I.M. Pei | The Pritzker Architecture Prize

Ieoh Ming Pei’s architecture can be characterized by its faith in modernism, humanized by its subtlety, lyricism, and beauty. Pei was born in Canton China in 1917 and came to the United States in 1935 to study first at the University of Pennsylvania and then at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (B. Arch. 1940) and the Harvard Graduate School of Design (M. Arch. 1946). In 1948, he accepted the newly created post of Director of Architecture at Webb & Knapp, Inc., the real estate development firm, and this association resulted in major architectural and planning projects in Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, Pittsburgh and other cities. In 1955, he formed the partnership of I.M. Pei & Associates, which became I.M. Pei & Partners in 1966. The partnership received the 1968 Architectural Firm Award of The American Institute of Architects. In 1989, the firm was renamed Pei Cobb Freed and Partners.

Pei has designed over fifty projects in this country and abroad, many of which have been award winners. Two of his most prominent commissions have included the East Building of the National Gallery of Art (1978), in Washington, D.C., and the extension of the Louvre in Paris, France. The need to modernize and expand the Louvre, while respecting its history and architecture, led to the centrally located glass pyramid which forms the new main entrance and provides direct access to galleries in each of the museum's three wings. The pyramid also serves as a skylight for a very large expansion building constructed under the courtyard which provides all public amenities and technical support for the museum.

Other outstanding examples of his work include: the Bank of China in Hong Kong (1989), the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library (1979) near Boston, The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center (1989) in Dallas, Texas; the Society Hill development in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, completed in 1964; the Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation Centre (1976), the West Wing and renovation of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (1981 and 1986); the Fragrant Hill Hotel (1982) near Beijing, China; Creative Artists Agency Headquarters (1989) in Beverly Hills, California; an IBM Office Complex (1989) in Somers, NY and another in Purchase, NY; the Everson Museum of Art (1968), Syracuse, New York; and the Texas Commerce Tower (1982) in Houston.

He has designed arts facilities and university buildings on the campuses of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Rochester, Cornell University, Syracuse University, New York University and the University of Hawaii.

As a student, he was awarded the MIT Traveling Fellowship, and the Wheelwright Traveling Fellowship at Harvard. His subsequent honors include the following: the Brunner Prize in Architecture from the National institute of Art and Letters (1961); the Medal of Honor of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (1963), the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Medal for Architecture (1976), the Gold Medal for Architecture of the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1979), the Gold Medal of The American Institute of Architects (1979), and the Gold Medal of the French Académie d'Architecture (1981).

Ieoh Ming Pei, architect of some of the world's most acclaimed buildings, has been chosen the 1983 Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize.

I.M. Pei's structures have received global recognition for the past three decades, beginning with the Mile High Center in Denver, Colorado in 1955, and most recently, the Fragrant Hill Hotel in Beijing, China, the country of his birth.

Among his other renowned works in this country are the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the West Wing of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the New York City Convention and Exhibition Center, the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and the Texas Commerce Tower in Houston. Abroad, two of his well-known office complexes are The Gateway and the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation in Singapore. Pei was recently selected to design the headquarters for the Bank of China in Hong Kong.

The international Pritzker Architecture Prize, consisting of $100,000 tax-free and a bronze sculpture by Henry Moore, was established in 1979 to reward a creative endeavor not honored by the Nobel Prizes.

Jay A. Pritzker, president of The Hyatt Foundation, which administers and funds the prize, made the presentation at The Metropolitan Museum of Art today.

Carleton Smith, chairman of the International Awards Foundation and secretary to the jury, announced the name of the Laureate, saying Pei was unanimously elected to the honor by our distinguished panel of jurors: J. Carter Brown, director of the National Gallery of Art; Arata Isozaki, noted Japanese architect; Philip Johnson, the first Pritzker Prize Laureate; J. Irwin Miller, chairman of the executive and finance committees, Cummins Engine Company; Kevin Roche, 1982 Pritzker Prize Laureate; and Thomas J. Watson, Jr., chairman emeritus, IBM Corporation.

As spokesman for the jury, Smith quoted the official citation as follows: "Ieoh Ming Pei has given this century some of its most beautiful interior spaces and exterior forms. The significance of his work goes far beyond them: for his concern has always been the surroundings in which his buildings would rise."

Further, "I.M. Pei has refused to limit himself to a narrow range of architectural problems. His work over the past forty years includes not only palaces of industry, government and culture, but also some of the best moderate and low-income housing. Through his skill he has elevated the use of materials to an art."

The citation concluded, "His personal qualities of diplomacy and patience have enabled him to draw together disparate people and disciplines to create an harmonious environment."

Ieoh Ming Pei has given this century some of its most beautiful interior spaces and exterior forms. Yet the significance of his work goes far beyond that. His concern has always been the surroundings in which his buildings rise.

He has refused to limit himself to a narrow range of architectural problems. His work over the past forty years includes not only palaces of industry, government and culture, but also moderate and low-income housing. His versatility and skill in the use of materials approach the level of poetry.

His tact and patience have enabled him to draw together peoples of disparate interests and disciplines to create a harmonious environment.

Jury Members

J. Carter Brown (Chairman)
Arata Isozaki
Philip Johnson
J. Irwin Miller
Kevin Roche
Thomas J. Watson, Jr.
Carleton Smith (Secretary to the Jury)
Arthur Drexler (Consultant to the Jury)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the world-renowned cultural institution, was founded in New York in 1870 and moved to its current site in Central Park ten years later. The original Gothic-Revival-style building has expanded greatly in size since then, and the various additions now completely surround the original structure. The present facade and entrance structure along Fifth Avenue were completed in 1926.

The Sackler Wing (1978), designed by Kevin Roche, located to the north of the original building, is a striking addition, which houses the Temple of Dendur. The temple, built in 22 C.E., was dismantled and removed from its original site, in 1963, in order to save it from being submerged by the construction of the Aswan High Dam. In recognition of the American assistance in saving various other monuments threatened by the dam's construction, the temple was given to the United States of America by Egypt.

In 1967, the temple was awarded to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it was installed in the Sackler Wing in 1978. A reflecting pool in front of the temple and a sloping wall behind it, represent the Nile and the cliffs of the original location. The glass on the ceiling and north wall of the Sackler is stippled, in order to diffuse the light and mimic the extraordinary quality of light in Nubia. The simplicity of its setting, like a minimal frame on a painting, gives the temple a context which does not overwhelm it.

The 1983 Pritzker Architecture prize ceremony, honoring I.M. Pei, took place in this setting.

Read I.M. Pei's Ceremony Acceptance Speech

Read Jay Pritzker's Ceremony Speech

Ceremony Highlights

Full Ceremony