in 1948, a young visionary developer already known to particularly love architecture was seeking a talented new architect for his upcoming business and personal projects. the search landed upon a brilliant young professor at harvard: ieoh ming pei, i. m. pei. i.m. pei would also design this personal penthouse for his employer and would quickly display his exceptional ability to capture the ultimate quality of its space and its extraordinary light overlooking the water of the east river. pei's later home for 45 years at 15 sutton square a few blocks north would be chosen for the same aspect of extraordinary light overlooking grass and the water of the east river. beekman place in the midst of a bustling cosmopolitan city, beekman place remains a two block island of trees and calm with low scale cooperatives and elegant townhouses overlooking the east river. its row of ginkgo trees on both sides of the street are famous for all turning the same gold color on the same day - just after the first frost. floor plan this apartment has extraordinary entertaining space that is nicely separated from its private bedroom areas. both the windows and the ceilings are exceptionally high throughout. the terrace can be accessed from the living room and the dining room on the the entertaining side and from the primary bedroom in the private wing. according to floorplan specialist who drew the floorplan, the interior contains approximately 3,115 square feet and the exterior terraces encompass approximately 1,920 square feet. all prospective buyers are invited to measure the space if they choose. the terraces the plantings on the terrace include unusual choices of plants and trees, including white birches planted in groups of threes and fours. all plantings are irrigated. it is possible to walk the entire terrace from one end to the other, going from the north to the west to the south to the east and back to the north. i.p. pei's classic vision while this penthouse has had four exceptional owners since i.m. pei designed it, his vision remains intact through the years to this day.