I.M. Pei, preeminent architect who designed the Louvre pyramid, dies at 102

I.M. Pei receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award during the Asia Game Changers 2016 Awards. Photo / Getty Images

I.M. Pei, the globe-trotting architect who revived the Louvre museum in Paris with a giant glass pyramid and captured the spirit of rebellion at the multi-shaped Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the US, has died at age 102.

His death was confirmed today by a spokesman at his New York architecture firm.

Pei's works ranged from the trapezoidal addition to the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, to the chiseled towers of the National Center of Atmospheric Research that blend in with the reddish mountains in Boulder, Colorado.

I.M Pei - who said "architecture has to endure" - designed notable works such as the the Louvre's glass pyramid. Photo / Getty Images

His buildings added elegance to landscapes worldwide with their powerful geometric shapes and grand spaces.

Among them are the striking steel and glass Bank of China skyscraper in Hong Kong and John F. Kennedy Memorial Library in Boston.

- AP