Ieoh Ming Pei will remain in France as the architect of the Louvre pyramid. The glass structure imposing, today a symbol of the city of light. And yet if challenged. «Atrocity», «ruinous gadget», the critics showered upon the presentation of the project model. Defended tooth and nail by François Mitterrand, the whole is finally inaugurated in 1988. King of heights and geometric shapes, the Iep is reinvented on each creation.
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The consecration arrives in 1983. He received the Pritzker prize, the equivalent of the Nobel of architecture, for the extension of the New York Met. From skyscrapers to museums, passing by embassies, the architect has invested in the largest cities of the world and marked his century. He died Thursday at the age of 102 years, announced his son to the New York Times .
» READ ALSO – The century of Ieoh Ming Pei, designer of the Louvre pyramid
The hotel city of Dallas (1978)
True inverted pyramid, the city hall of Dallas is the first major achievement of Ieoh Ming Pei. The project is inspired by a building designed by Le Corbusier for the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh in India. Protruding largely to the initial budget, the project will take eleven years.
The JP Morgan Chase Tower, tallest building in Houston (1982)
Ieoh Ming Pei is no exception. The architect is engaged in a race for height, and erecting a forest of skyscrapers to the four corners of the United States. Among them, the JP Morgan Chase Tower in Houston. Even today, it is the tallest tower in Texas with its 305 meters high. It will be seriously damaged during hurricane Ike in 2008.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston (1979) thousands of people were gathered in front of the library on August 28, 2009 to the entrance of the coffin of senator Eward Kennedy. CHIP SOMODEVILLA/AFP
In 1966, the Iep is directly called by the Kennedy family to perform the building dedicated to the 35th president of the United States. But the project was slow to begin. The authorities of Boston are not able to agree on the location. For budgetary reasons, the concrete is selected instead of the stone, much to the chagrin of Iap. Yet accustomed to controversies and compromises, the architect will entrust not be satisfied with the building final. The initial plans included a large glass pyramid, in the same vein as the Louvre. Inaugurated in 1979 for president Jimmy Carter, the library contains official documents and correspondence of the era Kennedy.
Chinese Embassy in the United States, Washington (2008) The embassy of China in the United States in Washington, includes an auditorium of 200 seats and a conference room that can accommodate a thousand people. ROBERT MACPHERSON/AFP
Born in China in 1917, Ieoh Ming Pei a career in the United States. After the architecture school of Pennsylvania, he joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) and the school of design of Harvard. It is therefore natural that the chinese government made use of his services, or rather to his son. The Chinese embassy in Washington was designed by Chien Chung and Li Chung Pei, of Pei Partnership Architects. Their father played the role of a consultant for this project of several million dollars.
The Bank of China in Hong Kong (1990) The building of the Bank of China in Hong Kong, one of the symbols of the city. Eßling/Imago/Rue des Archives
With its overlay of diamonds, the tower of Bank of China is the one of the skyscrapers the most notable of the city. Two masts propel him to the height 367.4 m. This was the tallest building in Hong Kong and Asia until 1992. Architectural symbol of the city, it is also a movie star. The building is even cut in two by a meteorite in Battleship, blockbuster, Peter Berg with Rihanna, released in 2012.
The tour EDF in la Défense (2002) With the pyramid of the Louvre, the tour EDF in Paris is the second monument designed in France by Ieoh Ming Pei. François BOUCHON/Le Figaro
Latest achievement of the architect in France, the building of glass throne in the parisian district of la Défense. After the pyramid of the Louvre, Pei will make rare appearances in the French landscape. In 1989, he renovated the interior of the national museum of asian arts Guimet.
exhibition Hall of the German historical museum, Berlin (2004) The German historical Museum in Berlin was founded in 1987. DPA/DPA/ABACA
Germany is one of the few European countries with France and Spain to welcome a realization of the sino-american architect. The original building of 1987, the Iep added a new showroom. The input cylindrical entirely in glass gives access to the building of more than 2 000 m2.
Round Area of Madrid (2007), The «Torre Espacio» (to the right) is home to the embassies of Britain, Canada and Australia. Andrea Comas/Reuters
Tower of the ambassadors, the «Torre Espacio» houses since 2009 the british embassy in Madrid. There are also the embassies of Canada and Australia. From a height of 230 meters, the building twisted-pair is now the fourth tallest building of the Spanish capital.
Museum of islamic art in Doha, Qatar (2008) The staging of the exhibition halls of the MIA has been entrusted to the French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Tass/Tass/ABACA
Directly controlled by the royal family qatari, the museum of islamic art (MIA) in Doha is one of the achievements of the most daring of the architect. More than 90 years, this book in 2008, this jewel of architecture. Sort of mosque cubic , flanked by two pillars of monumental directly overlooking the sea. Staged by the French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, the interior is home to more than 4000 pieces of the history of islam from the Seventh to the Nineteenth centuries. As for the restaurant, the card has been entrusted to Alain Ducasse.
Macao Science Center (2009)
The Macao science center, China, is the latest creation of Ieoh Ming Pei in association with the law firm of her two sons with Pei Partnership Architects. The building in the shape of a beaker contains conference rooms, an exhibition and a planetarium.