Louis Kahn was an American architect born in 1901 who is renowned for his innovative use of materials like concrete. Some of his most famous works include the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, and the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California. The Kimbell Art Museum features a series of vaulted galleries made of reinforced concrete that provide natural light. The Salk Institute consists of a cluster of laboratories, residences, and meeting spaces arranged around a central courtyard fountain. Kahn designed the buildings using exposed concrete and innovative structural systems to achieve open floor plans unobstructed by columns.

1. CREATED BY:
SAHIL DIWAN
Topic: louis I. kahn
(D.A.A.)

2. AR .Louis Kahn
Born : 20 -02 – 1901
Died : 17 – 03 – 1974
(Aged : 73)
Nationality : American
Buildings :
1- Indian Institute Of Management ,
Ahmedabad.
2 – Kimbell Art Museum
3 – Salk Institute
4-Yale university art museum
5- First Unitarian Church of Rochester
Awards : AIA Gold Medal
RIBA Gold Medal

3. Education
• From his childhood he was
interested in art, and he used to
earn money by selling sketches;
pencil made from charcoal.
• Kahn trained at the University of
Pennsylvania in a rigorous Beaux-
Arts tradition.
• After completing his Bachelor of
Architect in 1924,Kahn worked as
senior draftsman in the office of
the city architect, John Molitor.

4. Kimbell Art Muesum
• Main attraction:The south
wing of the museum
showing a portico and
five vaulted galleries.
• Established : 1972
• Location : Fort Worth
,texas,USA.
• Type : Art Muesum
• Material: reinforced
concrete
• Context: urban setting
north

5. Air ducts and other mechanical
services are located in the flat
channels between the vaults.
Approching the main entrance past
a lawn edged by pools with running
water, the visitor enters a courtyard
through a grove of Yaopon holly trees.
 The sound of footsteps on the gravel
walkway echoes from the walls on
either side of the courtyard and is
magnified under the curved ceiling of
the entry porch.
 After that subtle preparation, the
visitor enters the hushed museum with
silvery light spread across its ceiling.
entry
Slot for
natural
light

6. • The museum is composed of 16 parallel vaults that are each 100
feet (30.6 m) long, 20 feet (6 m) high and 20 feet (6 m) wide
(internal measurements).
• The low channels separate the
vaults are grouped into three wings vaults.
• The
The north and south wings, each have six vaults, with the western
one open as a portico.
• The central space has four vaults, with the western one open as
an entry porch facing a courtyard partially enclosed by the two
outside wings.
Upper floor plan

7. Elevations
North elevation East elevation

8. Salk Institute
Locaton: La Jolla, California
Date:1959 to 1966
Building Type
Research laboratories and
offices
Construction System reinforced concrete
Context seaside

9. construction
Cluster
Meeting place
residence
Laboratory

10. Salk institute
• Salk institute is in the form of cluster of lab, residences and meeting place.
• Jonas Salk ,who founded the polio vaccine propesed the plan of salk ins.
• Salk’s humanitarian vision “that medical research does not belong entirely
to medicine or the physical science,It belongs to population.”
• Kahn to believe his client could understand his architectural envisions and
endeavours.
• Courtyard fountain is the main attraction of laboratory, it captures our eye
vison , inherted from mughal gardens, india.
• Rcc,mix to be used, which is the major material for the laboratory complex,
Kahn researched the components used in roman pozzolana, in order to
achieve similar reddish hue.

11. Details
• The need for mechanical services (air ducts,
pipes, etc.) was so extensive that Kahn decided
to create a separate service floor for them above
each laboratory floor to make it easier for
individual laboratories in the future without
disrupting neighbouring spaces.
• He also designed each laboratory floor to be
entirely free of internal support columns, making
laboratory configuration easier.
• trusses that make this arrangement possible.
These pre-stressed concrete trusses are about
62 feet (19 m) long, spanning the full width of
each floor and extending from the bottom of
each service floor to the top. They are
supported by steel cables embedded in the
concrete in a curve.