Louvre Pyramid architect I M Pei passes away at 102

Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei (I M Pei), internationally recognised for designing the Louvre Pyramid as well as Washington D.C’s National Gallery of Art and Boston’s John F Kennedy Library, has sadly passed away at the staggering age of 102.

Recognised by FAIA and RIBA for his efforts towards architecture, the man that is always smiling was known for his meticulously geometric structures across culturally significant buildings worldwide.

Working well into his 80s, Ieoh Ming completed his Middle Eastern masterpiece, the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha at an age when most of us hope to be relaxing in a quiet life of retirement. Born in 1917 in Guangzhou, China, the architect moved to America at 18 to study at prestigious North American establishments including Pennsylvania, MIT and Harvard.

During the Second World War, he worked as a research scientist for the US government, going onto start an eponymous architectural firm I. M. Pei & Associates in 1955. Remaining a consultant at the evolved firm til his death, the architect’s impressive career includes a teaching bout at Harvard and several awards including the AIA Gold Medal in 1979, the first Praemium Imperiale for Architecture, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in 2003 and in 1983 he was awarded the so-called “Nobel Prize of Architecture”, the Pritzker Prize.