praised his impact
on construction innovation: “His magnificent designs have challenged engineers to devise
innovative structural solutions, and his exacting expectations for construction quality have
encouraged contractors to achieve high standards.” In 1992, Pei was awarded the Presidential
Medal of Freedom by President George H.W. Bush.
Throughout his extensive career, Pei has been the beneficiary of multiple forms of recognition, awards, and accolades for his iconic style and singular impact upon the field of architecture.
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t h e l e g ac y of pe i
Looking back, Pei’s work is corporate in character cultural complexes and only rarely, and almost guiltily, Chinese. Indeed, Pei identifies as a Western architect, always aiming towards a sacred, syncretic approach to capture past, future, and cutural sensibilities:
Pei never identified as a modernist, though he is labeled as one. For the length of his long and successful career he has been considered a professional of high stakes and enormous costs where the sparring doctrines heatedly compete to speak for the times. Through all of it Pei weathered changes in taste by following an independent course, choosing continual refinement over novelty for novelty’s sake. All his buildings wear their modernity with grace rarely seen during the years of the American building boom.
As a modernist, Pei should ultimately join his former teacher Walter Gropius amongst the most-praised architects of the 20th century. But he is important for other reasons: crucially, as the first non-Western-born architect to rise to the peaks of the global profession. That ascent is worth examining, because it says much about both the profession, and this architect’s managerial acumen —his major legacy. The prestige that accrued from business buildings was never enough for Pei. Beginning with Zeckendorf, his corporate office designs kept the lights on but never spoke to his heart. So, whenever he could he called in his social markers for other opportunities to make an impact on the cultural world: his best work comes through in shaping art galleries and museums and libraries. This ongoing interest in cultural buildings and inter-cultural dialogue is what separates the Brahmin Pei from the alphabet soup of his peer firms, the soms, hoks and kpfs. At 22 years and counting in his retirement Pei has built more and practiced longer than most architects ever do, and, with his two architect sons playing an increasing role, his dynastic succession in the world of architecture is assured.
“I prefer not to use labels. To me, it’s just architecture. There’s no such thing as modern architecture, post-modern architecture, or even deconstructivism—you can use all the -ism you want, I don’t believe in any of them. They come and they go! And the one that really survives, lasting, is architecture. Architecture of that time.”
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BE POLITE, BUT ONE HAS TO PERSIST, AND NEVER GIVE UP ON PRINCIPLE!
—i.m. pei
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t h e l e g ac y of pe i
miami towermiami625 ft
raffle citysingapore518 ft
ocbc towersingapore649 ft
THEHEIGHTSOF FAMEA SMALL SELECTION OF PEI’S TALLEST OF TOWERS
john hancock towerboston790 ft
fountain placetower dallas720 ft
bank of china towerhong kong1200 ft
jpmorgan tower houston 1000 ft
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THE SCIONS OF PEIArchitects carry forward Pei’s lessons and teachings
chien chu ng pei v
As the middle son of I.M. Pei, Chien was taught the vision, commitment and professional standards for creation of signif icant and lasting architec-ture during his formative years.
li chu ng pei v
Li Chung practiced at the f irm of his father before leaving to establish Pei Partnership Architects with his brother C. C. Pei. For 35 years he has worked projects ranging from schools, laboratories, and museums to hotels.
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curtis fentr ess v
A protégé of Pei, Fentress has developed a reputation as a hybrid architect, developing iconic design ref lective of regional culture, within the budgetary conf ines associated with high prof ile public architec-ture. He is known among students of architecture for his observations on the process of large-scale design.
per ry chin v
A protégé and confidant of I.M. Pei, Chin has worked with Pei on projects such as the Miho Museum and renovations for the East Building of the National Gallery in Washington.
t h e l e g ac y of pe i
pr ide of pei ^
Pei attending an Ellis Island Family Heritage Award Ceremonyin 2004 with one of his young grandsons, 8-year old Matthew Pei Kracklauer.
1. I.M. Pei : A Profile in American Architecture. Wiseman, Carter. 1990
2. The Complete Works of I.M. Pei. Jodido, Philip. Adams, Janet. 2008
3. I.M. Pei. Ried, Aileen. 1995
4. Pei Cobb Freed & Partners website (www.pcf-p.com)
5. First Person Singular: I.M. Pei. Rosen, Peter. 1997
REFERENCES
