$112.00
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I. M. Pei (1917–2019) was one of the world's most influential architects. Born and raised in China, Pei trained and worked in the United States, establishing a practice that spanned seven decades and multiple continents. His legacy includes the realization of some of the most high-profile projects of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, from the(...)
October 2024
I. M. Pei: Life is architecture
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$112.00
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Summary:
I. M. Pei (1917–2019) was one of the world's most influential architects. Born and raised in China, Pei trained and worked in the United States, establishing a practice that spanned seven decades and multiple continents. His legacy includes the realization of some of the most high-profile projects of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, from the modernization of the Louvre in Paris to the design of the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. Going beyond the usual building-by-building format of most architectural monographs, "I. M. Pei: Life is architecture" is organized thematically, exploring Pei's life and work through six topics that were central to his unique approach to architecture: transcultural identity, urban redevelopment, art and civic form, material and structural innovation, politics and patronage, and regenerating cultural and historical archetypes. Bringing together previously unpublished archival materials, specially commissioned essays, new photography, and personal contributions from those who knew and worked with Pei, this book presents both celebrated and lesser-known aspects of the architect's life and career while solidifying his position in architectural history and popular culture.
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Between the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and the implementation of Reform and Opening Up policies in 1979, architecture played a key role in shaping China’s vision for socialist modernity. However, driven by shifting policies throughout these three decades, modern Chinese architecture has largely been perceived as stunted. Many misconceptions(...)
How Modern: Biographies of Architecture in China 1949–1979
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$45.00
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Between the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and the implementation of Reform and Opening Up policies in 1979, architecture played a key role in shaping China’s vision for socialist modernity. However, driven by shifting policies throughout these three decades, modern Chinese architecture has largely been perceived as stunted. Many misconceptions of this history persist: that nationalization and collectivism denied architects creative independence, that projects focused on industrial productivity over design quality, and that the promotion of a “national style” limited more modern formal choices. At once a question and a proposition, How Modern: Biographies of Architecture in China 1949–1979 reassesses New China’s architectural production. Reproducing primary sources alongside short essays and interviews with architects, archivists, historians, and residents, the book reflects on issues such as agency, innovation, collaboration, expertise, standardization, craft, and local and international impact. It challenges a monolithic history of socialist modernity by foregrounding the varied conditions under which modernism was conceived, realized, and experienced.
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December 2025
CCA Publications