This past April, Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming �I.M.

� Pei, mastermind of
seven decades of iconic international projects, turned 101. His designs, including
the Louvre�s ethereal courtyard pyramid, are recognizable for their intricate
geometries, novel use of glass, and marriage of modernist style with various
classical and traditional architectures. After moving from Shanghai in 1935, Pei
studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, architectural engineering
at MIT, and design at Harvard under Bauhaus masters Walter Gropius

Walter Gropius
German-American, 1883�1969
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The nephew of famed architect Martin Gropius, Walter Gropius emerged from World War
I seeking to reinvent society through the advent of a new kind of�
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and Marcel Breuer. By 1955, Pei had opened his own New York firm, I.M. Pei &
Associates (now Pei Cobb Freed & Partners). Though Pei retired in 1990, he went on
to create and consult on a spate of projects post-retirement.
The architect�s very first museum�a monumental abstract work of chiseled granite
and concrete that boasts a sculpture court, cantilevered galleries, and a circular
concrete staircase�also celebrated a milestone this year. Completed 50 years ago,
the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York, has housed the first solo
exhibitions of Yoko Ono, Marilyn Minter, and Joan Mitchell.
Pei�s eclectic portfolio spans Boston�s JFK Presidential Library and Museum, Hong
Kong�s Bank of China Tower, and the East Building of Washington, D.C.�s National
Gallery of Art. Below, we pay homage to some of his cardinal creations.

Collaborating with artist-architect Chen Chi-Kwan, Pei designed the Luce Memorial
Chapel in line with the Tang dynasty�modeled architecture of Tunghai University�s
Taichung City campus. The architects initially conceived of a chapel wrought from
wood, but ultimately adopted reinforced concrete to account for Taiwan�s humid
climate, as well its typhoon- and earthquake-prone nature.
The chapel�s hexagonal floor plan accommodates a 500-seat nave, a chancel, and
robing rooms that lie beneath its rib-reinforced, sloping, brick-and-glass walls,
which become thinner as they crescendo to the cross at the building�s summit.
Structural connections and beams conjoin the walls, which appear to stand
independently. Named after a 19th-century missionary, the chapel and its elaborate
formwork�forged by local artisans�serve as a central landmark and place of worship
for students and teachers.