R.I.P., I.M. Pei

We lost an amazing, talented man this week. I'm embarrassed to say, I actually didn't realize I.M. Pei was still alive until... well, until he wasn't. The architect of Le Louvre passed away last Thursday at the age of 102. He is most famous for the inverted glass pyramids at Le Louvre, of course, but his work can actually be seen all over the United States. 

Pei was destined to be successful. His ancestry traces back to the Ming Dynasty, for heaven's sake! His family's affluence allowed for him to attend the University of Pennsylvania and M.I.T. His taste was for a more modern architecture than the schools taught, but clearly he did not conform. Can we also just take a moment to appreciate that his wife studied landscape architecture at Harvard? I bet they were the Chip and Joanna of their time.

I was shocked to learn all the projects he worked on! Here are a few:

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. I mean, when you're into pyramids, you're into pyramids!

JFK Presidential Library. JFK would also be turning 102 this year!

National Gallery East Building. Okay! You like triangles! We get the "point!"

Just imagine this pictorial list goes on and on for an eternity, and that's how many buildings Pei designed over his illustrious career. It's a shame his kids didn't amount to anything. His three sons are Harvard graduates and his daughter is a lawyer. So, I guess they did turn out okay after all. But at least his marriage was awful. He was only married to the same woman 70 years. Oh. That's pretty cool too. 

To recap: 
Awesome, successful kids?  Check
Long, happy marriage?  Check
Wildly successful career?  Check
Long, healthy life?  Check

Now, that's what I call "building" a legacy.