PEI Architects industry architecture
PEI Architects, formerly Pei Partnership Architects, is an international architecture firm based in New York City. Co-founded by the sons of I. M. Pei, Chien Chung (Didi) Pei and Li Chung (Sandi) Pei, in 1992, PEI Architects has specialized in high-profile projects including museums, healthcare facilities, commercial buildings, and high-rise residential towers, as well as urban masterplans and waterfront parks, in North America, Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Major projects have included the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., the Bank of China Head Office in Beijing, the Suzhou Museum, the Centurion luxury condominium in New York City, and many others.Background
Didi and Sandi Pei founded Pei Partnership Architects (PPA) in 1992, after working for their father's firm. Both brothers earned master's degrees in architecture from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and gained experience in large-scale building design projects at I. M. Pei & Partners, which became Pei Cobb Freed & Partners after their father retired in 1990. I. M. Pei worked as a consultant for his sons' business into his nineties, before his death in 2019 at age 102.In 2010, World Policy Journal stated that "Didi and his brother are placing their stamp on many of China's greatest cities – from Macau and Hong Kong to Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing." According to I. M. Pei, Pei Partnership Architects "came of age" with the Bank of China (BOC) Beijing headquarters project. The PPA's Bank of China Head Office project was the most recent milestone in the Pei family's long association with the BOC, starting with grandfather Tsuyee Pei, who served as a director of the bank, and I. M. Pei, who designed the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong.The firm's philosophy is to understand the local context for each project, which has led to design choices such as using white cantera, a local limestone, for the exterior of the Guanajuato State Library in León, Mexico.
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