I M Pei on I M Pei

Author: I.M. Pei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: "Go the Extra Mile" was the teaching young Pei received from his grandfather when he was eight years old. Now, Pei is in his eighties, and it remains his motto. His grandfather also passed on to him another saying from Confucius: "Rule the state with virtue, as the North Star remains in its place while all the stars revolve around it." There is a common point between the universe and Pei: we know very little about both. As an architect, Pei's book primarily aims to improve this. Pei has always hoped that people would understand him through his architecture. This book is his first detailed discussion of his works, life, the influences he has received, the life lessons he has learned, and his relentless pursuit of perfection. Therefore, the editor also hopes to pass on Pei's architectural philosophy to the next generation of architects, to all those who work and live in Pei's architectural works, and to the friends who are fortunate enough to enter his buildings to appreciate art and music. The editor's conversations with Pei mainly took place during the five years they worked together on film projects (in New York, Paris, Berlin, Kyoto, and Luxembourg), during which time he became the editor's close friend. Pei's architecture uniquely reflects the new aesthetic standards born from the fusion of Eastern and Western traditions—the eternal stone and glass. At this point, we may have ventured into the dangerous territory of interpreting his architectural works, something Pei has always been reluctant to do. Let him speak for himself.