Intro to Louis Kahn
Louis Khan was very unique in his designs. He was known for his fusion of contradictory sources into his architecture. His education from the University of Pennsylvania gave him a Beaux Arts influence with a modern style. He admired works of Greek and ancient Roman temples. To him Brunelleschi was to architecture as Bach was to music. His admiration of ancient architecture is seen in many of his works. For instance, in his work for the Richards Medical Research Building was influenced by the medieval vernacular forms of Italian hill towns. Another example of this unique type of architecture is Kahn’s Salk Institute for Biological Sciences. The Institute has a separation of labs and community with a water pool dividing it, similar to Thomas Jefferson’s University of Virginia. Lastly, Kahn’s design for the National Assembly of Bangladesh in Dhaka was influenced from French Neoclassicism. This fusion of traditional influence into modern design gave Kahn a unique type of architecture compared to his counterparts.
Factoids
Born: February 20, 1901
Kuressaare, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire[1]
Died: March 17, 1974 (aged 73)
New York City, New York, United States
Nationality: American
Occupation: Architect
Awards: AIA Gold Medal
RIBA Gold Medal
Most Known Buildings: Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban
Yale University Art Gallery
Salk Institute
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
Phillips Exeter Academy Library
Kimbell Art Museum
Projects Center of Philadelphia, Urban and Traffic Study
Timeline of Works
1935 – Jersey Homesteads Cooperative Development, Hightstown, New Jersey
1940 – Jesse Oser House, 628 Stetson Road, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania
1947 – Phillip Q. Roche House, 2101 Harts Lane, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania
1951 – Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel Street, New Haven, Connecticut
1952 – City Tower Project, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (unbuilt)
1954 – Jewish Community Center (aka Trenton Bath House), 999 Lower Ferry Road, Ewing, New Jersey
1956 – Wharton Esherick Studio, 1520 Horseshoe Trail, Malvern, Pennsylvania (designed with Wharton Esherick)
1957 – Richards Medical Research Laboratories, University of Pennsylvania, 3700 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1957 – Fred E. and Elaine Cox Clever House, 417 Sherry Way, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
1959 – Margaret Esherick House, 204 Sunrise Lane, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1958 – Tribune Review Publishing Company Building, 622 Cabin Hill Drive, Greensburg, Pennsylvania
1959 – Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California
1959 – First Unitarian Church, 220 South Winton Road, Rochester, New York
1960 – Erdman Hall Dormitories, Bryn Mawr College, Morris Avenue, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
1960 – Norman Fisher House, 197 East Mill Road, Hatboro, Pennsylvania
1961 – Point Counterpoint II, barge used by the American Wind Symphony Orchestra
1961 – Philadelphia’s Mikveh Israel, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (unbuilt)
1962 – Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India
1962 – Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban, the National Assembly Building of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
1963 – President’s Estate, Islamabad, Pakistan (unbuilt)
1965 – Phillips Exeter Academy Library, Front Street, Exeter, New Hampshire
1966 – Kimbell Art Museum, 3333 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, Texas
1966 – Olivetti-Underwood Factory, Valley Road, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
1966 – Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester, Chappaqua, New York
1968 – Hurva Synagogue, Jerusalem, Israel (unbuilt)
1969 – Yale Center for British Art, Yale University, 1080 Chapel Street, New Haven, Connecticut
1971 – Steven Korman House, Sheaff Lane, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
1973 – The Arts United Center (Formerly known as the Fine Arts Foundation Civic Center), Fort Wayne, Indiana
1974 – Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, Roosevelt Island, New York City, New York, completed 2012.
1979 – Flora Lamson Hewlett Library of the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California
Images of Louis Kahn’s Buildings
