I.M. Pei, architect of Syracuse’s Newhouse I, Everson museum, dies at 102

I.M. Pei, the architect who designed the Everson Museum of Art and Syracuse University’s Newhouse I, has died at the age of 102. (Photo credit: Everson Museum of Art website)

That’s according to the website of New York City–based Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects LLP, which confirmed Pei’s death. Pei helped launch the firm in 1955 before retiring in 1990, the website says.

 

In 1964, Syracuse University officially inaugurated the Newhouse Communications Complex in the I.M. Pei-designed Newhouse 1, which housed the School of Journalism, per the school’s website. A year later, the building would be cited as one of the top four honor award winners of the American Institute of Architects, the website says.

 

In addition, the board of trustees of the Everson Museum of Art selected Pei in 1961 to design its new art museum, per the Everson website.

[elementor-template id="66015"]

 

As the website noted, “Pei attended a trustees meeting to share his vision for the future. Pei viewed museums as the cultural center of a community and believed that a successfully designed museum could significantly improve a community’s quality of life.”

 

Construction on the Everson began in 1965, and the museum officially opened to the public on Oct. 27, 1968, per the website.

 

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

Advertisement
Eric Reinhardt: