PEI, I. M. 1917-

Modernist with a Flare

Architect Ioeh Ming Pei was one of a handful of American architects to have significantly affected twentieth-century architectural design. Pei's designs have often been on the leading edge of aesthetic technological and urban innovation. More than any of his contemporaries, Pei has taken modernist principles of architecture and translated them into reality.

Professional Life

Born in Canton, China, Pei attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. His principal teacher at Harvard's Graduate School of Design, Walter Gropius, liked to say that Pei was by far his most promising student. Gropius proceeded to make Pei an assistant professor in 1945 before he had finished his master's degree. In 1948 Pei left Harvard and became the director of architecture in developer William Zeckendor's firm, Webb and Knapp. Pei established his own practice in 1955 and has headed the firm I. M. Pei and Partners ever since.

Major Works

Pei designed some of the most significant structures built in the 1960s and 1970s. His National Center for Atmospheric Research (1961-1967) in Boulder, Colorado; the Dallas City Hall (1972-1977); the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art (1978) in Washington, D.C.; and the John F. Kennedy Library (1979) in Boston are the most famous of his many buildings. Pei's designs attempted to turn each urban project into an opportunity to strengthen the fabric of American cities. By creating new urban spaces, pedestrian linkages, and a sense of orderly beauty in the midst of urban chaos, Pei strived to reinvigorate and renew aging city centers.

Innovator

Pei was the first architect to have used exposed, cast-in-place, and precast concrete in modern, multistory housing. Pei's attention to detail and finish resulted in his concrete buildings looking like a polished slab of marble. He was also the most daring pioneer in the development of all-glass curtain walls, creating some of the most beautiful glass structures since the Glass Palace. Pei is perhaps best known for the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art. Shaped like a trapezoid, the East Building was constructed out of pink marble from the Tennessee quarry that provided the materials for the West Wing of the National Gallery. With his design Pei managed to update the new addition without losing coherency with the existing structure. The East Wing is considered a monument to Pei's ability to make space both active and serene.