American Masters

I.M. Pei: Building China Modern

I.M. Pei: Building China Modern captures Pei as he forges an architectural language that brings together Western modernity and Eastern tradition into a current synthesis. After decades of living in the U.S. and unprecedented international acclaim, Pei returns as a foreigner to his birth country to give a new direction for Chinese architecture in which history can live in the midst of change.

I.M. Pei: Building Interview

30s

'I.M. Pei: Building China Modern' follows the architect on a personal and architectural journey from west to east, where he was invited to design a museum to house the antiquities of his native Suzhou.

Previews + Extras

  • I.M. Pei Discusses The Hong Kong Bank of China Building: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    I.M. Pei Discusses The Hong Kong Bank of China Building

    S24 E2 - 2m 49s

    Pei discusses the difficulties acheiving his creative vision for The Bank of China Building in Hong Kong, a place where traditional feng shui and cultural values came in conflict with elements of his modern design in a clip from I.M. Pei: Building China Modern. A production of PACEM Productions, distribution by by Bullfrog Films (www.bullfrogfilms.com).

  • I.M. Pei Creating The Suzhou Museum Garden: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    I.M. Pei Creating The Suzhou Museum Garden

    S24 E2 - 6m 15s

    In the creation of the garden for the Suzhou Museum, the area most central to any Chinese building, I.M. Pei uses a variety of techniques to create a rock design that is both minimal and modern as well as a reflection of traditional Chinese aesthetic in a clip from I.M. Pei: Building China Modern. A production of PACEM Productions, distribution by by Bullfrog Films (www.bullfrogfilms.com).

  • I.M. Pei Discusses The Louvre Pyramid: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    I.M. Pei Discusses The Louvre Pyramid

    S24 E2 - 2m 15s

    In this clip from I.M. Pei: Building China Modern, Pei describes the resistance he initially face when building The Louvre Pyramid and how he worked through the cultural attitudes that were resistant to putting a modern structure in a classical space. A production of PACEM Productions, distribution by by Bullfrog Films (www.bullfrogfilms.com).

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