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Reconsidering the Architectural Monograph—‘I. M. Pei:
Life Is Architecture’

Details
Type: Talk
Language: Cantonese, English
Audience: Everyone
Location: The Forum
Accessibility:
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Priority booking for M+ Members & Patrons from 20 to 22 Sep. Public registration available starting 23 Sep, 10:00.

Reconsidering the Architectural Monograph—‘I. M. Pei:
Life Is Architecture’

Join us for a talk on how the publication for the Special Exhibition I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture was conceived.

Going beyond the usual building-by-building format of most architectural monographs, I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture is organised thematically, exploring I. M. Pei’s life and work through six topics that were central to his unique approach to architecture. Forming the narrative basis of the exhibition, the publication brings together previously unpublished archival materials, specially commissioned essays, new photography, and personal contributions from those who knew and worked with Pei. Through multiple perspectives, the monograph offers a more contextual and layered understanding of Pei's life and career.

Exhibition co-curator Shirley Surya will be in conversation with architectural historian Cole Roskam on the rationale and process of structuring the book, archival research, and the commissioning of new photographs. They will also discuss how the publication is part of a larger attempt of reconsidering the nature of the architectural monograph and how the story of architecture is told.

The talk will be conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation available in Cantonese. Click on ‘Register’ to sign up for this free talk.

The publication of the special exhibition is available for purchase onsite and via the M+ Shop online. Tickets to I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture are available for purchase here.

Cover, I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. Photo: M+, Hong Kong

Chapter 1: Transcultural Foundations, I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. Photo: M+, Hong Kong

Table of Content, I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. © Thames & Hudson

P.80–81, I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. © Thames & Hudson

P.306–307, I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. © Thames & Hudson

Cover, I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. Photo: M+, Hong Kong

Chapter 1: Transcultural Foundations, I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. Photo: M+, Hong Kong

Table of Content, I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. © Thames & Hudson

P.80–81, I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. © Thames & Hudson

P.306–307, I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. © Thames & Hudson

About the Speakers

Shirley Surya is Curator, Design and Architecture, at M+. Since 2012, she has contributed to building the M+ Collections through her research on design and architectural production across greater China and Southeast Asia. At M+, she co-curated the opening exhibitions Hong Kong: Here and Beyond (2021) and Things, Spaces, Interactions (2021), In Search of Southeast Asia through the M+ Collections (2018), and Building M+: The Museum and Architecture Collection (2014).

Portrait of Shirley Surya. Photo: Jovian Lim

Cole Roskam is currently professor of Architectural History at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), focusing on 19th and 20th century and contemporary architectural and urban history, especially in China. His work includes books, exhibitions, and journal articles that explore architectural histories, the built environment and urban theories across geographies. Notable publications are An Improvised City: Architecture and Governance in Shanghai, 1843–1937 (2019) and Designing Reform: Architecture in the People’s Republic of China, 1970–1992 (2021). Roskam was the co-organiser, as well as panel speaker, for the 2017 ‘Rethinking Pei: A Centenary Symposium’ co-organised by M+, Harvard Graduate School of Design, and HKU, which contributed greatly in framing the publication and the exhibition.

Portrait of Cole Roskam

Image at top: I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture. Photo: M+, Hong Kong

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