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I.M. Pei

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Architect

The Resume

    (April 26, 1917-May 16, 2019)
    Immigrated to the U.S. in 1935
    Birth name is Ieoh Ming Pei
    Received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from MIT (1940)
    Received a Masters of Architecture degree from Harvard (1946)
    Founded I.M. Pei & Associates in 1958 (which became I.M. Pei & Partners in 1966)
    Architect of the Mile High Center in Denver (1959), the Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, Canada (1962), the Green Building at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1964), the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado (1967), the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York (1968), the National Airlines terminal at JFK Airport in New York City (1970), Dallas City Hall in Dallas (1972), Commerce Court West in Toronto, Canada (1973), the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (1978), the Indiana University Art Museum in Bloomington, Indiana (1982), the CenTrust Tower in Miami (1987), the Headquarters for Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles (1989), the Pyramid of the Louvre, in Paris, France (1989), the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong (1990), the Miho Museum in Shiga, Japan (1991) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio (1995)
    Awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize (1983)
    Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H.W. Bush (December 11, 1992)
    Portrayed himself in the movies 'Bauhaus in America (1995)' and 'My Architect (2003)'

Why he might be annoying:

    Not endearing himself to common folk, he stated: 'Great artists need great clients.'
    How many awards does one guy need before his head becomes irreversibly swollen?
    He's received the Brunner Award, the Medal of Honor of the New York Chapter of the AIA, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Medal for Architecture, the Gold Medal for Architecture of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Alpha Rho Chi Gold Medal, the French la Grande Medaille d'Or of l'Academie d'Architecture, the Gold Medal of The American Institute of Architects, the National Medal of Art, the Japanese Art Association's Praemium Imperiale for lifetime achievement, UCLA's Gold Medal, the Colbert Foundation's First Award for Excellence, the Ambassador for the Arts Award, the Jerusalem Prize for Arts and Letters, the Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal from the Municipal Art Society of New York City and the Italian Premio Internazionale Novecento La Rosa d'Oro.
    He retired in 1990, but came out of retirement two years later because he 'became antsy.'
    His 1997 TV documentary was egocentrically titled 'First Person Singular: I.M. Pei.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    His grandfather advised him when he was a child: 'Wherever you go, go with your heart.'
    His father was a wealthy banker, but he aspired to become more than just a person that sought riches and power.
    He has been married to the same woman since 1942.
    He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1954.
    Jaqueline Kennedy chose him to design the Kennedy Library shortly after her husband's assassination because she felt 'the man and his work were like poetry.'
    Between 1968 and 1972, he designed 50 FAA air traffic control towers throughout the U.S..
    Besides municipal facilities, libraries and performing arts centers, he has designed community structures such as churches, hospitals and schools.
    In 1982, he completed the Fragrant Hill Hotel in China, which helped modern Chinese citizens to consider architecture as more than 'just shelter.'
    Both his sons followed in his footsteps, graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, became architects and formed Pei Partnerships, where he's worked with them occasionally since his 1990 semi-retirement.
    He is a voracious newshound and no matter what his schedule, he reads The New York Times every day.

Credit: Scar Tactics


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 148 Votes: 45.95% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 30 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 760 Votes: 47.63% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2329 Votes: 45.94% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 329 Votes: 56.84% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 80 Votes: 61.25% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 19 Votes: 52.63% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 17 Votes: 17.65% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 22 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 45 Votes: 35.56% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 51 Votes: 39.22% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 81 Votes: 61.73% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 111 Votes: 61.26% Annoying
    In 2005, Out of 416 Votes: 45.91% Annoying