I.M. Pei, Master Architect Whose Buildings Dazzled the World, Dies at 102

I.M. Pei, Master Architect(ˈärkəˌtekt) Whose Buildings Dazzled(ˈdazəl) the World, Dies at 102

By Paul Goldberger

I. M. Pei, who began his long career(kəˈri(ə)r) designing buildings for a New York real estate(iˈstāt) developer and ended it as one of the most revered(rəˈvir) architects in the world, died early Thursday at his home in Manhattan(manˈhatn,mən-). He was 102.

His death was confirmed by his son Li Chung Pei, who is also an architect and known as Sandi. He said his father had recently celebrated(ˈseləˌbrāt) his birthday with a family dinner.

Best known for designing the East Building of the National Gallery(ˈgalərē) of Art in Washington and the glass pyramid(ˈpirəˌmid) at the entrance(enˈtrans,ˈentrəns) to the Louvre(ˈlo͞ov(rə)) in Paris(ˈperəs), Mr. Pei was one of the few architects who were equally(ˈēkwəlē) attractive(əˈtraktiv) to real estate developers, corporate chieftains(ˈCHēftən) and art museum(myo͞oˈzēəm) boards (the third group, of course, often made up of members of the first two). And all of his work — from his commercial(kəˈmərSHəl) skyscrapers(ˈskīˌskrāpər) to his art museums — represented(ˌreprəˈzent) a careful balance of the cutting edge(ej) and the conservative(kənˈsərvədiv).

Mr. Pei remained a committed(kəˈmidəd) modernist(ˈmädərnəst), and while none of his buildings could ever be called old-fashioned or traditional, his particular brand of modernism(ˈmädərnˌizəm) — clean, reserved(rəˈzərvd), sharp-edged and unapologetic(ˌənəˌpäləˈjedik) in its use of simple geometries(jēˈämətrē) and its aspirations(ˌaspəˈrāSHən) to monumentality(ˌmänyəˌmenˈtalədē) — sometimes seemed to be a throwback, at least when compared with the latest architectural(ärkiˈtekCHərəl) trends.

This hardly bothered him. What he valued most in architecture, he said, was that it “stand(stand) the test of time.”

…
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/16/obituaries/im-pei-dead.html