From I.M. Pei's first built structure to his most recent work, he has been considered one of the most important architects of the new modern era. At first glance, Pei's success seems to stem from his use of materials, his attention to detail, and his outstanding use of geometry in the design of his buildings. However, at a closer look, his success reaches far past the 'tangible' element of his structure. His true importance as an influential architect lies in the philosophy which are serves as the underpinning for all of his buildings. Pei strives to creates buildings that are not only sensitive to the site, but also to the area surrounding the building. He believes that buildings are not separate entities; they are not solo structures that individually punctuate a skyline. Rather, Pei envisions buildings as part of a whole, they should be designed with in the context of the surrounding area. It is this quality of Pei's that has turned him form just another architect to a model for building in the future.

Pei developed this philosophy during his early career as an architect for Webb and Knapp, a highly influential development firm that was at the forefront of the urban development movement that swept North America in the 50's and 60's. His first building, the Gulf Oil Building in Atlanta, GA (1950-52), was criticized by architectural critics as being a a pathetic attempt of the glass box style that was the trendy building style of the time. However, Pei's turned this "minor Mies" into a creativity structure with concern for the surrounding area by adding Georgian marble slabs to the exterior space just beneath the windows. The richness of the marble not only glorifies this simple square building but also identifies it as specific to the Atlanta area.

In 1957, Pei and his growing team of Webb and Knapp architects were awarded with the commission for a project housing in Philadelphia known as Society Hill. The design problem here was how to create mass housing in a small five block radius in downtown historic Philadelphia. Pei solved this by designing 5 concrete towers and 37 small town houses. The brick town houses served as the buffer zone between the old city and the modern concrete apartments. This was considered a revolutionary idea in the late 50's, for it incorporated modern building techniques with traditional urban planning.

As soon Pei broke from the development firm and forged into the great unknown as an independent architect, he landed a commission with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder Colorado. The center wanted a new research center at the foothills of the Rockies that was relatively compact with intimate spaces and chaotic in design (for chaos is the inspiration for creativity). On top of these design considerations, Pei also needed to construct a building that was not a eyesore from the city below. His solution was a series of rectangular protruding towers that mimicked both the shape and the color of the craggy rocks in the background. The new NCAR was a very brutal building from the exterior perspective, however, the interior court yards and corridors played with the natural light of the Rocky Mountains providing a warm and intriguing juxtaposition to the harsh facade. The NCAR was widely accepted by the Boulder public for its non obtrusive position in the context of the mountains.

After Pei was awarded with the commission for the J.F. Kennedy library, offers began to pour into his modest architectural firm. Among these offers was the chance for Pei to build a new Hancock complex in the old district of downtown Boston (1968-76). Along the same premises of the Society Hill Project, Pei and his partner Henry Cobb were confronted with the dilemma of how to build a modern building smack in the middle of historic buildings like Richardson's Trinity Church. The two men solved the design conflict by slimming the typical glass skyscraper design on the elevation facing the church. Cobb then created a blue glass curtain wall that, at the street level reflected the old building, thereby appearing old itself, and at meshed into the natural sky due to is coloration. The small surface area coupled with the all glass exterior served to minimize the impact of the soaring skyscraper.

When the Hancock tower began to crack and fall onto the city streets below in a wind storm in '73, Pei & Partners' reputation was drastically altered for the worst. It was the East Building of the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. (1968-78) that saved the future of the firm. This is arguably one of Pei's most sculptural, geometric, and sensitive buildings. The odd, trapezoidal site that the new addition was to be constructed on was only part of the design problem. The addition was to exist on famous mall which is notorious for its monumental temples to the American government. Using simple geometric forms and a corresponding marble facade, Pei created a structure that embodied both the monumentality of the city as well as the grace and beauty of a modern work of art.

Like the East Wing addition, Pei's phase one of the renovation to the Louvre in Paris (1983-89) is recognized around the world as a brilliant solution to designing in the context of old buildings. In the early 80's the Louvre was faced with a serious shortage of space. The city's leaders called in Pei to design a new gallery, for his reputation as a 'sensitive' modern architect were known around the globe. The glass pyramid, while a source of controversy in during the building process, proved to be his most outstanding work to date. The underground galleries which are light by the protruding pyramids was the most sensitive design the Louvre complex . By putting the new museum underground, the Louvre was able to expand in extremely close proximity to the original buildings. The above ground structure complete with a renovated square, including a reflecting pool (which aided in meshing the old buildings with the new structure), not only added a modern flare to the traditional complex, but also gave the Parisian public a solidified space to claim for themselves.

I.M. Pei's buildings, complete with the 'built in' theories of how to build in the context of the surrounding area, have come to symbolize the future of architects. Designers can no longer slap some signature building up in any city, suburb, or campus they they are commissions in. Architecture has never been about simply creating houses of stone, pipes, wires and windows. Buildings are a cultural art form, and like any other aspect of society, they need to be set into harmony with the surrounding cultural context. However, architects of the modern and post modern era veered away from this idea and the result was a disjuncted skyline that not only proved to be an eyesore, but also a boil on the rear of society. With the recent efforts in urban development, we are breaching a new era on architectural history. In order to provide a brighter future for our cities, schools, residences, and our culture in general, architects and developers need to adopt the Pei philosophy: sensitive buildings create a stable society.