Home > U.S. Immigration and Migration > I. M. Pei Biography

Born April 26, 1917

Canton (now Guangzhou), China

Architect famous for designing museums and other structures

"At one level my goal is simply to give people pleasure in being in a space and walking around it. But … architecture can reach a level where it influences people to want to do something more with their lives. That is the challenge that I find most interesting."

When I. M. Pei retired from full-time work in the 1990s, he was one of the most famous architects of the twentieth century. His building designs feature simple, geometrical forms, like triangles and rectangles. These forms take on dramatic flourishes in Pei's buildings by his use of glass walls, distinctively colored stone, and other eye-catching materials. Pei approaches each project as a unique opportunity to match the look of the building with the purpose for which it will be used and to ensure the building...