How IM Pei Embraced Past and Present

2 | Monday, May 20, 2019 GLOBAL EDITION CHINA DAILY PAGE TWO Left: The Suzhou Museum provides an escape from the heat of summer. CHEN LANFENG / FOR CHINA DAILY Center and below: The museum coexists harmoniously with its surroundings. PHOTOS BY WEI XIAOHAO / CHINA DAILY Right: Pei’s Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, capital of Qatar, was completed in 2008. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY How I.M. Pei embraced past and present Visionary architect celebrated as master of his craft By LIN QI in Beijing, to present fl owers in honor of Pei his design for the Louvre Pyramid. modern context. KONG WENZHENG in New York and to appreciate his work. Since “He said people misunderstood Pei was 87 when he started to and CANG WEI in Nanjing Friday morning, hundreds of people him by relating the design to an design the Suzhou Museum. Qian in Suzhou have visited the museum Let us all be attentive to new ideas, Egyptian pyramid. He said he chose Zhaoyue, deputy director of the hinese-American archi- to pay tribute to him, and the room to advancing means, to dawning needs, a pyramid shape because it was the museum, said its workers were tect I.M. Pei, who died in will remain open for at least a week. smallest structure he could think of impressed by Pei’s persistence when C a New York hospital on Pei’s designs for the Louvre Pyra- to impetuses of change, so that we may that would not disrupt the historic he was designing the building. Thursday at the age of 102, mid and Suzhou Museum reveal achieve, beyond architectural originality, landscape of the Louvre whilst cap- “Mr. Pei didn’t start the design once described his designs as “one’s his two worlds, one in which he turing as much light as possible. until he had researched all the cul- dozen daughters who are distinctive was steeped in history and cultural a harmony of spirit in the service of man.” “He said an architect needed to tural relics we kept,” Qian said. “He from one another”. traditions and the other in which think carefully, and that was why also suggested where some of the I. M. Pei, Chinese-American architect Among the designs, the Louvre he was exposed to the freedom of it took him some six months to relics should be placed, and designed Pyramid in Paris and the Suzhou modernist architectural design. study and to analyze before accept- some of the display cabinets. Museum in his ancestral province Standing at the crossroads of past ing the Louvre commission off ered “The museum combines tradi- of Jiangsu, are closely associated and present — the East and West — by then French President Francois tional Chinese and modern archi- with the 1983 Pritzker Architecture Pei provided those using his designs Mitterrand.” tectural features. The building Prize laureate. across the world with fresh, invit- Annette Fierro, associate profes- coexists harmoniously with the Pei spoke of the Paris project as ing experiences by smartly balanc- sor of architecture at the Weitzman environment.” “the greatest challenge and greatest ing culture, nature, light and social School of Design, University of Lu Andong, an architecture accomplishment” of his lifetime. needs. Pennsylvania, said Pei’s work at the professor at Nanjing University in His design for the Louvre’s main Daniel M. Abramson, professor Louvre revolutionized the way con- Jiangsu province, said the Suzhou entrance in the shape of a pyramid of the history of art and architec- struction was done in France. Museum is his favorite Pei design, sparked strong opposition and criti- ture at Boston University, said, “Before that, there would be a sys- because the architect shunned all cism in France. The structure, once “In design, Pei’s signature was the tem of detail in construction, and he cliched cultural elements and used considered a folly, but now widely use of a few large-scale geometric insisted he would not do that. When “modernist architectural language” recognized as an iconic landmark, shapes for building masses, both he built the Louvre Pyramid, there to reinterpret and hail the spirit of celebrates its 30th anniversary this in combination (for example, the were many, many protests. There Chinese tradition, through which year. National Gallery of Art East Wing were a series of challenges while it he gave the museum decency, calm, Pei worked with his two archi- in Washington) and standing alone was built. There were articles in the creativity and a “modest touch”. tect sons to complete the Suzhou (for example the Louvre Pyramid). newspapers every single day. People Cao Jun, director of the Suzhou Museum, his fi nal work in his native “Another signature was Pei’s Above: Pei poses with a model for the Louvre Pyramid in Paris were against the project and were Art Museum, was a member of a China. He referred to the museum, highly refi ned use of poured con- in 1985. Below: The Louvre Pyramid caused great controversy. outraged. government delegation from the built in a classic Chinese garden crete. Both of these signatures — AFP FILE PHOTOS “And then when it opened, they city that visited Pei in 2001 to invite style that blends well with Suzhou’s abstract shapes and attention to realized it was not going to be a him to design the building. He said landscape, as his “dearest little material — made Pei a modernist standard glass building. It had a he was impressed by the architect’s daughter”. He said, “I do care about architect, one interested in artistry, city for 600 years. York developer William Zeckendorf kind of specialness to it, in the way “distinguished charisma” when he this museum, because I gave it a lot not standardization.” The family owned Shizilin, or for 12 years, gaining experience by that the structure worked, in the fi rst met with him. of my love and my energy.” Abramson added, “Pei’s refi ned Lion Grove Garden, one of the most participating in urban renewal and details — all of the fi nesse of the “He liked to listen to us speaking The two institutions have joined restraint with the abstract vocabu- renowned tourist attractions in a low-income housing projects across building worked against the exist- in the Suzhou dialect and he replied widespread mourning for Pei as lary and materials of modern archi- city known for its beautiful gardens. the US. ing context of the Louvre.” in a Shanghai accent,” Cao said. people pay tribute to his prolific tecture — not to mention his acu- Pei’s grandfather, a well-known In 1955, Pei started his own Fierro said Pei “completely revo- He said the delegation brought career. men with clients and the public fi nancier, asked him to spend some practice, winning commissions for lutionized the way you build in a Pei a bottle of fresh jitoumi — which The Louvre has opened a page — made modern architecture not time at the house during summer his stark designing style that fea- historic context, because the Louvre translates as “chicken head rice” on its website on which a black and just acceptable but truly popular in holidays. tured less ornamentation but cre- Pyramid was a total departure — it or “gorgon fruit seed”. It is usu- white photo shows Pei smiling in the 1970s and ’80s for monumental Pei and his cousins used to play ated bright, inviting spaces for the was glass and steel, and it was very ally cooked with sugar and dried front of the glass pyramid. cultural and civic buildings.” in the garden, hide in the strange- public. advanced technologically”. osmanthus as a traditional festive Its tribute to Pei states, “A vision- Born in Guangzhou, Guangdong ly shaped hollow rocks and enjoy “The simpler the solution, the Hu, from Tsinghua University, treat in Suzhou, which Pei missed ary architect who enjoyed an excep- province, to a large, wealthy family, views of the stone bridge, ponds and more powerful it is,” he said. recalled that Pei said that gener- the most. tionally rich and long career, Pei fol- Pei was expected to become a bank- waterfalls. He used to say that he “Architecture is stones and brick, ally there are two types of people Cao also recalled that Pei treated lowed in the footsteps of acclaimed er, like his father who cofounded realized later how the years spent in concrete and steel,” he told The in architecture, “one making actual the delegation to dinner at a French architects, leaving an indelible Bank of China, or a doctor, as his Suzhou infl uenced his designs and Washington Post. “Architecture has designs and the other carrying out restaurant and when they had fi n- mark on the museum with his work father had wished. But Pei’s artist made him aware of the relationship to endure.” theoretical studies — and he was ished, a woman from a neighboring that boldly took the Louvre into the mother instilled in him an early between people and nature. Pei was highly persistent with the former”. table approached, holding a bottle modern era.” interest in art and culture. In 1935, Pei arrived in the Unit- his style, which was grounded in “He was quite pragmatic. He was of French wine. She wanted to give Pei: Time in Suzhou infl uenced Pei moved to Shanghai with his ed States to pursue his dream of thoughtful, comprehensive analysis not an architect who liked to pro- the wine to Pei in thanks for his designs parents when he was 10. The pros- becoming an architect. Although before he began the design work. duce meaningless rhetoric, write design of the Louvre Pyramid.

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