Didi Pei earned a Bachelor of Arts cum laude in Physics from Harvard College in 1968. Four years later, he graduated from the Graduate School of Design with a Master’s Degree in Architecture. Prior to founding Pei Partnership Architects with his brother, Didi Pei spent the first 20 years of his professional career contributing to a range of prestigious projects at I.M. Pei & Partners (now Pei Cobb Freed & Partners), including the Grand Louvre in Paris and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
While at I.M. Pei & Partners, Didi Pei developed nationally recognized expertise in museum architecture and medical facility design. Last year, in collaboration with Perkins+Will, he served as Partner-in-Charge for the 1.2-million-square-foot Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, which was dedicated on June 4, 2007. Additionally, Didi Pei is leading the design of the U.S. National Slavery Museum in Fredericksburg, VA.