17 May 2019
RIBA President Ben Derbyshire’s tribute to I.M. Pei:
“I.M. Pei’s prolific contribution to architecture spans the globe and two centuries. His life’s work is represented across continents, gifting a series of modernist masterpieces to cities from Hong Kong and Paris to Colorado and latterly Souzhou, his childhood home. It is a rarity for one architect to have such a vast portfolio of exceptional international work, but he will be remembered for much more than the robust, geometrical yet elegantly civic architecture. He sought out Bauhaus émigrés Walter Gropius, and Marcel Breuer, who taught him at Harvard, and practised a humane modernism that touched generations of architects and will continue to do so.”
-ends-
Notes to editors
- For further press information contact Elise Neve elise.neve@riba.org +44 (0)20 7307 3761
- The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a global professional membership body that serves its members and society in order to deliver better buildings and places, stronger communities and a sustainable environment. www.architecture.com. Follow us on Twitter for regular RIBA updates www.twitter.com/RIBA
