088 I. M. PEI


opportunity to learn about a culture with which he was largely unfamiliar. He embarked on a pilgrimage to the world’s greatest Islamic architecture, including the Grand Mosque in Córdoba, Spain; Fatehpur Sikri, a Mughal capital in India; the ribat fortresses of Monastir and Sousse in Tunisia; and the Umayyad Great Mosque in Damascus, Syria. His greatest inspiration, however, was the 13th-century ablution fountain (sabil) of the Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo, Egypt (9th century), one of the oldest mosques in Africa. Struck by the ‘austerity and simplicity’ of the fountain, Pei noted how the architecture came to life in sun, offering ‘an almost Cubist expression of geometric progression’. Melding elements of traditional Islamic architecture with 21st-century innovation, Pei’s design is built on a stand-alone island, some 195ft off


Doha’s Corniche. Rising from the sea, the five-storey, 376,740ft2


building is


characterised by a complex play of angular volumes. Built of fine materials, including cream-coloured Magny and Chamesson limestone from France, its geometric forms capture the play of light and shadows throughout the day. Inside is a soaring atrium with a stainless steel domed ceiling, from where visitors ascend a grand staircase to reach displays showcasing the full diversity of the arts of the Islamic world. For the exhibition Life is Architecture, 11 of Pei’s built projects have been newly documented by some of the most exciting contemporary photographers working today, including South Ho Siu Nam, Naho Kubota, Kuo-Min Lee, Giovanna Silva, Mohamed Somji, Tian Fangfang, and Tomoko Yoneda. As their powerful images reveal,


Pei’s designs transcend mere structures; they are manifestations of his unwavering belief in the power of architecture to shape society and enrich human experience. Visitors to the M+ Museum will also be able to view new models by local architecture students representing some of Pei’s most significant built and unbuilt projects, such as the Luce Memorial Chapel (1954–1963), a Christian chapel on the campus of Tunghai University in Taiwan, and the Hyperboloid (1954–1955; unbuilt), a 102-storey, circular tower with an hourglass profile that almost replaced Grand Central Station in New York. Trough these and the many other objects on display, the M+ retrospective explores Pei’s unique practice in dialogue with social, cultural and biographical trajectories, showing that, for him, architecture and life really were inseparable.


For the


exhibition Life is Architecture, 11 of Pei’s built projects have been newly documented by some of the most exciting contemporary photographers working today


Far left View of glazed facade towards the altar, Luce Memorial Chapel (1954–1963), Tunghai University, Taichung


Top Rendering of Tête de la Défense (1970–1971), Paris (unbuilt)


Left Suspension bridge extending from a tunnel dug through the mountains, Miho Museum (1991–1997), Shigaraki, Shiga


RIGHT: LEE KUO-MIN TOP: PEI COBB FREED & PARTNERS BOTTOM: YONEDA TOMOKO


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133