Tributes have been paid to the "visionary architect" behind the pyramid at Paris' Louvre who was died aged 102. The museum's president, Louvre Jean-Luc Martiniez, expressed deep sorrow at the passing of Ieoh Ming Pei. He said Pei was a "visionary architect with an exceptionally long and rich career" and that his death "will have a lasting impact on the museum". Employees of the museum will hold a tribute to him at 15h CEST on Friday — you can watch live on this page. The former French culture minister, Jack Lang, who was in office during the designing of the Louvre, remembers Pei as "an extraordinary gentleman". The choice of Pei as the architect for the Louvre's grand renovation in the eighties proved controversial at the time as Pei was not a French national. Lang observed, however, that the Chinese-American earned respect "because he himself was very respectful of the history of the country". The Louvre, one of the most famous museums in the world, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. It said the anniversary celebrations would be an apt opportunity to pay tribute to Pei.