I.M. PEI

I.M. PEI CHINESE-BORN AMERICAN ARCHITECT. IN 1935, PEI MOVED TO THE UNITED STATES. SPENT HIS FREE TIME RESEARCHING THE EMERGING MASTERS OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE, ESPECIALLY LE CORBUSIER. HE JOINED THE HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF DESIGN (GSD) AND BECAME FRIENDS WITH THE BAUHAUS ARCHITECTS WALTER GROPIUS AND MARCEL BREUER. IN THE LATE 1980S, PEI WAS THE FOCUS OF A HUGE CONTROVERSY WHEN HE DESIGNED A GLASS-AND-STEEL PYRAMID FOR THE LOUVRE MUSEUM IN PARIS. PEI WAS INSPIRED BY THE INNOVATIVE DESIGNS OF THE NEW INTERNATIONAL STYLE, CHARACTERIZED BY SIMPLIFIED FORM AND THE USE OF CONCRETE, STEEL AND GLASS MATERIALS. PRITZKER PRIZE, 1983. WIKI HISTORY.