Ieoh Ming Pei The contemporary great architect

Early life and education  Chinese name: 貝聿銘  born in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China  April 26, 1917  At 17, went to the US to study architecture  received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from MIT in 1940  I. M. Pei became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1954

 In 1955 he formed the partnership of I. M. Pei & Associates, which became I. M. Pei & Partners in 1966 and Pei Cobb Freed & Partners in 1989  received the 1968 Architectural Firm Award of the American Institute of Architects, the highest honor bestowed on an architectural practice by the Institute  In late 1990, after more than four decades of practice, Mr. Pei retired from the firm in order to pursue smaller projects of personal interest

Accomplishments  the Gold Medal for Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects  the Gold Medal from Alpha Rho Chi (the national professional fraternity of architects)  the Grande M é daille d'Or from the French Acad é mie d'Architecture  the Pritzker Architecture Prize

His projects  Luce Memorial Chapel (1963)  Dallas, Texas City Hall (1972)  John Hancock Tower, in Boston (1976)  East Building, National Gallery of Art (1979)  Bank of China Tower ( )  Pyramids of the Louvre (1989)

Hancock Tower

Basic information  Located in Boston  John Hancock Tower /"New" Hancock Tower /officially named Hancock Place  designed by I.M. Pei and Henry N. Cobb  790 feet  sixty floors  10,344 panes of glass  4' x 11', 500 lb (1.2x3.4 m, 227 kg) windowpanes  completed in 1976

introduction  In 1977 the AIA presented Cobb with a National Honor Award for the John Hancock Tower  As of 2005, it is the tallest building in New England, the 43rd tallest building in the United States, and the 112th tallest building in the world  achievement in minimalist, modernist skyscraper design  no spandrels between the floors and the mullions are minimal  glass is tinted blue -transplanted sky in day time

Falling glass panes  The building's most dangerous flaw  Police close off surrounding streets whenever winds reached 45 mph (72 km/h)  Glass crashes to the sidewalk hundreds of feet below  combination of the double- paned glass  pressure differentials between the inside and outside air  installing a network of 10,000 sensors

Pyramide du Louvre  Architect: I.M.Pei  Location: Paris France  Date :1989

 Building Type: art museum entrance  Construction System: glass and steel rods and cable  Style :modern

The Louvre is the most famous of the Grands Projets.It is not so much the pyramid, but the entrance space that it covers that is the most important part of the project. The brilliance of making an entrance to the world’s largest art museum by hollowing-out its plaza and constructing underground connections to its various wings could easily be lost amidst the unmistakable iconography of the pyramid. The entrance has rationalized and opened-up the collections of the Louvre to the throngs of museum-goers who visit its collections.

Bank of China Tower- a Star Among Stars  One of the most recognized skyscrapers in Hong Kong.  Symbol of the strength, vitality and growth.

 The tallest building in Hong Kong and Asia from 1989 to 1992  located near Central MTR station  A small observation deck on the 43rd floor of the building is open to the public.

Inspiration  Bamboo---symbol of revitalization and hope.  X-shape ---bad luck in Chinese culture  Sharp edge like a cleaver---criticism of Feng Shui  Chinese element--- statue of lion in front of the gate

Bank of China Tower