I.M.

Pie
 Ieoh Ming Pei was born in
Suzhou, in China on April 26,
1917.
 His father, a prominent
banker, was later the director
of the Bank of China and the
governor of the Central Bank
of China.
 His first education was at
St. Paul's College, Hong Kong
and then at
Saint John's University,
Shanghai before moving to
the United States to study
architecture at MIT and
Harvard in 1935.
 He started at the
University of Pennsylvania
before going on to receive his
Bachelor of Architecture
degree from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1940.
 I.M. Pie
 He enrolled at the Harvard Graduate School of Design two
years later; shortly thereafter, he served at the
National Defense Research Committee in
Princeton, New Jersey
 In 1944 he returned to Harvard, received his master degree
in Architecture in 1946 and stayed at Harvard as an
assistant professor
 In 1948, William Zeckendorf hired Pei to work at the real
estate development corporation Webb and Knapp as the
Director of Architecture. While at Webb and Knapp, Pei
worked on many large-scale architectural and planning
projects across the country.
 Pei found his own architectural firm in 1955, which was
known as I. M. Pei & Partners until 1989 when it became
known as Pei Cobb Freed & Partners recognizing
James Ingo Freed and Henry N. Cobb.
 Recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, 1983.
 Recipient of the American Institute of Architects Gold
 I.M. Pie
 Due to his reliance on abstract form and
materials such as stone, concrete, glass, and
steel, Pei has been considered a disciple of Walter
Gropius
 However, Pei shows little concern with theory. He
does not believe that architecture must find
forms to express the times or that it should
remain isolated from commercial forces.
 Pei generally designs sophisticated glass clad
buildings loosely related to the high-tech
movement. However, many of his designs result
from original design concepts.
 He frequently works on a large scale and is
renowned for his sharp, geometric designs.
Pei Cobb Freed and Partners
The founders of the firm were I.M. Pie, Eason H.
Leonard and Henry N. Cobb.
The partners in the firm were Henry N. Cobb,
Michael D. Flynn, George H. Miller, Ian Bader,
Yvonne Szeto.
Since the formation of the firm in 1955, Pie Cobb
Freed and partners has completed more than 200
projects around the world. The clients have
included major corporations, private developers
and public authorities, as well as educational,
cultural and religious institutions. Included in the
great diversity of building types that the firm has
explored is an extensive collection of tall
buildings.
Some of the best known works are:
 John F. Kennedy Library
 John Hancock Tower
 John Joseph Moakley Courthouse
 Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Centre
 Fountain Palace: Dallas
 Bank Of China Tower: Hong Kong
 Jacob K. Javits Convention Centre: New York
 National Constitution Centre On Independence
Mall: Philadelphia
 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Cleveland
 Expansion and modernization of Louvre Museum:
Paris
 San Francisco Main Public Library
 East Building of the National Gallery of Art
 Ronald Reagan Building
 Meyerson Symphony Four Seasons Hote
Center Dallas New Yor
United States Air Force
Memorial, Arlington, VA

ational Gallery of Art, East

Building, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Holocaust Memorial
Museum, Washington, D.C.
 San Francisco
Main Public Library
ountain Place, Dallas

United States Courthouse

rles Shipman Payson Building,
and Harbor park, Boston
land Museum of Art, Portland
Among the firm’s many works in
progress:
 1000 Connecticut Avenue: Washington
D.C.
 Butler College Dormitories/Masters’
Residences at Princeton University
 The Capital group Companies: Irvine
Recently completed works include:
 1700 K Street: Washington D.C.
 Bellevue Hospital Centre Ambulatory Care
Facility: New York
 Edmund D. Bossone Research Enterprise
Centre at Drexel University: Philadelphia
 Pyramide du Louvre
 Architect: I.M. Pie
 Location: Paris, France
(1989)
 Building Type: Art
Museum entrance
 Construction System:
glass and steel rods
and cable
 Climate: Temperate
 Context: Urban
 Style: Modern
 from
inside The Louvre
Pyramid

The large glass

pyramid
of le musée du
Louvre

Exterior view Inside northeast wall

 Louvre Pyramid
 Louvre Pyramid is the large metal and glass
pyramid which serves as the main entrance to the
catacombs and has in the meantime become a
landmark for Paris.
 It was built in 1989 by the architect I.M. Pie from
New York.
 The structure was constructed entirely with glass
segments, reaches a height of 20.6 meters (about
70 feet); its square base has side of 35 meters (115
feet).
 It consists of 603 rhombus-shaped and 70
triangular glass segments.
 The construction of the pyramid triggered
considerable controversy, many people
feeling that this futuristic edifice looks
quite out of place in front of the Louvre
Museum with its classical architecture.
 Some of the people appreciated the
contrasting architectural styles as a
successful merger of the old and the new,
the classical and the ultra-modern.
 The main pyramid is actually only the
largest of several glass pyramids that were
constructed near the museum, including
the downward- pointing La Pyramide
Inversee that functions as a skylight in an
underground mall in front of the museum.
 Of all the grand projects in Paris, none created
such a stir as the Pie Pyramids in the courtyard of
the famous Louvre Museum. Spectacular in
concept and form, they provide a startling
remainder of the audacious ability of modern
architects to invigorate and re-circulate
traditional architectural forms.
 The main pyramid is basically a complex inter-
linked steel structure sheathed in reflective glass.
 It is an entrance doorway providing a long
entrance portico to the main galleries of the
Louvre.
 As one descends into the interior entrance foyer,
the dramatic nature of the intervention becomes
apparent.
 The main pyramid, which disturbs the balance of
the old Louvre courtyard, is countered by two
smaller pyramids, which provide further light and
ventilation to the subterranean spaces.
 Exterior Pyramide through a
view Louvre passageway

ooking in through
he pyramid Detail of north wes
wall from inside
 Bank of China Tower
 Architect: I.M. Pie
 Location: Hong Kong (1982-1990)
 Building Type: Skyscraper, commercial office
tower
 Construction System: steel frame, glass curtain
wall
 Climate: Tropical
 Context: Urban
 Style: Modern
 Planning: Graceful, concise and structurally
expressive, triangular stepped-back plan.
 Height: Antenna/Spire=369 meters, Roof=315
meters, Floor count=70.
 Bank of China Tower
 The Bank of China Tower is
one of the most recognized
skyscrapers in Central,
Hong Kong. It houses the
headquarters for the Bank
of China Limited.
 The building is 315 meters
high with two masts
reaching 369 meters (1200
feet) high.
 This 70 storey building was
the tallest building in Hong
Kong and Asia from 1989
to 1992, and first building
outside US to break the
1000 foot mark.
 It is now the third tallest
skyscraper in Hong Kong.
 Bank of China Tower
 The structural expressionism adopted in the
design of this building resembles growing
bamboo shoots, symbolizing livelihood and
prosperity.
 The whole structure is supported by the five steel
columns at the corners of the building, with the
triangular frameworks transferring the weight of
the structure onto these five columns.
 The building has been criticized by some
practitioners of Feng Shui for its sharp edges and
its negative symbolism by the numerous ‘X’
shapes in its original design.
 The building’s profile from some angles
resembles that of a clever.
View of the Bank of China
Tower from various angles

The Bank of China Towe

in Hong Kong's skyline
Hancock Palace
 Architect: I.M. Pie
 Location: Boston,
Massachusetts (1977)
 Building type:
skyscraper,
commercial office
tower
 Construction system:
steel frame and glass
curtain wall
 Climate: Temperate
 Context: Urban
 Style: Corporate
Modern
 John Hancock Tower
 The building is a 60-storey, 790 feet tall
(241 meters) skyscraper.
 Like all large, heavily glazed buildings, the
tower requires substantial air conditioning
year round– even with its reflective walls.
 The design of this tower took the glass
monolith skyscraper concept to new
heights. The tower is an achievement in
minimalist, modernist skyscraper design.
 Minimalism was the design principal behind the
tower. The largest panes of glass possible were
used.
 There are no spandrels panels, and the mullions
are minimal.
 Pie added a geometric modernist twist by using a
parallelogram shape for the tower floor plan.
 From the most common views, this design makes
the corners of the tower appear very sharp.
 The highly reflective window glass is tinted
slightly blue, which results in the tower having
only a slight contrast with the sky on a clear day.
 As a final modernist touch, the short sides of the
parallelogram are marked with a deep vertical
notch, breaking the tower’s mass and
emphasizing its verticality.
Falling glass panes

 The building's most dangerous and conspicuous

flaw was its faulty glass windows.
 Entire 227 kg windowpanes detached from the
building and crashed to the sidewalk hundreds of
feet below. The surrounding streets whenever
winds reached 72 km/h were closed.
 The problem was a combination of the double-
paned glass construction method, and the
pressure differentials between the inside and
outside air.
 All panes were replaced by a different heat-
treated variety and plywood replaced the
building's windows.
Looking straight up at
ohn Hancock Tower,
View of the Hancock Palac
viewing a broad corner
from various angles
 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
 Architect: I.M. Pie
 Location: Cleveland,
Ohio (1998)
 Building type:
museum, hall of fame
 Climate: temperate
 Style: electic modern
 Main feature are the
glazed pyramidoids
combined with various
solids.
 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
 This museum is dedicated to recording the
history of some of the best known and
most influential artists, producers, and
other people who have in some major way
influenced the music industry, particularly
in the area of rock and roll.
 The museum documents the entire history
of rock and roll, regardless of induction
status. Hall of Fame inductees are honored
in a special exhibit inside the museum’s
spire.
 While the museum is located in Cleveland,
the induction ceremony is held in New
 The Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame at sunset

Guitar sculptures
Outside of the Rock HallInterior of the Rock Hall
 AIA National Honor Awards
 College Conservatory of Music University of
Cincinnati
 United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
 The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Centre
 Fountain Place
 Jacob K. Javits Convention Centre
 IBM Corporate Office Building
 Charles Shipman Payson Building, Portland
Museum of Art
 Fragrant Hill Hotel
 National Gallery of Art, East Building
 John Hancock Tower
 Everson Museum of Art
 Laura Spelman Rockefeller Halls, Princeton
University
 88 Pine Street (Wall Street Plaza)
 Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell
University
 Paul Mellon Centre for the Arts, The Choate
School
 Des Moines Art Centre Addition
 Hoffman Hall, Graduate School of Business
Administration, University of Southern California
 University Plaza, New York University
 School of Journalism-S.I. Newhouse
Communications Centre
 Society Hill
 East West Centre, University of Hawaii
 Denver Hilton Hotel Court House Square
 Firm Awards
 The American Institute of Architects
Architectural Firm Award :June 24,1968
 Poses Creative Arts Award for Architecture
:April 1,1981
 Chicago Architectural Award :June 14,1985
 Construction Specifications Institute The
Metropolitan New York Chapter Honor
Award :May 9,1990
 New York Society of Architects Lifetime
Achievement Award :November 19,1992
 Bibliography
 International Style : Modern Architecture from 1925 to
1965--- Hasan Uddin Khan
 New Forms : Architecture in the 1990’s --- Philip Jodido
 Sky High Living : Contemporary High Rise Apartments and
Mixed Use Buildings --- Georges Binder/Donald J.
Trump
 Glass in Architecture : Michael Wigginton
 New Vernacular Architecture : Vicky Richardson
 Modern Architecture Since 1900 : William J.R. Curns
 New Building Today : Architecture of the 1990’s
 Webliography
 en.wikipedia.org
 architecture.about.com
 France.archiseek.com
 www.greatbuildingsonline.com
 www.designboom.com
 www.pcfandp.com
 www.pritzkerprize.com
 www.noogenesis.com
 www.earchitect.co.uk
 www.answers.com
 www.archiplant.org
 www.encyclopedia.com
 www.designcommunity.com