Architect Pei to receive British Royal Gold MedalChinese-born American architect I. M. Pei is to receive the Royal Gold Medal The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture. in recognition of his lifetime's work, the Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects in the United Kingdom. Originally named the Institute of British Architects in London announced Tuesday. The 92-year-old, who designed the glass and metal Louvre Pyramid The Louvre Pyramid is a large metal and glass pyramid which serves as the main entrance to the Musée du Louvre and has become a landmark for the city of Paris. Commissioned by the French president François Mitterrand, it was built in 1989 by the architect I. M. in Paris, will be given the annual special award at the RIBA RIBA Royal Institute of British Architects in London on February 11. The medal is personally approved by Queen Elizabeth II and recognises a lifetime's work which has had a significant influence "either directly or indirectly on the advancement of architecture". "It is a great honour to receive the Royal Gold Medal from the RIBA. I am humbled indeed to read the names of those who have preceded me as recipients," Pei said from New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , adding that he was looking forward to the ceremony. His best known buildings include the East Wing of the National Gallery, Washington (1968-78); the John F. Kennedy Library The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and museum of the 35th President of the United States John F. Kennedy. It is located on Dorchester's Columbia Point in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and was designed by the architect I.M. Pei. , in Boston, Massachusetts (1965-79); the Bank of China, Hong Kong (1982-89); the Grand Louvre Louvre (l  `vrə), foremost French museum of art, located in Paris. The building was a royal fortress and palace built by Philip II in the late 12th cent. project in Paris (1983-93), and the Miho Museum in Shiga, Japan (1991-97).
In recent years he has completed major museum projects in Luxembourg, China and Qatar. RIBA President Ruth Reed called Pei "one of the greats of 20th -- and 21st -- century architecture," adding: "A list of his influences and those he has influenced reads like a roll-call of the Modern Movement. "Seldom has such a reward been so overdue or so just," she said. Ieoh Ming Pei was born in Guangzhou in 1917 but left China to study in the United States in 1935. Pei was nominated for the medal by David Adjaye. "His work seemed effortlessly capable of creating extraordinary clarity out of complex and conflicting demands," he said. "His is an agile ability, working with heads of state, kings and queens, 'hard-nosed' developers and non profit institutions, in each case creating revealing, extraordinary works of precision with quality and detail." Adjaye recalled seeing the Louvre and "marvelling at its extraordinary ability to unify and modernise what was a much-loved but disparate institution and behold its magnificent, gravity-defying, glass pyramid." The medal, inaugurated by queen Victoria in 1848, is conferred annually by the sovereign on a "distinguished architect for work or high merit, or on some distinguished person whose work has promoted either directly or indirectly the advancement of architecture." Previous winners include Giles Gilbert Scott Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, OM, FRIBA (November 9 1880 – February 8 1960) was an English architect known for his work on such buildings as Liverpool Cathedral and Battersea Power Station. He came from a family of architects. He was the son of George Gilbert Scott, Jr. , Edwin Lutyens, Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Nikolaus Pevsner, Norman Foster and Richard Rogers. 
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