On the week commemorating American-Chinese architect I.M Pei’s birthday, Delhi-based photographer and photojournalist, Nipun Prabhakar, has shared with us a series of images of I.M Pei & Partners’ building, the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. The firm was commissioned in 1968 by Cornell University to build the university’s museum that would also serve as a teaching facility and cultural center for the educational community. The building was completed in 1973 and was awarded the American Institute of Architects Honor Award in 1975.
Located in the university's campus in Ithaca, New York, the building directly responds to its site in terms of size, direct relationship with the surrounding, and orientations. The result is a massive concrete structure, of 9 floors and 61000 square feet, with a fifth-floor that cantilevers over the surrounding gardens, offering striking views of the open-air sculpture park below. The museum’s interiors are open spaces that house galleries and exhibition spaces with plenty of natural light and horizontal views of the exteriors.
