APRIL 4th
Artist
Louis Kahn
Humanistic
Spiritual
Modernism
“I do not believe that beauty can be deliberately created. Beauty evolves out of a will to be that has its first expression in the archaic...”
Louis Kahn is known for his mastery of light, geometry, and raw materials. He uses these elements to achieve a level of spirituality and timelessness no matter the purpose or functionality of his buildings.
Whether it be a church, an art museum, or a college campus, Kahn went beyond functionality to instill a level of architectural sophistication and inspiration in what he made. This is understood through three examples of Kahn’s work – The First Unitarian Church and School in Rochester, New York (1959-69), The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas (1966-72), and The India Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, India (1962-74).
Louis Kahn’s First Unitarian Church and School in Rochester, New York embodies how Kahn uses architectural elements to vitalize the philosophy and purpose of a space.
Kahn spoke to ministers to understand how Unitarianism was a questioning and seeking of shared beliefs. He decided to design the school around the central gathering space of the sanctuary, thereby Using the school – as a place that raises questions – to wrap around the sanctuary – the place of questioning.
Interestingly, instead of making the center of the structure the area with the most light, as in most religious architecture, Kahn constructed four great “light towers” around the perimeter of the sanctuary creating a cruciform shape at the center. For the interior, Kahn married the materials of wood and concrete, a complimentary combination that he would use for future projects.
In addition to the classrooms providing a thick interior layer for the sanctuary, they also projected out to house window seats. The dynamic effects of the sun and season play out across the unchanging geometric volumes of the interior, making the building come to life. The interplay of these effects symbolize the concept of a “question,” and its openness to answers.
For the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, Kahn creates an ideal space for viewing art, elevating it to an experience of the divine.
This museum is thought to be one of the greatest in the twentieth century and is arguably Khan's most widely published works. Importantly, it was also the last of his buildings he saw to completion in his lifetime. The context for this project was, is at its heart, the Kimbell Art Collection itself which was new and therefore undefined. In thinking about these artworks Kahn continually returned to the idea of natural light and its complementary nature to works of art. The fundamental structure of the museum was a succession of cycloid vaults, creating an introverted character that was then penetrated by slits of light. These openings were matched with solid reflectors in the gallery spaces and perforated ones in non gallery spaces, allowing for glimpses of clouds and sun. This tangible quality of light illuminated the space without touching any artwork directly.
With Kahn’s layout, the viewer's experience of the art was uninterrupted by windows, columns, or other structural apparatus, yet could still feel the comforts of natural light, making it an ideal setting for viewing art.
In his design of the India Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, India, Louis Kahn went beyon intrinsically spiritual spaces and took on the traditionally utilitarian.
The founders of this residential institution believed in a pedagogy that prioritized informal seminar discussions, similar to Kahn’s own teaching philosophy. He decided to use the concept of a monastery as his starting point, where there was a unity between learning and living. The overall layout was also influenced by Indian architecture and the importance they placed on open-air spaces. Kahn took these ideas and created individual buildings of geometric purity, connected by a series of open-air courtyards and passageways. He himself believed that the most essential learning didn’t only take place in classrooms or auditoriums but rather through informal dialogues done in foyers, courtyards, hallways, stairs, and tearooms.
By creating a series of interconnected structures made through a marriage of materials (brick and concrete), and design (geometry and minimalism), Kahn created a city in miniature, one where emphasis is placed on an architectural philosophy of how learning and living can enhance one another’s potential for transformation.
These three seminal works show Louis Kahn’s mastery of light, space, and form. The timeframe of these three projects overlapped, showing Kahn’s development and dedication over the fifteen year period of 1959-1974.
He went deep into each project's purpose and potential, exhibiting his vision of how a space can be used to worship, to view art, and to learn.
The founders of this residential institution believed in a pedagogy that prioritized informal seminar discussions, similar to Kahn’s own teaching philosophy. He decided to use the concept of a monastery as his starting point, where there was a unity between learning and living. The overall layout was also influenced by Indian architecture and the importance they placed on open-air spaces. Kahn took these ideas and created individual buildings of geometric purity, connected by a series of open-air courtyards and passageways. He himself believed that the most essential learning didn’t only take place in classrooms or auditoriums but rather through informal dialogues done in foyers, courtyards, hallways, stairs, and tearooms.
