I. M. PEI’S MUSEUM FOR CHINESE ART, SHANGHAI, 1946
Mode nism, egionalism and he sea ch o an a chi ec u al
ep esen a ion o na ional iden i y
Leah Hsiao
Uni e si y o Yo k, Yo k, Uni ed Kingdom
Abs ac
My pape looks in o he Chinese Ame ican a chi ec I. M. Pei’s i s museum p ojec , he
Museum o Chinese A , Shanghai, concei ed as his answe o an a chi ec u al
ep esen a ion o na ional iden i y in 1946. Al hough Pei’s p ojec is en isaged o China,
I conside i o be a key example ha in e enes in he deba e be ween mode nism and
egionalism in Ame ica in he 1940s.
In Feb ua y 1948, he P og essi e A chi ec u e published in i s la es issue Pei’s
g adua ion p ojec a Ha a d G adua e School o Design, inished unde he supe ision
o Wal e G opius. Though un ealised, he design is highly acknowledged in he P/A as a
monumen al piece o mode n museum. The scheme sugges s an ex emely mode nis
s a emen , combined wi h he heme o a adi ional Chinese ga den. While he P/A
a icle well p esen s i s mode nis ocabula y h ough a chi ec u al plans and close-up
pho os o he model, he p ojec ’s equal conside a ion o ep esen ing local
cha ac e is ics has no been ully ecognised.
My pape a gues how Pei’s design in oduces an a chi ec u al ep esen a ion o na ional
iden i y h ough he means o a chi ec u al egionalism, apa om i s es imony o he
canon o mode n a chi ec u e. In my pape , I will b ie ly del e in o he con ex o
a chi ec u al deba es be ween mode nism and egionalism in Ame ica in he 1940s, and
hen iden i y he p ojec ’s ep esen a ion o local elemen s as a e lec ion o egional
cha ac e is ics. E idence is seen om he ac ha Pei in ends his museum o a e y
speci ic loca ion, he un inished u ban plan o he Ci ic Cen e in he Jiangwan Dis ic o
Shanghai in 1933, along wi h he p ojec ’s emphasis on cha ac e is ic language o he
Chinese ga den. Placing i sel in a Chinese con ex , Pei’s design o e s a dis an bu
al e na i e iew owa ds unde s anding he concep ion o a chi ec u al mode nism and
mode ni y o Ame ican audience.
Keywo ds: Mode nism, mode n a chi ec u e, egionalism, na ionalism
In Feb ua y 1948, he Ame ican magazine P og essi e A chi ec u e p esen ed a
museum designed by he Chinese-Ame ican a chi ec , I. M. Pei (Figu e 1). Ti led
“Museum o Chinese A , Shanghai,” his was Pei’s g adua e wo k a Ha a d
G adua e School o Design, inished unde he supe ision o Wal e G opius wo
yea s be o e. I en isages a Chinese a museum o be loca ed in China, h ough
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a ypically mode n s uc u e ha is in eg a ed wi h a heme o he adi ional
Chinese ga den.
Figu e 1. “Museum o Chinese A , Shanghai, China,”
P og essi e A chi ec u e, 28 Feb ua y (1948), 50–1.
The edi o ’s acknowledgmen o he mode nis c eden ials o he design is seen
om he use o a la ge-sized wo d MUSEUM in he i le o emphasise he
unc ion o building. This is immedia ely ollowed by an en husias ic opening
ema k, which says,
This ema kable g adua e-school p ojec s ikes us as an excellen
syn hesis o p og essi e design in addi ion o p o iding a much-needed
a chi ec u al s a emen o a p ope cha ac e o a museum oday.
(P og essi e A chi ec u e, 1948, p. 50)
Leah Hisao, I. M. Pei’s Museum o Chinese A , Shanghai, 1946. Mode nism, egionalism and he sea ch
o an a chi ec u al ep esen a ion o na ional iden i y
116
This a icle in oduces Pei’s design h ough images o he a chi ec u al model
and he plan, along wi h some desc ip ions p o ided by Pei. I also p o ides a
e iew by G opius (1948: 52), which explains how Pei, h ough he hemes o
‘ he ba e Chinese wall’ and he ‘small indi idual ga den pa io’, he ‘ wo e e nal
ea u es’ o Chinese a chi ec u e, achie ed ‘a mode n a chi ec u al exp ession on
a monumen al le el.’ O e all, a look a he o m and s uc u e o he design
immedia ely e eal i s mode nis c eden ials. Bu meanwhile, I conside i also
con eys a s ong e e ence o Chinese cul u e and a speci ic concep o na ional
iden i y ha hus challenges he uni e sal s anda ds o mode n a chi ec u e, and
in pa icula , he so-called In e na ional S yle. Especially in he con ex o 1940s
Ame ica, his Museum o Chinese A has in e es ingly combined a es imony o
he canon o mode n a chi ec u e wi h a ep esen a ion o na ional iden i y
h ough an emphasis on a chi ec u al egionalism.
I. M. Pei, Museum o Chinese A , 1946
The p esen a ion o Pei’s p ojec in he a icle o e s he s a ing poin o ead
he building. The i s image is a pho o o he a chi ec u al model, co e ing
almos hal he i s page. I p esen s a dis inc i e look o he e y mode nis
cha ac e s in Pei’s design, wi h elemen s ha emind iewe s o Le Co busie ’s
Fi e Poin s on A chi ec u e (Le Co busie , 1926). The en ance is co e ed by a
mode n po ico and i connec s o a mode nis slope leading o he open in e io
o he cou ya d. Two mo e pho os p esen he o e all look o he model.1 One is
nex o he cap ion; he o he is on he op o he nex page. I is isible ha Pei
has en isaged a la - oo ed cubic s uc u e, wi h many openings asymme ically
a anged o e eal he in e nal ga den as a main ea u e o he building. The e is
a sho desc ip ion ha ells (1948: 51) how he museum, ‘be i ing he digni y
o Shanghai,’ is in ended o eplace an ‘inadequa e s uc u e’ in he Ci ic Cen e,
he plan o which was inished in 1933. I en isions a wo-s o y galle y space
1 The close-up iew shows a combina ion o columns and a la oo . The absence o suppo ing
walls p o ides a iew o he open space o he in e io ha he ee plan independen om he
s uc u al unc ion o he suppo ing pilo is. This pe spec i e almos c ea es a isual e ec ha he
pilo is, seen h ough he openings o he ceiling, a e ans o med in o mullions o he ho izon al
windows o he building.
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buil in conc e e. The s uc u e is designed o be hal benea h he g ound, hus
he building su ace is en i ely co e ed by ma ble so as o elimina e he
disad an age o i s lowe heigh compa ing o su ounding buildings, while also
help ‘enhance he plas ic and sculp u al quali y o he s uc u e.’2
The a chi ec u al plan o he museum p esen s he layou o he inne galle ies,
along wi h sho desc ip ions o each loo . The Lowe Floo unde g ound
ea u ed a Chinese ga den, ex ending he museum space om he cen e o he
walled cou ya d loca ed a he ea end o he building. Pei (1948: 50) gi es an
accoun o he philosophy behind his spa ial cons uc ion, ‘ he adi ional
Chinese ga den is li e ally a ga den o walls.’ Pei (1948: 50) u he explains how
‘ his building is sunk hal a le el below g ound in o de o c ea e walls o he
main ga den while pe mi ing a iew in o i om ou side.’
The plan o he Uppe Floo gi es an idea o how he exhibi ing ooms a e
a anged by collec ion ype, such as b onze, clay, pain ing and callig aphy.
I ems in each oom a e hen displayed in a ch onological o de . The Chinese
ga den pa i ions, while also connec ing, he inne galle ies. Na u al elemen s
such as lo us, bamboos and lowe s a e sca e ed a ound he ga den and he ea
pa ilion. As Pei (1948: 50) conside s, his a angemen would help he
collec ions o be ‘bes displayed in su oundings which a e in une wi h hem,
su oundings which inco po a e as much as possible he cons i u ing elemen s o
na u al beau y.’ Pei (1948: 51) u he explains his a angemen in a non-
mode nis manne ha ‘all o ms o Chinese a a e di ec ly o indi ec ly esul s
o a sensi i e obse a ion o na u e.’
The sec ion p o ides a iew o he unc ional cons uc ion o he in e nal galle y
space looking h ough he wo-s o y s uc u e and he Chinese ga den (Figu e
2). I shows how he galle y is an open space ac oss he uppe and lowe le els
o he building, connec ed bo h o he cou ya d o he museum and he long
co ido . On iew a e h ee iconic Chinese objec s ha mani es an emphasis on
Chinese cha ac e is ics. The bo om le o he sec ion ea u es a b onze Buddha
bus , o he igh o which is a s a ue o a Chinese philosophical igu e iding a
2 The placemen o he loo le el benea h he g ound was la e bes -known in Mies’s design o he
Neue Na ionalgale ie.
Leah Hisao, I. M. Pei’s Museum o Chinese A , Shanghai, 1946. Mode nism, egionalism and he sea ch
o an a chi ec u al ep esen a ion o na ional iden i y
118
bu alo. In he backg ound o he sec ion can be seen a la ge emb oide y o a
Chinese d agon ha c ea es a spa ial di ision om he ceiling. Ra he han
simply being displayed as a wo ks, hese objec s c ea e an imp ession as i
being designed as pa o he space.3 The cons uc ion ma e ials speci ied in he
sec ion, such as ma ble enee , sand and conc e e consolida ed on a slab and
ins alled on he ceiling, e ince he sense o mode ni y and i mness Pei in ended
o his building.
Figu e 2. Sec ion Plan, “Museum o Chinese A , Shanghai,
China,” P og essi e A chi ec u e, 28 Feb ua y (1948), 52.
Below he loo plan, a sho desc ip ion explains ha his e y speci ic
ins alla ion o he Tea Ga den is a ea u e usually si ua ed ei he in a ma ke as
a social place o people o di e en classes, o a ound emple a chi ec u e as a
enue o in ellec ual con e sa ion. Pei (1948: 52) sugges s he Tea Ga den
3 The igu es benea h he emb oide y and a he a end o he aisle ( he nex exhibi ing oom), in
adi ional Chinese ou i s, gi e an idea o he scale and heigh o he s uc u e and he
connec edness o he in e nal space.

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e e s o eahouses in Chinese cul u e, which helps make his museum ‘a li ing
o ganism in he li e o he people, a he han a cold deposi o y o mas e pieces.’
O e all, bo h he mul iple displays o objec s o igina e om Chinese cul u e and
he building’s connec ion o he Chinese ga den con ibu e o a ep esen a ion o
Chinese symbolism.
Mies an de Rohe, Museum o a Small Ci y
The p ojec ’s mode nis c eden ials a e isible om a clea esemblance o Mies
an de Rohe’s scheme o a ‘Museum o a Small Ci y,’ which hus e eals Pei’s
in en ional modelling on a Wes e n mode nis p o o ype (Figu e 3) (Con ad,
2001, 3–4). In 1943, wo Ame ican magazines, A chi ec u al Fo um and Fo une,
in i ed wen y- h ee a chi ec s, including Louis Kahn and Mies, o en isage an
ideal ci y in pos -wa Ame ica named “a chi ec u e o 194x” (Ozle , 2011;
Lambe , 2001, 426–9).4 Each a chi ec was esponsible o di e en segmen s
o in as uc u e, including, o ins ance, lib a y, ci y hall, museum and o ice
buildings, all o which con ibu ed o c ea ing a new image o communi y li e and
u ban planning (Ozle , 2011).5 Mies’s p oposal came ou as a p ac ical and ideal
museum space o he enjoymen o he communi y. This is ealised, as Mies
(1943: 84) s a es, h ough he design o he ga den in he cen e o he building
o elimina e ‘ he ba ie be ween he a wo k and he li ing communi y’ in ‘a
noble backg ound o he ci ic and cul u al li e.’
I is no di icul o iden i y how he wo p ojec s esemble a amilia i y no only
in e ms o design philosophy, bu also in aspec s o s uc u e, ma e ials and he
o ma ion o space. Pei’s emphasis on he socialising and en e aining pu pose o
his ea pa ilion, buil o people o di e en classes, echoes wha Mies sugges ed
4 The p o o ype o his ideal ci y was Sy acuse, New Yo k. Mies’s museum design was inspi ed by
he hesis p ojec o Geo ge Dan o h, one o his s uden s a IIT. Mies’s museum design e lec ed
his p e ious in e es in he composi ion o “con inuous loo and oo planes leading o an open
ho izon.” As i can be no iced om he illus a ion, Dan o h also delinea ed he d awings o he
design. Ozle , L. (July 4, 2011).
5 In he ealis ic con ex o Ame ican a chi ec u e, Mies’s scheme came ou when museum
a chi ec u e had no ye ully begun o h i e, as Ba y Be gdoll (2009, 107–123) ecognised he
museum boom in Ame ica only came in he 1960s.
Leah Hisao, I. M. Pei’s Museum o Chinese A , Shanghai, 1946. Mode nism, egionalism and he sea ch
o an a chi ec u al ep esen a ion o na ional iden i y
120
as c ea ing a cul u al backg ound sha ed by he whole communi y.6 The sec ion
o Pei’s la ge galle y con eys a isual equi alence o he in e io ha Mies
c ea ed, which indica es a simila spa ial composi ion and he use o a wo ks as
pa o he a chi ec u al space.7 Finally, he emphasis on cons uc ing echnique
and ma e ials also sugges s how Pei’s modelling on he Museum o he Small
Ci y has in a way esponded o his mode nis and pos -wa Ame ican
a chi ec u al iden i y ha Mies p esen ed h ough his s eel amed museum
s uc u e.8
Figu e 3. Museum o he Small Ci y, Mies an de Rohe,”
The A chi ec u e Fo um, May (1943), 84–85.
6 To achie e his connec ion wi h he en i e communi y, Pei de elops his scheme a ound he
heme o he cen al cou ya d, while Mies also posi ioned a ga den as a p ima y elemen o b idge
he gap be ween a wo ks and isi o s om bo h aes he ic and cul u al conside a ions. In his
galle y design, Mies p esen ed an open space, composed by he mode nis elemen s o a loo slab
and a oo pla e. The s uc u e is suppo ed by s eel oo usses ha minimise he use o columns.
Pei’s de ailed desc ip ions o he ma e ials o he slabs o his oo ed s uc u e, suppo ed by he
main ame, he plin hs o which sugges ed i s ole as he main columns o he building,
ne e heless con eyed a simila idea o mode n ma e ials o c ea e a la ge and ee space o
exhibi ing uses and o a la ge g oup.
7 Mies speci ically sugges s he ex a unc ion o Picasso’s Gue nica as pa o he spa ial s uc u e
as a ees anding wall ha di ides he space.
8 The Museum o he Small Ci y easonably co esponds o he a chi ec u al backg ound o pos -
wa Ame ican ci y cons uc ion. The use o he s eel echnique, widely demons a es in o he
p ojec s o Mies in Chicago, is a ecogni ion o he Ame ican s eel indus y ha ne e heless
echoes wi h he sense o Ame ican iden i y ha Mies ob ained since he le Ge many. The open
and lowing space o he Museum o a Small Ci y was also ealised h ough he applica ion o he
s eel ame, which he e o e co esponded o he a chi ec u al con ex o he pos -wa Ame ican
ci y o he 194x.
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The a ini y be ween Pei’s design and Mies’s en isaged museum explains he
p og essi e and mode nis a ibu es o Pei’s design. By blending he mode nis
o m wi h he heme o a Chinese ga den, Pei p esen s a po en ial o mode nism
o de elop i s language in a Chinese con ex . This celeb a ion o he mode nis
p ospec s o Pei’s museum, howe e , in a way unde es ima es he egional
con ex Pei expe imen ed wi h in his design. In ac , one aspec o conside
when i comes o Pei’s mode nis iden i y is ha his sea ch o an a chi ec u al
exp ession o a na ional iden i y was also a ques ion discussed in Ame ica
h oughou he 1940s.
The sea ch o Ame ican egionalism
The Museum o Mode n A was a ocus o his p olonged deba e on egionalism
and mode nism. This s a ed om he i s a chi ec u al exhibi ion in MoMA in
1932. En i led Mode n A chi ec u e: In e na ional Exhibi ion, i in oduced he
In e na ional S yle as he new aes he ics o ollow in he de elopmen o mode n
a chi ec u e. The p inciples included he use o mode n s uc u e and ma e ials
in a chi ec u al planning, he emphasis on olume ins ead o mass o a building,
he egula layou o a chi ec u al o m and p opo ion, wi h lexibili y in loo
planning and, las bu no leas , he elimina ion o o namen o deco a i e
pa e n in he design (Ba , 1932, 12–17).
While he In e na ional S yle became a way o celeb a e mode n iden i y o
Ame ica, he yea s be ween 1934 and 1945 wi nessed a p ominence o egional
cha ac e is ics in Ame ican a chi ec u e, as ha e been examined by Liane
Le ai e and Alexande Tzonis (Le ai e, 2003, 44). This was i s coined wi h
he 1945 MoMA exhibi ion Buil in USA: 1932–44 (Mock, 1932). In he exhibi ion
ca alogue, Philip Goodwin (1945: 5), hen Chai man o he A chi ec u e
Commi ee o MoMA, sugges ed ha he In e na ional S yle was o ‘ o eign’
in luence, whe eas he egional a chi ec u e was mo e a e lec ion o ‘an
Leah Hisao, I. M. Pei’s Museum o Chinese A , Shanghai, 1946. Mode nism, egionalism and he sea ch
o an a chi ec u al ep esen a ion o na ional iden i y
122
au hen ic mode n Ame ican s yle.’9 This esis ance agains mode nism was
u he exp essed by cu a o o he exhibi ion, Elizabe h Mock, who pe cei ed
egional s uc u es, wi h emphases on adi ional o local ma e ials, c ea i e
o ms, mee ing indi idual needs in hei a chi ec u al se ings, ha e o e ed a
con empo a y di ec ion o de elop Ame ican a chi ec u al mode ni y which
depa s om Eu opean mode nism o he 1920s (Le ai e, 2003, 25; Mock
1945).10
In he same yea , Sig ied Giedion, hen appoin ed p o esso a he GSD,
published Nine Poin s on Monumen ali y ha called o a mode n e sion o
a chi ec u al monumen ali y o acco d wi h new ci y planning. In con as , Lewis
Mum o d c i icised Giedion’s new monumen ali y and iden i ied he Bay Region
s yle o he San F anciscan a chi ec s as a na i e o m o Ame ican mode nism
in con as o he Eu opean-o ien ed In e na ional S yle (Le ai e, 2003, 25).
This was hen connec ed o a ound able discussion on “Wha is happening o
Mode n A chi ec u e?” in he MoMA o add ess he ension be ween he
In e na ional S yle and he Bay Region a chi ec u e in Feb ua y 1948 (Ba e
al., 1948).11
My poin o men ioning his complica ed ongoing p ocess o iden i ying a mode n
solu ion o ep esen Ame ican na ional and a chi ec u al iden i y is ha i mus
ha e exe ed ce ain in luence on Pei.12 As Pei’s biog aphe Ca e Wiseman
(2001: 44) no es, when Pei was wo king on his g adua ion p ojec , Pei was also
looking o a ‘ egional o “na ional” exp ession in a chi ec u e. Re lec ed in his
design o he Museum o Chinese A , his sea ch o a na ional and egional
a chi ec u al exp ession conce ns wi h a speci ic his o ical con ex , which
9 Goodwin was also he co-designe o he museum.
10 Be o e he exhibi ion, Mock had al eady openly c i icised he In e na ional S yle as he igid
Eu opean mode nism ha limi ed he a ious mani es a ion o Ame ican mode ni y. Typical
examples o egional a chi ec u e enlis ed in he exhibi ion included F ank Lloyd W igh ’s Falling
Wa e and he wooden supe s uc u e, House o Chambe lain, designed by G opius and B eue .
11 The ound able was held in MoMA in Feb 1948. In 1952, Hi chcock and A hu D exle adop ed
he name o Mock’s exhibi ion o Buil in USA: Pos -wa A chi ec u e, o eclaim he so e eign y o
mode n a chi ec u e and he In e na ional S yle. The deba e o e a chi ec u al s yle and c i icism
on all o labels o shi -isms only p og essed o a mo e complica ed deg ee, ollowed by he i al y
be ween mode n and pos mode n a chi ec u e in he 1960s.
12 As Ba y Be gdoll no es (Be gdoll, 2003, 260–306), G opius and B eue we e also sea ching o
a egional a chi ec u al language, expe imen ed h ough New England a chi ec u e. This migh
sugges a mo e di ec in luence on Pei.