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The architectural provocations of I.M. Pei

The life and work of the Chinese-American architect were a premonition of the schizophrenia of modern architecture

Calvin Po
The triangle became the trademark motif of Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei, designer of the Louvre Pyramid Bernard Bisson / Sygma / Getty Images
EXPLORE THE ISSUE 11 January 2025
issue 11 January 2025

When first considering architects for the new Louvre in 1981, Emile Biasini, the project’s head, liked that I.M. Pei was both ‘Chinese as well as American: Chinese in his respect of the past, and American in the way of radical solutions’. His controversial glass pyramid ignited much debate about which side won out.

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