Bei Yuming, a great architect of this world passed away on 16 May 2019 in his mansion in Manhattan.
Bei Yuming (Ieoh Ming Pei, 26 Apr 1917-16 May 2019, 102), Chinese-American, winner of 1983 Pritzker Architecture Prize, was billed as the last master of high modernist architecture.
Born into a notable family in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, Grandfather was the president of Central Bank of the Republic of China and also a founding member of Bank of China. His biological mother was an official in Imperial College, died of cancer when Bei was 13-year-old. Bei’s stepmom was the daughter of Jiang Lvjie, a Cunghua Minkuo diplomat. Bei also had a bigger sister, two little brothers, two little sisters. His wife Eileen Loo was a student studied in America. Together they raised three boys and one daughter (Bei Chien Chung & Bei Li Chung all became famous American architects).
26 Apr 2017 was the 100th birthday of Bei, architecture firms started a celebration for him collectively, he deserves the title architecture maestro. After knowing Bei’s death, Paul Goldberger, an American architectural critic, and educator tweeted: The end of an architectural era.
Presentation for THE NEW GOVERNMENT CENTER
Pei’s works are mainly public buildings, cultural and educational buildings, and are classified as modernist buildings, he made good use of steel, concrete, glass and stone. Representative works include the National Gallery of Washington, DC, the Louvre in Paris, France. The Bank of China Building in Hong Kong, the Republic of China Pavilion at the 1970 Japan Expo, and Luce Memorial Chapel of Tunghai University (co-designed with Chen Qikuan, executed by Chen Qikuan), recent works include the Doha Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar and the Chinese Embassy in the United States.
Musée du Louvre, Paris, designed by architect I.M. Pei.
Academia
1940, Winner of MIT Alpha Rho Chi Medal
1940, MIT Traveling Fellowship
1940, MIT AIA Medal
1951, Wheelwright Traveling Fellowship
1975, The American Academy of Arts and Letters Life-long Academician
1978-1980, The American Academy of Arts and Letters First President with Architecture Background
1979, Rhode Island School of Design Academician
1984, L’Académie des Beaux-Arts de France Foreign Academician
1993, The Royal Academy of Arts Honorary Academician
1997, L’Académie d’Architecture de France Oversea Academician
Notable Work
1956-1963: Luce Memorial Chapel of Tunghai University (co-designed with Chen Qikuan, executed by Chen Qikuan)
1961-1967: NCAR Mesa Laboratory, Colorado, USA
1962: Place Ville Marie, Canada
1967: Campus Design of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (external consultant)
1968-1974: Christ Church Science Center, Boston, MA, USA
1968: Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY, USA
1969: Cleopaques Memorial Library, Columbus, Indiana, USA
1970: Institute of Chinese Culture, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
1971: Harbor Towers, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
1972: Dallas City Hall, Dallas, Texas, USA
1973: Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
1974-1978: East Gallery, National Gallery of Washington, USA
1976: The University of Rochester, New York, Rochester, New York, was selected as the best top ten college student activity center building in the United States at the time.
1977: Hancock Building, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
1978-1982: Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
1979-1986: Javits Convention Center, New York, NY, USA
1981: Morgan Chase Building, Houston, TX, USA
1982: Xiangshan Hotel, Beijing, China, is the first work of foreign architects after the reform and opening up in mainland China. It also set off a great discussion on the combination of Chinese traditional architecture and modernism in the Chinese architectural circles.
1982-1990: Hong Kong Bank of China Tower, the tallest building in Hong Kong at the time, was twice the floor area of Norman Foster’s head office designed by Norman Foster, and the cost was not one-fifth.
1985: Wiesner Building, Media Lab, MIT, Boston, MA, USA
1989: The Louvre project in Paris, France, the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution, one of the top ten projects in Paris, and the only one that was not commissioned by French President Mitterrand after the bidding competition.
1990: New Wing of the German Museum of History in Berlin, Germany
1995: Head Office of Bank of China, Beijing, China
1996-1997: MIHO MUSEUM, Kaga City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan
1998: Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Ohio, USA
2002: Suzhou Museum, Suzhou, China
2004: Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United States, Washington, USA
2006: Macau Science Museum
2006-2008: Doha Museum of Islamic Art, Doha
Here are some notable buildings designed by I.M. PEI, though Mr.Pei is gone, the spirit he put in architecture will never vanish.
The John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, designed by architect I.M. Pei.
Suzhou Museum, China, designed by architect I.M. Pei.
Interior of Suzhou Museum, designed by architect I.M. Pei.
John Hancock Tower, Boston, designed by architect I.M. Pei.
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, NY, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center