46 Quotes by I. M. Pei

I was born in Suzhou, a city not very far from Shanghai. It’s a very interesting town – there is a long artist’s tradition there, especially during the Ming and Ching dynasties, which produced many, many scholars and painters and so forth. That’s where my family lived for 600, 700 years.

At home, I have a wife, fortunately, and my children are all grown, and I have many grandchildren. I spend weekends with my grandchildren; I adore them.

I cannot work and listen to Wagner at the same time, nor Mahler, nor Beethoven’s late quartets. I enjoy listening to Chopin’s piano music when I work.

For Kips Bay, I had a wonderful client, William Zeckendorf, who was willing to gamble with me on using concrete and not brick for a high-rise apartment building. That was very innovative at the time.

I haven’t taken any new projects in the past years – I told myself, if I cannot live long enough to finish it, I don’t want it.

I know something about the civilization of China, with my background, obviously, and I think I know something about American history. But that’s about all. And I’ve traveled all over the world, and for a long time I didn’t know very much about it, really.

The essence of architecture is form and space, and light is the essential element to the key to architectural design, probably more important than anything. Technology and materials are secondary.

The Louvre for me is a wonderful experience. Because it continues; it didn't get cut off. It was actually a continuous involvement all the way, and a lot of people have come and gone, come and gone; but I'm still here.

A lasting architecture has to have roots.