Louis Kahn

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Louis Kahn bigraphy, stories - American architect

Louis Kahn : biography

February 20, 1901 – March 17, 1974

Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky) (February 20, 1901 – March 17, 1974) was an American architect, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. While continuing his private practice, he served as a design critic and professor of architecture at Yale School of Architecture from 1947 to 1957.

From 1957 until his death, he was a professor of architecture at the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania. Influenced by ancient ruins, Kahn created a style that was monumental and monolithic; his heavy buildings do not hide their weight, their materials, or the way they are assembled. Louis Kahn’s works are considered as monumental beyond modernism. Famous for his meticulously built works, his provocative unbuilt proposals, and his teaching, Kahn was one of the most influential architects of the 20th century. He was awarded the AIA Gold Medal and the RIBA Gold Medal.

Gallery

File:Yale University Art Gallery entrance.jpg|Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut (1951–53). File:Triangle-ceiling.jpg|Coffered ceiling in Yale University Art Gallery (1951–53). File:YUAG stairwell.jpg|Stairwell in Yale University Art Gallery (1951–53). File:Trenton Bath House-Model-Program and Volume-Roof with Sheathing 2.jpg|Reconstructed model (2008) of Trenton Bath House, Ewing, New Jersey (1954). File:Wharton Esherick House & Studio, 1520 Horsehoe Trail, Malvern (Chester County, Pennsylvania).jpg|Wharton Esherick Studio, 1520 Horseshoe Trail, Malvern, Pennsylvania (1956). Designed with Wharton Esherick. File:WTP2 Mike Reali 01d.jpg|Richards Medical Research Laboratories, University of Pennsylvania, 3700 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1957–65). File:Kahn – Rochester Sanctuary.jpeg|Interior of First Unitarian Church, Rochester, New York (1959) Image:Iima panorama complex.jpg|Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India (1962). File:Yale Center for British Art.jpg|Yale Center for British Art, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (1969–74).

Notes

Timeline of works

All dates refer to the year project commenced

  • 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 from Flickr.
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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, Indianahttp://www.artsunited.org/the-arts-campus/au-center/
  • 1974 – Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, Roosevelt Island, New York City, New York. Completed 2012. The work was commission in 1972. Kahn was carrying his designs for the project when he died.
  • 1979 – Flora Lamson Hewlett Library of the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, Californiahttp://library.gtu.edu/library/information/library-history