Learn all about I. M. Pei's life and career. Pei designed the East Building in the 1970s. Some scholars said Pei was influenced by minimalist artists of the 1960s who used geometric shapes and industrial materials to create simple, unemotional forms. But Pei's first challenge for the East Building was the odd-shaped parcel of land it was to be built on.

Here's a street map that shows the National Gallery of Art buildings:

Locate the West Building.

What shape is the site it is built on? Did the site influence the building's design?
You bet! The site is a rectangle, and the building is a huge rectangular solid with a central dome.

Look again at the street map.

Which street runs at an angle to the others?
If you said Pennsylvania Avenue, you are correct. It is a broad diagonal that runs from the White House to the Capitol. The inaugural parade—and the new President—runs along Pennsylvania every four years.

Now, follow your eye down Pennsylvania Avenue.

Do you see where it slices off the corner of what would have been a rectangular plot of land for the new East wing of the Gallery? No way planners could reroute this famous avenue to make a more standard (rectangular or square) site for the new Gallery! How did Pei solve this challenge? Complete the Pei's Polygons worksheet to find out.