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LOUIS KAHN
Louis Isadore Kahn (February 20, 1901 or 1902 March 17, 1974) was a
world-renowned architect who practiced in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He
later served as a professor of architecture at the University of Pennsylvania
and at Yale University.
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Life
Louis Kahn, whose original name was Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky
(Schmalowski), was born in Kuressaare on the Estonian island of Saaremaa,
then part of the Russian Empire. His actual birth year may have been
inaccurately recorded when,
in 1905, his Jewish family
immigrated to the United
States, fearing that his
father would be recalled
into the military during the
Russo-Japanese War. He
was raised in Philadelphia
and became a naturalized
citizen on May 15, 1914.
He trained in a rigorous
Beaux-Arts tradition, with
its emphasis on drawing, at
the University of
Pennsylvania. After
completing his Master's
degree in 1924, Kahn made
a European tour and settled
in the medieval walled city
of Carcassonne (France), rather than any of the strongholds of classicism or
modernism. In 19251926 the bowtie-sporting Kahn served as Chief
Designer for the Sesquicentennial Exposition. From 1947 he spent a decade
teaching at Yale, where his influence was paramount, then moved to Penn.
His prominent apprentices include Moshe Safdie and Robert Venturi.
were often technically innovative and highly refined. His work was highly
influential among 'high tech' architects of the late 20th century (i.e. Renzo
Piano and Norman Foster) in addition to those who hewed more closely to
his heavier, more monumental style (Tadao Ando, for example).
Important works
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut (19511953), the
first significant commission of Louis Kahn and his first masterpiece,
replete with technical innovations, like a floor slab system giving
access to mechanical systems, and a somewhat 'brutalist' shock to
Yale's neo-Gothic context
Richards Medical Research Laboratories, University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, (19571965), regarding which Kahn said,
No space you can devise can satisfy these requirements. I thought
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what they should have was a corner for thought, in a word, a studio
instead of slices of space
Jonas Salk Institute, La Jolla, California, (19591965),
Phillips Exeter Academy Library, Exeter, New Hampshire, (1965
1972), awarded the Twenty-Five year award by the American Institute
of Architects
Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban (National Assembly Building) in Dhaka,
Bangladesh (19621974), considered to be his masterpiece and one of
the great monuments of International Modernism
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, (19671972)
Yale Centre for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut, (19691974)
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad in India
Timeline of Works
All dates refer to the year work commenced
Philosophy
The Kimbell Art Museum is situated in the Cultural District of Fort Worth,
Texas, USA. It houses a small but exquisite collection of European, Asian
and Pre-Columbian works, as well as hosting traveling art exhibitions. The
building was designed by Louis Kahn.
History
The Kimbell Art Institute was established as a result of a bequest by Kay
Kimbell, a Texan industrialist and art collector, to establish an art institute
for the people of Texas. On his death in 1964, his widow, Velma Fuller
Kimbell, decided to use the entire Kimbell estate to fund the Institute.
The museum building was commissioned in 1966 and opened in 1972. One
of the masterworks of architect Louis Kahn, the 120,000 square foot (11,000
m) building takes the form of a series of spaces defined by parallel barrel
vaults. Interruptions and irregularities between the main spaces are
experienced as rhythmic variations on a theme. Kahn's excellent treatment
of light is appropriate to the art on display (in contrast to other modern
museums like the Wexner Center), and has the effect of making the post-
tensioned reinforced concrete construction seem light and precise. The
spatial rhythm extends to the exterior water-features on the west side of the
building, and resolves into a number of paths and garden areas on the
grounds.
Although the museum initially housed the Kimbell's art collection, this has
since been expanded, always with a view to acquiring artworks of first class
quality.
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The collection
The museum is not large, but the collection of artwork is wide-ranging and
would not be out of place in any of the world's great art galleries. Works by
Picasso, Caravaggio, El Greco, Rembrandt, Monet, Gainsborough and Rubens
are included among many others in the European collection. There is the
only painting by Adam Elsheimer on public display outside Europe. Two
important paintings by Piet Mondrian mark the modern end of the period
covered.
The institute has 56 labs and focuses its research in three areas: Molecular
Biology and Genetics; Neurosciences; and Plant Biology. Research topics
include cancer, diabetes, birth defects,
Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's
disease, and AIDS.
The institute currently employs more than 1200 researchers and staff.
History
Salk and Kahn approached the city of San Diego in March 1960 about a gift
of land on the Torrey Pines Mesa and were granted their request after a
referendum in June 1960. Construction began in 1962 and a handful of
researchers moved into the first laboratory in 1963. Additional buildings
housing more laboratories as well as the organizational administrative offices
were constructed in the 1990s, designed by Anshen & Allen.
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Established 1961
Type Education and Research Institution
Location Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Campus Urban, 100 acres
Website http://www.iimahd.ernet.in/
History
Campus