National Gallery of Art, East Building

Washington, D.C. | 1968–1978 🏛️✨ I. M. Pei once said: “It’s not about how much time people spend in a museum—it’s whether they have a beautiful experience. I learned this years ago when I took my children to museums. They didn’t enjoy the Metropolitan Museum of Art, despite its incredible collection. But they loved the Guggenheim. I’ve never forgotten that.” 👨👧👦❤️ To bring his vision to life, Pei enlisted perspective rendering master Stevenson Oles, whose detailed drawings translated the design team’s ideas onto paper. This was essential for tackling the complex triangular forms of the building. 🎨✍️ As William Pedersen of Kohn Pedersen & Fox (KPF) recalled: “It was amazing to hear Pei describe the experience of moving through the museum. He envisioned walking through the galleries, looking down into the atrium… I realized he was thinking about architecture in a completely different way—as a sequence of images that change as you move.” 🚶♂️🖼️ This approach—first explored in Pei’s design for the Everson Museum—was deeply rooted in his childhood memories of Suzhou’s classical gardens, where winding paths revealed ever-changing views, enriching space and sparking the imagination. 🌿🎋 From The Complete Works of I.M. Pei I.M.PEI Have you visited the East Building? What was the most memorable part of your experience—the architecture, the light, or a particular artwork? Share your thoughts below! 👇💫 #WashingtonDC #ArchitectureLover #IMPei #NationalGalleryOfArt #ModernArchitecture #ArtMuseum #DesignInspiration #DCLandmarks #MuseumArchitecture #UrbanDesign #CulturalDC