Renowned architect I.M. Pei, whose elegant glass pyramid has greeted tourists at the entrance to the Louvre in Paris for three decades, died Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported. He was 102.
Pei's death was confirmed by his son, Li Chung Pei, The New York Times reported.
In addition to his structure at the Louvre, Pei also was known for designing the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the newspaper reported.
Born Ieoh Ming Pei, in Guangzhou, China, in 1917, he won the Pritzker Architecture Prize (1983), the American Institute of Architects' Gold Medal (1979) and the Royal Institute of British Architects' Royal Gold Medal (2010), according to the WSJ.
Pei moved to the United States during the 1930s and received his graduate degree in architecture from Harvard University, the Times reported. He was hired by William Zeckendorf in 1948 to supervise the design of buildings produced by Zeckendorf's firm, Webb & Knapp, the WSJ reported.
Pei designed the glass and metal pyramid in the main courtyard of the Louvre that debuted in 1989, along with three smaller pyramids and a subterranean addition to the museum's entrance, CNN reported.
Pei also designed the large glass structure in front of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. The double pyramid is adjacent to a 162-foot tower and rises above the shores of Lake Erie.
Other creations by Pei include the the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, which was finished in 1979; and the Guggenheim Pavilion of Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, finished in 1992, the Times reported.
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