The Creator of the Louvre Pyramid

Who designed the glass and metal pyramid at the entrance of the Louvre Museum?

• I.M. Pei

• Frank Lloyd Wright

• Zaha Hadid

• Le Corbusier

Where did I.M. Pei spend parts of his childhood?

• Hong Kong and Shanghai

• Beijing and Tokyo

• New York and London

• Paris and Rome

What inspired I.M. Pei's architectural designs?

• The gardens of Suzhou

• Modern skyscrapers

• Ancient Roman architecture

• Medieval castles

At what age did I.M. Pei immigrate to America?

• 18

• 25

• 30

• 15

What shapes did I.M. Pei enjoy using in his designs?

• Squares, triangles, and circles

• Hexagons and pentagons

• Ovals and rectangles

• Stars and diamonds

What was one of I.M. Pei's most famous projects?

• The Louvre Pyramid

• The Eiffel Tower

• The Sydney Opera House

• The Empire State Building

What did I.M. Pei remind young Chinese architects to do?

• Find inspiration in Chinese traditions

• Imitate Western styles

• Focus on futuristic designs

• Use only modern materials

What was the effect of the president of France seeing Pei’s work?

• The president decided he would not change anything about the Louvre museum.

• The president wanted Pei to design classical Chinese gardens.

• The president told Pei to visit China and speak to young architects.

• The president wanted Pei to reconstruct the entrance to the Louvre.

Read the following sentences from the text.

“Pei studied the museum, and then he knew he wanted to build a glass and metal pyramid as a center entrance of the museum. Many people thought his idea was crazy! That did not stop him. He was able to get approval for his design. He created this large pyramid and surrounded it with three smaller pyramids. Now, the Louvre Pyramid is one of the most famous structures at the Louvre Museum!”

What conclusion can you draw from this evidence?

• Pei’s unique design idea turned out to be very successful.

• Most people liked Pei’s design of the museum entrance right away.

• There is only one pyramid at the entrance of the Louvre.

• Pei was very nervous about his design and didn’t know where to start.

Why did Pei remind Chinese architects to find inspiration in Chinese architecture rather than Western styles?

• He wanted all the buildings in China to look exactly the same as they did thousands of years ago.

• He wanted them to appreciate their own country’s beautiful styles instead of copying Western designs.

• He wanted architects to only follow their own ideas and stop learning from the past.

• He wanted all new buildings to look similar to the pyramids he made for the Louvre museum entrance.