Changing the World, One Building at a Time — The Life and Work of Architect I.M. Pei
VIEW EVENT DETAILSAsia Society Architecture and Design Series
Evening Presentation and Discussion
Drinks Reception 6:30pm
Presentations and Discussion 7:00pm
Close 8:30pm
With the ticket of the September 19 Evening Discussion, each guest will enjoy complimentary entry to the documentary screening on September 14 I.M. Pei: Building China Modern.
Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei is a man who needs no introduction. Even if you do not know his face, you would have seen his work, such as the Louvre Pyramid in Paris and the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong. These are just a fraction of Pei’s prolific architectural footprints at the different corners of the world. To coincide with Pei’s centennial birthday in 2017, architects Bing Lin and Simon Hsu, who at different points of their career have worked closely with Pei, will come together to retrace some of Pei’s significant projects and share anecdotes of their interactions with the man of extraordinary vision and energy.
Bing Lin is a native of Shanghai, China. He received his Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University. Lin worked for Pei Partnership Architects where he was the Director of Asian Development for 12 years. He was involved in the Suzhou Museum and Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Washington D. C. In 2011 he co-founded OLI Architecture with offices in New York and Shanghai. OLI’s Mu Xin Museum received numerous international awards. Mr. Lin wrote and translated Conversation with I.M. Pei’s Chinese edition. He was the chief reviewer for I.M. Pei: Complete Works’ Chinese edition. In May of 2016, Mr. Lin curated the I.M. Pei Documents exhibition at Suzhou Art Museum.
Lin will give an introduction to the I.M. Pei Documents exhibition at Suzhou Art Museum which he has curated earlier this year. The exhibition was to celebrate Pei’s centennial birthday and to honor the great achievements made by the proud son of Suzhou. The exhibition included documents, photos, models and video footage of Pei. Lin will also share some rare materials for the first time since the exhibition, as Suzhou Museum was one of the most important projects Pei designed in the later part of his career. Suzhou is Pei’s hometown, and he described this project as his autobiography. Lin, who was a project team member since its early stage until its completion, and the site representative for Pei in Suzhou, will share Suzhou Museum’s design concept and building process.
Simon Hsu started his professional career at Pei Cobb Freed & Partners in New York, where he worked for 12 years on numerous institutional and commercial projects, such as the Musee d’Art Moderne of Luxembourg and the Headquarter of the Lombardy Regional Government in Milan. Subsequently, he co-founded io Architects in 2006, which was responsible for the design of the Miho Institute of Aesthetics, a high school campus outside of Kyoto, and the collaboration on I.M. Pei’s last project, the high school chapel. Hsu received his master’s degree in architecture from Harvard University and is a member of the American Institute of Architects and a registered Architect in New York. He is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Hsu will give an overview of his experience at Pei Cobb Freed & Partners where his first assignment was the unanticipated participation on the Musee Musee d’Art Moderne of Luxembourg with I.M. Pei, despite having been recruited by Harry Cobb, Pei’s founding partner at the firm. The focus of the presentation will then shift to Miho Institute of Aesthetics, a project from Hsu’s own practice, io Architects. This middle and high school campus with a total of 13 buildings on a 10-hectare verdant mountain site outside of Kyoto, serves 240 students and encompasses teaching facilities, dormitories, administrative offices, library, chapel, gym, art galleries and miscellaneous support facilities. The masterplan was designed in collaboration with I.M. Pei, as was the chapel, being Pei’s last architecture work. The client of Miho Institute of Aesthetics had previously also commissioned Pei for the “Joy of Angels” Bell Tower and the Miho Museum.
Student tickets are available for this event. Please contact [email protected] for more information.
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Get to know I.M. Pei intimately in our upcoming screening I.M. Pei: Building China Modern.
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