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Architecture and design
Hong KongSociety

Famed architect I.M. Pei’s legacy stands tall in Hong Kong through Bank of China Tower

  • Late creative maestro is best known for Paris’s Louvre Pyramid
  • To trace his Chinese roots, which he never lost despite more than 60 years in the US, one has to return to Hong Kong’s skyline

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The Bank of China Tower (left) is an icon in Hong Kong’s skyline. Photo: Felix Wong
Rachel Leung
Best known for designing some of the most iconic buildings in the world, Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei, who died aged 102 on Thursday morning, had always kept China and Hong Kong close to his heart.
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Also known as I.M. Pei, the creative maestro, whose most famous work is Paris’s Louvre Pyramid, never lost his Chinese roots despite spending more than 60 years in the United States. He died in his home in Manhattan.

In Hong Kong, his legacy lives on through the Bank of China Tower, which was designed by Pei and dazzles along Hong Kong’s skyline. Architectural scholar Patrick Lau Sau-shing, who had met the man multiple times, said Pei had a strong influence on up and coming Hong Kong designers.

Ieoh Ming Pei remained active even in his twilight years, designing the Suzhou Museum at 85. Photo: AP
Ieoh Ming Pei remained active even in his twilight years, designing the Suzhou Museum at 85. Photo: AP

“He was the first to introduce such a futuristic trend into architecture in mainland China and Hong Kong, which were more conservative and not often open to new ideas,” Lau said.

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“Even though he is gone, his philosophy and his mixture of East and West will forever be a legacy in Hong Kong.”

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