I.M. Pei (Ieoh Ming Pei), a Chinese-American architect born on April 26, 1917, is celebrated as one of the 20th century’s most influential architects and a pioneer of late modernism, most famously exemplified by his iconic Louvre Pyramid in Paris. His architectural journey began at the University of Pennsylvania, but seeking a more fulfilling path, he transferred to the engineering program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
While in architecture school, Pei’s design talents were discovered, and he was advised to return to architecture. This insistence convinced Pei to continue his architecture studies at MIT. In 1946, he received his master’s degree from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and taught at Harvard until 1948. He passed away at the age of 102.
Ieoh Ming Pei spent his childhood in a house with a garden, which is why he always focused on nature and people in his projects. Especially in the museum buildings, it is seen that Pei is intertwined with nature.
In addition, Ieoh Ming Pei’s passion for geometric forms is visibly evident. He was raised in the Bauhaus school, and while using the pure forms of geometry, he took care to put people at the center and, at the same time, was extremely sensitive to tradition and local values. He frequently used concrete, glass and steel in his structures and created designs that were in keeping with the nature of the materials.
Pei’s works throughout his life have been diverse in terms of program and function. Throughout his architectural career, he has worked in areas such as public buildings, commercial buildings, government buildings, and cultural buildings.
Louvre Museum
Most of us know him from the Louvre Pyramid in France. The Louvre is the product of five centuries of building campaigns. It was once a modest plot of land on the banks of the Seine River on the outskirts of Paris. In 1546, the site was converted into a palace by King Francis I for himself and his court. Almost every subsequent monarch did some work on the structure. It remained a royal residence until 1682 when Louis XIV moved to Versailles. Around the French Revolution in 1789, parts of the Louvre were turned into a museum.
Grand Louvre Project
The Cour Napoléon, is where Pyramid constructed, had two small parks and a car park designed in the 19th century by Hector Lefuel, architect of Napoleon III. By the 1980s, the Louvre was quite different from today’s museum. In course of time the number of visitors has increased and the museum was inefficient to host them therewithal the need of expanding and modernizing has became a consideration.
I.M.Pei’s Louvre Pyramid
In July 1983, I.M. Pei was appointed architect of the Grand Louvre project, commissioned by French President François Mitterrand in 1981.
Pei has internalized this work, and before designing the Louvre museum pyramid, he observed the museum for 2 years as an ordinary visitor, feeling the place, getting to know the culture, and experiencing the area. It is one of the examples that accurately reflects Pei’s architectural understanding. One of the general characteristics of the late modernist understanding, considering the project with the structure as a whole with the form in order to enrich the design, is also encountered in the Louvre pyramid.
“The program called for more than 92,000 square meters [990,279 square feet] of floor space,” Pei said in Philip Jodidio’s 2009 book “I.M.Pei: The Louvre Pyramid.”
Pei quotes that: It was not possible to imagine such a comprehensive project in an area where the Louvre is located, so Pei came up with the idea of placing the design in the lower part of the courtyard, and work began on a plan that would support the visitor flow of the Louvre from three wings.
Thereupon, they began to try various forms and geometries that would best suit the area; these geometries included a cube and a half sphere. However, they realized that these designs did not fit the silhouette of the Louvre and decided to leave the curves out of the design. As a result of this situation, it was decided that the pyramid was the most suitable form and the design continued on it. The pyramid’s design was completed and put into use in 1989; however, it caused some controversy.
Pei wanted the design to be truly transparent and to look like there was no change when viewed from the outside by visitors, so he insisted on full transparency. Due to the technologies of the time, it was very difficult to find a glass with the transparency he wanted. All the glass used at the time had a slightly bluish or greenish tone. For this reason, a company was contracted to produce a new glass that could give a completely transparent appearance, and this process was carried out by the French manufacturing company Saint-Gobain.
According to Saint Gobain, months of extensive research went into developing this 21.5-millimeter [0.8-inch] extra-clear laminated glass with the desired mechanical properties and high optical quality. It took about two years to get the material just right, and even a special furnace was built to remove iron oxides from the material.
The resulting “Diamond Glass” is laminated like a car windshield, so it’s designed to hold plastic fragments if it breaks on impact. The pyramid contains 19,375 square feet (1,800 square meters) of glass — 675 “rhombuses” — and 118 triangles. These materials rest on a structure made up of 6,000 metal rods, which puts the pyramid’s total weight at 200 tons (180 metric tons). In case there were any problems during the design process, the company produced enough material for two pyramids, but everything went smoothly.
Monumentality can also be considered one of the important characteristics of this period, however, despite the apparent contrast of the Museum with the French Renaissance style, the Louvre Pyramid is in line with some French architectural traditions in this regard.
Although the pyramid caused controversy when it was opened, The New York Times stated that it “communicated” with the existing capitals of Paris and that the country’s architectural distribution was “full of references” to such architects “who relied heavily on sharp geometric forms, including the pyramids.” It even noted that Napoleon’s successes in Egypt reflected some examples of the style of the 19th-century Empire.
As mentioned the Louvre was subject to much criticism when it was built, Pei even said, “I thought no project would be too difficult after the Louvre.” Referring to the difficulties of that period, he said, “I received many angry looks on the streets of Paris.” But in time, the Pyramid was accepted and appreciated by the people.
Although some opposition was encountered after the difficulties in the design process and this detailed, thoughtful perspective, the project received the value it deserved after a certain period of time; I.M. Pei spent very time and effort in the design of the Louvre Pyramid, and the handwork is paid off and now one of the most photographed areas of the Louvre Museum and one of the famous city landscape symbols of Paris.
Louvre Pyramid Project Description
Project Name: Grand Louvre Modernization
Architect: Ieoh Ming Pei
Client: Establissement Public de Grand Louvre
Location: Paris, France
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