Remembering The Most Celebrated Architect of the Past Century

Ieoh Ming Pei, the master architect who designed the unorthodox glass and steel pyramid at the entrance of the Louvre Museum in Paris and the famous Bank of China building in Hong Kong breathed his last on 16th May 2019 at his Manhattan home at the age of 102.

Many of you may have gawked at Le Grand Louvre Museum in Paris and clicked loads of pictured to capture its grandeur and opulence in the best way possible. That magnificent building was constructed by I.M. Pei, as he is commonly known. He was one of the most celebrated architects of the past century. He was a visionary when it came to designing and constructing buildings. He was passionate about his work, he understood what moved people, and how to construct a structure that is modern and ahead of its time and yet culturally and socially attuned.

Picture Credit: www.msn.com

He was born into an upper-class family in Guangzhou, China. His father was a leading banker at the time. He, later on, moved to Hong Kong and Shanghai. Though he had his roots deep in Chinese traditions, he was open to Western ideas and culture as well. After graduating from M.I.T, Pei went on to pursue his master’s degree from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard.

After a short stint working for the US National Defence Research Committee, Pei began his architectural career by working for William Zeckendorf in 1948. In 1955, he went on to open his own firm in New York City. The firm underwent a couple of name changes before it came to be known as Pei Cobb Freed and Partners in 1989 and continues to remain so.

His famous architectural wonders, that are timeless to say the least, include the famous Le Grand Louvre in Paris, Bank of China tower in Hong Kong, the Suzhou Museum in China, Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Dallas City Hall in the USA, Luce Memorial Chapel in Taiwan, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland USA, Kennedy Library in Boston, Miho Museum in Japan and many more.

While the world has lost a magical creator of design, the world of architecture lost its idol.