Pei started his career, with many architectural contracts in Boston, New
York City, and Los Angeles. During the war, he worked with a unit of the National Defense Research
Committee. From 1945 to 1948, he was an assistant professor at the Graduate School of
Design of Harvard University.
In 1948, Pei joined the
firm of Webb and Knapp, New York City, as director of the architectural division, with a
real estate developer William Zeckendorf, heading of the firm, Pei created many urban
projects as the Mile High Center in Denver Colo, The Hyde Park re-development in Chicago
and the Ville Marie in Montreal.
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Pei formed his own architectural firm, I. M. Pei and Associates in 1955. The noteworthy projects executed by this firm were the Luce Memorial Chapel in Taiwan, The National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. and The Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York. For the Federal Aviation Agency, Pei designed a type of pentagonal control tower that was installed at many American airports. The establishment of his company gave him ample scope to work outside the area of commercial development. The first project that brought widespread recognition to Pei and his firm was the ‘National Center for Atmospheric Research’. This project helped ensure that the world recognize his unmistakable personal touch, he left behind in his buildings and projects.
Pei’s stature as an architect grew in size with every project. His |
career is studded with prestigious awards. His firm was renamed I M Pei and Partners, which included distinguished architects Henry N Cobb and James Ingo Freed, and many other leading practitioners along with his two sons. On the basis of a 1960
design competition, Pei was selected to design the multi-airline terminal at John F
Kennedy International Airport. Pei came to National prominence when he was selected to
design Jacqueline Kennedy the John F Kennedy Library in Boston. From here, there was no
turning back for him as he kept climbing the ladder of success. Several years later, he
was awarded the commission for the East Building of the National gallery of Art, which was
chosen as one of the 10 best building in America by the College of Fellows of the American
Institute of Architects.
In 1979, Pei began
Fragrant Hill Hotel in Beijing, the first major building undertaken in post Maoist China.
In 1989, he completed such significant buildings as the Morton H Meyerson Symphony Center
in Dallas, the 70 storey Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong and the first phase of the Grand
Louvre in Paris. The second and final phase of the Grand Louvre was completed in 1993. In
1995, at the age of 78, Pei completed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in
Cleveland. He retired from the firm in 1999, but remained active professionally.
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