The world, today is a different place. An era without IM Pei, the internationally recognized and one of the most celebrated architect of our times
has begun. He died on Thursday May 16th at the age of 102.
Ieoh Ming Pei was born in Canton (now Guangzhou) on April
26, 1917 to Tsuyee Pei, one of China’s leading bankers and moved to Hong Kong when
he was an infant. He recalled that as child of 9, he was fascinated by the
construction and knew he wanted to build. At the age of 17, Pei moved to the US
of America and in 1940, he was awarded a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from
MIT.
Tributes have been pouring in from all over the world,
remembering him for a lifetime of designing iconic structures worldwide. In his
career stretching more than 70 years, he have amassed an impressive portfolio
and the iconic glass pyramid of the louvre in Paris is the poster boy of his
legacy.
My favorite masterpiece of this great Master is the Museum
of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar which was completed in 2008. At the ripe age of
91, he came back from his retirement and delved in to history of Islamic
Architecture to create one of his most famous cultural landmarks.
A masterpiece positioned on a man-made island and covering a
vast area of 45,000 m2. We have been fortunate to spend hours in this vastness and
experience the simplicity in the grandeur of the Museum of Islamic Arts. A realization
of the magic that simple forms could create when stacked together in the right
proportion. The interior spaces and the landscape compliments the Architecture to
leave behind his legacy that will continue to inspire generations.
There are plenty of photos of the museum available throughout
the internet, I leave a few of my own as well. I also share a video of MIA Park
that my daughter had made a few years back.
