I.M. Pei and the NEW MUSEUM

Street view toward entrance of New Suzhou Museum

I.M. Pei spent much of his childhood in the city of Suzhou were his ancestors had been a significant local family of the region. The New Suzhou Museum is the last work of I.M. Pei and was completed in 2006. It signifies the lasting impressions of Chinese heritage and local building styles of the Suzhou area that Pei reinterpreted into his final work. Local vernacular buildings and the New Suzhou Museum have similar whitewashed walls, dark grey roofs and a minimal color pallet. Pei’s work corresponds well with local established architectural languages.


Entry Hall of New Suzhou Museum


Upper level in a Side Hall looking toward the Main Entrance Hall

He was able to successfully reiterate traditional building practices into a new modern interpretation. Programmatically the facility lends itself well to museum collections and creates a loop that moves one from the entry overlooking the water garden to the collection galleries. The New Suzhou Museum is a great example of minimal architecture with a strong Chinese influence, as architecture students we were able to appreciate I.M. Pei modern interpretation into the vernacular architecture of Suzhou.

Main Courtyard of New Suzhou Museum