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Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Ieoh Ming Pei
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Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Ieoh Ming Pei
IEOH MING PEI
Awarded by
President George Bush
December 11, 1992
Perhaps the most famous architect in the world today, I.M. Pei's architectural feats represent the pinnacle of classic modernism. His very name, Ieoh Ming, means "to inscribe brightly," as his buildings have illuminated skylines worldwide. I.M. Pei has found beauty in simplicity and boldness in geometry, setting the standard for modern architecture. For the legacy of artistic elegance he has inscribed in our cities, America honors I.M. Pei.
Biography
Ieoh Ming Pei was born in April 26th, 1917 in Canton, China, son of a prominent banker. his grandfather gave him several advices as 'wherever you go, go with your heart' and 'if one day you are doing important things, always do them by means of virtue and you will be like the north star, which keeps its place while all other stars turn towards it.'
Pei emigrated to the us at 17 to study architecture at MIT. (the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) until 1940 and obtained his 'master' in architecture in 1946 from the Harvard graduate school of design. as a student he was influenced by the work of Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer.
His first professional experience was with the celebrated city planner-developer William Zeckendorf, for whom he designed large scale public housing projects. in 1955 he founded his own firm 'I.M.Pei and associates' which became' I.M.Pei & Partners' in 1966 and 'Pei Cobb Freed & Partners' in 1989.
Among his most renowned buildings are the US National Bank of Denver (1952-56) the Luce Chapel, Taiwan (1954-63) the Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, N. Y. (1961-64) the east wing of the National Gallery in Washington D.C. (1968-78) the Paul Mellon Center for the Arts, Wallingford, Connecticut (1968-72) the John F. Kennedy Library, Boston (1965-79) the west wing of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (1977-81) the Raffles City, Singapore (1973-86) the world trade center in Miami (1980-87) the Bank of China tower in Hong Kong (1982-89) the Grand Louvre in Paris (1983-89) the rock and roll hall of fame and museum, Cleveland (1987-95) and the Miho museum in Shiga, Japan (1991-97) the German Historical Museum, Berlin, under construction the Musée d'art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg, under construction the Basil & Elise Goulandris museum of Modern art, Athens, in design.
I.M.Pei has taught at the Harvard graduate school of design from 1945-48. among many association memberships, he has been nominated honorary academician of the Royal Academy of arts, London. among many awards there are the Pritzker architecture prize in 1983 and the Architects gold medal of the American Institute in 1979. he got several honorary degrees from the most important universities in the world as doctor of human letters, doctor of laws and doctor of fine arts.
a 1920s portrait of the Pei family
I. M. Pei is seated far left
I.M. Pei as a student at the Harvard University
(photos courtesy Prestel Verlag)
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Medal History
