PEI Architects, formerly Pei Partnership Architects, is a New York City-based architectural firm. The firm was co-founded by Chien Chung (Didi) Pei and Li Chung (Sandi) Pei, sons of architect I. M. Pei, who served as a consultant on projects including the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C.,[1] the Bank of China Head Office in Beijing,[2] and The Centurion luxury condominium in New York City.[3] PEI Architects has specialized in high-profile projects including museums, healthcare facilities, commercial buildings, and high-rise residential towers, as well as urban masterplans and waterfront parks,[4][5] in North America, Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.[4]
Didi and Sandi Pei founded Pei Partnership Architects in 1992, after working for their father's firm, I. M. Pei & Partners, and gaining experience in large-scale building designs.[5] Both brothers earned master's degrees in architecture from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.[5] Their father, I. M. Pei, worked as a consultant for his sons' business into his nineties, before his death in 2019 at the age of 102.[6][7]
In 2010, World Policy Journal stated that while their Chinese-born father was "renowned for having shaped the look of the Louvre with his glass pyramid, Didi and his brother are placing their stamp on many of China's greatest cities – from Macau and Hong Kong to Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing."[8] According to I. M. Pei, Pei Partnership Architects "came of age" with the Bank of China Beijing headquarters project.[9] The PPA's BOC head office project was the most recent milestone in the Pei family's long association with the BOC, starting with grandfather Tsuyee Pei, who served as a director of the bank, and I. M. Pei, who designed the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong.[9]
The firm's philosophy is to understand the local context for each project, which has led to design choices such as using white cantera, a local limestone, for the exterior of the Guanajuato State Library in León, Mexico.[10]
PEI Architects has also undertaken large-scale urban development projects in the U.S., Mexico, China, Indonesia, and Singapore.[5][13] In 2009, Pei Partnership Architects received the AIA/ALA Library Building Award for its design of the Guanajuato State Library in Léon, Mexico, the first of several new cultural buildings that were part of the Centro Cultural Guanajuato masterplan prepared by the firm.[14][10]
Unique eco-conscious projects undertaken by Pei Partnership Architects have included the BMW Beijing Xingdebao 5S dealership, designed to consume 30-percent less energy than other buildings of its size, using gardens with wind turbines, buildings with solar and photovoltaic panels, and geothermal energy systems.[15]
