I. M. Pei (1917-2019)

Master architect I. M. Pei died on May 16, 2019. Among his many designs was the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

The National Gallery of Art's East Building, designed by I.M. Pei, as seen from the rooftop of the Embassy of Canada in Washington, D.C. Opened to the public in 1978, the East Building is an eye-teasing festival of vast walls, sharp edges, odd angles, and unexpected shapes. 

Looking east toward the west-facing facade of the National Gallery of Art's East Building in Washington, D.C. Many of the building's exterior walls unexpectedly meet at acute and obtuse angles rather than commonplace right angles.

To fit the East Building on a trapezoid-shaped site, I.M. Pei based his design on a division of the trapezoid into an isosceles triangle and a smaller right triangle. Triangles serve as the structure's basic motif, as seen in the triangles of the building's ceiling and elsewhere.

See also "Splitting a Trapezoid," "An Irresistible Edge," and "Gallery Cutouts."

Photos by I. Peterson