The Avant-Garde Architecture O

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responsible for many of the largest pubic and private construction projects in the second half of this century. Some of these projects include the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library in Boston, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
When French President Francois Mitterand “personally selected Mr. Pei in 1983 to design the Grand Louvre to give air, space, and light to one of the world’s most congested museums,” (Markham, 1989) there were many critics. The press “lambasted the idea of shattering the harmony of the Louvre’s courtyard with a glass iceberg” (Markham, 1989). But Pei proceeded as planned, taking a major risk in creating a glass pyramid structure at the entrance. He did not focus on what the critics would say about his plans, but hoped that the world would see, upon completion, that his vision of a contemporary, functional entrance would not clash with the Baroque style of the Louvre itself.
When ...

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vision of “total architecture” that he set forth in the Bauhaus: “We want to create . . . an architecture whose function is clearly recognizable in the relation of its form. . . . At the same time the symmetrical relationship of parts of the building . . . is being replaced by a new conception of equilibrium which transmutes this dead symmetry of similar parts into an asymmetrical but rhythmical balance” (Gardner 1996, p. 1029). The “new conception of equilibrium” can be considered as the fusion of the Louvre’s old Baroque style and Pei’s new renovations. At first glance, this fusion may seem “asymmetrical,” but from Pei’s artistic point of view, a “rhythmical balance” is ultimately ...

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