Suzhou Museum

The Suzhou Museum is instantly recognizable for its crisp, geometric rooflines and bright whitewashed walls, which reinterpret traditional local architecture through a modern lens. Opened in two thousand and six, the main building was designed by the celebrated architect Ieoh Ming Pei, who was born in China and spent much of his childhood in these very gardens. He chose to swap the region’s traditional clay roof tiles for panels of China Black granite, creating a dark, sharp silhouette that stands out against the sky.