Space : Similar
to the theme of this competition, you seem to have the cultural
background of both East and West. Through this kind of an international
competition, what factors do you think East and West should
exchange and develop?
Pei : I hope that
Asia's, especially Korea's rich traditional culture would combine
with various experiences and traditions and develop a modern
paradigm of life. Compared to the long history of the East,
West has only few hundreds of years of history. I think that
East, having its root in ancient culture and West, having its
root in modern culture, when combined, both will become rich.
Space : International competition,
perhaps will be the trial to find one international factor through
combining the East and West in design. However, one could also
worry that under the name of "combination" of typical design
of different regions, it would bring extinction.
Pei
: I do not think so. And I hope it will not be so.
Through the competition people will realize that they have high
interest in their regional tradition of design and will develop
the aspect of it. The important thing is to find the synthetic
method of combining the eastern tradition onto Asian culture
developing it together with new techniques, possibility of using
new materials. It is like the inflow and outflow of a tide with
reciprocal relation. I do not believe that the West will change
the East. Yet, with combination of different perception, a very
rich outcome is possible through searching for better and developed
methods for the families and friends worldwide.
Interview by : Journalist Park Sung Jin
Li Chung Pei
The smallest son of the father of architecture, I.M Pei;
he received the masters degree in architecture at Harvard
Unversity in 1976. |
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