Even a beautiful piece of work can be overshadowed, destroyed, by something else. I. M. Pei More Quotes by I. M. Pei More Quotes From I. M. Pei Architecture is the very mirror of life.You only have to cast your eyes on buildings to feel the presence of the past, the spirit of a place; they are the reflection of society. I. M. Pei eyereflectionlife I believe that architecture is a pragmatic art. To become art it must be built on a foundation of necessity. I. M. Pei foundationbelieveart Contemporary architects tend to impose modernity on something. There is a certain concern for history but it’s not very deep. I understand that time has changed, we have evolved. But I don’t want to forget the beginning. A lasting architecture has to have roots. I. M. Pei times-have-changedrootswant Success is a collection of problems solved. I. M. Pei collectionsproblem Life is architecture and architecture is the mirror of life. I. M. Pei architecturemirrorslife-is Stop worrying about missed opportunities and start looking for new ones. I. M. Pei missed-opportunityworryopportunity It is not an individual act, architecture. You have to consider your client. Only out of that can you produce great architecture. You cannot work in the abstract I. M. Pei individualarchitectureclients I want to bring out the best in a community and contribute something of permanent value. I. M. Pei communitypermanentwant You cannot defend your design without knowing what you're designing for. I. M. Pei designknowing Design is something you have to put your hand to. I. M. Pei designhands Great artists need great clients. I. M. Pei clientsartistneeds Let's do it right. This is for the ages. I. M. Pei age Be the best, not necessarily the original. I. M. Pei being-the-bestoriginals I didn't want to think about a project that I couldn't finish. That's a kind of temptation. One has to realize one's limitations. Why kid yourself? I. M. Pei temptationkidsthinking I've been active all my life. In 1990 I retired from my firm, I.M. Pei & Partners, and for two years I didn't do much. Then I started to get kind of antsy, so I decided, I'm going to do some more work. And I chose to do work outside the U.S. because I've spent 45 years here and I wanted to learn more about what's happening in the rest of the world. I. M. Pei work-outtwoyears I know something about the civilization of China, with my background, obviously, and I think I know something about American history. But that's about all. And I've traveled all over the world, and for a long time I didn't know very much about it, really. I. M. Pei civilizationlongthinking I was born in Suzhou, a city not very far from Shanghai. It's a very interesting town - there is a long artist's tradition there, especially during the Ming and Ching dynasties, which produced many, many scholars and painters and so forth. That's where my family lived for 600, 700 years. I. M. Pei artistcitiesyears François Mitterrand was a student of architecture, he had done a lot of research before he called me. He said, "You did something special at the National Gallery of Art in Washington - you brought the new and the old together." But John Russell Pope finished the West Building in 1941, so when the East Building opened it was only about 40 years old. But the Louvre is 800 years old! A much bigger design challenge. I. M. Pei designyearsart I cannot work and listen to Wagner at the same time, nor Mahler, nor Beethoven's late quartets. I enjoy listening to Chopin's piano music when I work. I. M. Pei mahlerpiano-musiclistening Qatar does not have much history, it's a new emirate. So I couldn't draw on the history of the country; its history is really just being a desert. But I thought, the one thing I must learn about for this project is the Islamic faith. So I read about Islam and Islamic architecture, and the more I studied the more I realized where the best Islamic buildings were. I. M. Pei qatarislamiccountry
