work of louis kahn

1. LOUIS I KAHN
“THE SUN NEVER KNEW HOW GREAT IT WAS UNTIL IT HIT
THE SIDE OF A BUILDING “

2.  Louis Kahn is known as one of the greatest architect in the world.
 Influenced by ancient ruins, Kahn's style tends to the monumental
and monolithic building that does not hide their weight or the materials
they are made from and the way the materials are assembled.
 Louis Kahn's architectural works has a taste of International style
with a hint of his own personal taste and a sense of light.
LOUIS ISADORE KAHN

3. INTRODUCTION
 Louis Kahn was born in Pärnu, Estonia,
on February 20, 1901
 His family emigrated to the United
States when Kahn was a child
 He later studied architecture at the
University of Pennsylvania and opened his
own firm in 1935.
 His major works include the Yale
University Art Gallery, the Kimbell Art
Museum and the capitol complex in
Dhaka, Bangladesh.
 Kahn died in New York City on March
17, 1974.

4. CAREER BEGINNING
 After working as a chief of design for Philadelphia’s in 1926 , Kahn
traveled throughout Europe in 1928-29.
 Returning home, he married Esther Israeli in 1930, and found work at
various Philadelphia-based architectural firms.
 Kahn opened his own architectural practice in 1935.
 From the start, he was interested in architecture’s role in social
change.
 He created housing for factory workers during World War II, and later
in the 1940s worked on buildings for labor unions.
 After the war, Kahn also designed several private homes in the
Pennsylvania suburbs, working in a modernist style.
 Kahn began teaching architecture at Yale University in New Haven,
Connecticut, in 1947

5.  In 1950-51, Kahn was the architect in residence at the American
Academy in Rome.
 He also was able to visit Greece and Egypt.
 Inspired by the ancient ruins and Renaissance buildings he had seen,
Kahn would use classical architecture’s solid forms and durable
materials in his own work, combining these timeless forms with
modern techniques.

6. WORKS
Yale University Art gallery, at New Haven, Connecticut, 1951 to 1954.
Trenton Bath house, at Trenton, New Jersey, 1954 to 1959.
Richards medical Center, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1957 to 1961.
Salk Institute, at La Jolla, California, 1959 to 1966.
First Unitarian Church, at Rochester, New York, 1959 to 1967.
Erman Hall Dormitories, at Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, 1960 to 1965.
 National Assembly in Dacca, at Dacca, Bangladesh, 1962 to 1974.
 Institute of Public Administration, at Ahmadabad, India, 1963.
Kim bell Art museum, at Fort Worth, Texas, 1967 to 1972.

7. Architectural Principles
 Worked with simple materials, notably brick and concrete.
 He strove through a masterful sense of space and light
 Kahn devoted his career to the uncompromising pursuit of formal
perfection and emotional expression.
 Building included constructional elements such as the mediums used
as well as the color, line, shape, light, and the symmetry of the site.
 In his buildings, we see the realization of his vision: luminous surfaces
that evoke a fundamental awe.
 Silent courtyards speak of the expansiveness and the sanctity of the
spirit
 Monumental columns and graceful arches that embody dignity and
strength.

8. PHILOSHPY
SPACE AND FUNCTION According to him space played an essential
architectural role that is space and place are inseparable. Space is not
merely assembly of functions but it has got some character too. The
space should be designed such that it speaks out its function.
He was resolute in his philosophy that architecture is the thoughtful
making of spaces whose design can and should simultaneously reveal
the story of their construction and meet the aesthetic and functional
needs of the people who inhabit them.
He believed strongly that architecture should appeal not only to
practical and aesthetic needs but also to the humanistic needs of the
people and communities it serves.
He was continually striving to create spaces that evoked a sense of
spirituality, a sense he felt was lacking in the built environment of that
time.

9. BINDING ELEMENTS According to him “two buildings which are
functionally related in site should be visually binded or connected to
avoid a drama”.
Shape is most important feature of binding elements. If two buildings
have same shape or pattern feeling of united ness is automatically
created. Like in Richard Medical Institute, University of Pennsylvania and
national Assembly Building Dhaka triangular and circular openings for
ventilations.
He gave the philosophy of connections. According to him all
the elements in buildings should be connected visually in one way or
another, which means more parts of a building should look alike.
One can use different forms in a building but it should not disturb the
unity of the building. You can use form or shape of building, texture of
material.

10. PERIPHERIAL ENCLOSER It is the spirit of the building, without it the
building look barren. Everything has certain boundaries; we can work only
in these boundaries . Just like in capital complex in Dhaka cluster of
building has its own periphery. Main strong point in his design was
periphery, which is binding the central space.
SUNLIGHT He used sunlight very carefully in his buildings and
employed it as the maker of architecture. He saw the sunlight as an
essential and governing element in architecture. Sunlight govern
the form of the building and was carefully taken to the interior as
in Kimball art museum, light decide the penetration . He used light
to create various moods in residential as well as in commercial
buildings.

11. LOCAL MATERIAL At that time the construction material was mostly
brick, glass and steel. Kahn preferred locally available materials more for
example: Kim bell art museum. Material used in this museum were
locally available like: concrete, travertine, stainless steel and white oak.
ORDER According to him there should be some order in buildings. The
sense of composition and the integrity of building in his buildings one
could see that compositions were chosen very carefully so that integrity
of entire area is not disturbed . The different elements in every building
are inter related maintaining the order of building.

12. Four Key Ideas
a) The Slit and the architecture of natural interior lighting
b) What the space wants to be
c) illuminating monumentality
d)The unexpected interior
The slit which allows natural light to illuminate interiors; seeking to understand
“what the space wants to be”; the illumination of monumentality; and the
presence of interiors which are surprising given the exterior of the building.
Philadelphia Psychiatric Hospital (1948-54).
The placement of the windows along the top and bottom of the same
wall coincidentally produce a floating effect on the wall.
SLIT

13. NATIONAL ASSEMBLY BUILDING
Louis Kahn’s National Assembly Building of Bangladesh in Dhaka is an extraordinary
example of modern architecture being transcribed as a part of Bangali vernacular
architecture. The National Assembly building, completed in 1982, stands as one of
Kahn’s most prominent works, but also as a symbolic monument to the government of
Bangladesh.
The intention of Kahn for the parliament was to produce an ideal expression
for the new democracy by using perfectly geometric shapes: circle, the half circle,
square and triangle
Architect: Louis Kahn
Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Project Year: 1959-1982
 Material : Concrete , Marble
 Building type : Government
 Style : Modern
The complex includes the National Assembly building, the plaza north
(65,000 square feet), the plaza south (223,000 square feet), hotels for
members of parliament, ministers and secretaries, social halls and
common buildings, all linked by roads and walkways and surrounded by
attractive gardens and lakes.

14. NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ,BANGLADESH

15. There are eight halls that are concentrically aligned around the
parliamentary grand chamber, which is not only a metaphor for
placing the new democratic government at the heart of the building.
The interior of the Assembly Building is
divided into three zones.
The Central zone is the area of the
Assembly.
 The middle zone provides inner
circulation, ties together the galleries of
the people and the press gives access to
Committee rooms and the Library.
 The outer zone is the area of the offices,
Party Rooms, Lounges, Tea Rooms and
Restaurant, the Garden Entrance, and the
Entrance of the Mosque.

16. This is a concentric plan, where several functional layers are
developed around a main hall where meetings with capacity for 354
parliament seats are held.
 The plan is born of a square that has been manipulated to reach an
octagon.
 There are four identical blocks of offices along with other features in
the blocks of the corners. There is also an elaborate system of traffic
with different types of elevators.
 In the floor situated in the basement is a parking area and the
chambers of machines and facilities that cater to the building.

17. ARTIFICAL LAKE : The sheer mass of the monumentally scaled
National Assembly and the artificial lake surrounding the building act as
a natural insulator and cooling system that also begin to create
interesting spatial and lighting conditions
MATERIAL : The entire complex is fabricated out of poured in place
concrete with inlaid white marble, which is not only a modernist
statement of power and presence, but is more of a testament to the
local materials and values.

18. The geometric shapes found on the different faces of the façade add a
dramatic impact to the overall composition of the building. The
geometric shapes are abstracted forms found in traditional Bangali
culture that are meant to create a marriage of old and new cultural
identities, as well as, serve as light wells and a natural environmental
control system for the interior. For Kahn, light was an important aspect
in the design of a building, not just as a way to illuminate a space, but
rather conceptualizing light as a creator of space.
GEOMETRIC SHAPES :

19. STRUCTURE : One cannot find a column inside the building. The
columns have disappeared inside the divisive elements that have adopted
the function of bearing walls. It's more like a large mass of concrete that
has been digging and sculpting itself to achieve a perfect functional entity
Encloser Openings
Geometric shapes

20. INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
AHEMDABAD
 Year of completion : 1963
 Chief Architect : Louis
Khan ,B.V Doshi, Anant Raje
 Site Area : 66 Acres
 Building Type : Education
 Architecture Style : Modern

21. IIM,A

22. INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT ,
AHEMDABAD
The Indian Institute of Management Ahemdabad better known as IIM
Ahmadabad or simply IIM-A, is a business school located in
Ahemdabad, Gujarat, India. It is the second Indian Institute of
Management (IIM) to be established, after IIM Calcutta, in 1961.. IIM-
A was the second IIM to be set up, on December 16, 1961.

23.  For Louis I Kahn classroom was a centre of academic thought.
 He incorporated local materials( brick and concrete) and large
geometrical façade extractions as homage to Indian vernacular
architecture.
 It was kahn’s method of blending modern architecture and Indian
tradition into an architecture that could only be applied for I.I.M

24.  The large facades are positioned to act as light wells and natural
cooling system protecting the interiors from India’s harsh desert
climate.
 Even though the porous, geometric façade acts as filters for sunlight
and ventilation.
The broad airy corridors ,the amphitheatre like classrooms and
transition spaces. In the complex enhance interaction among the faculty,
students and visitors

25. ACADEMIC COMPLEX
The Academic complex comprises of the following :-
Library , School Building, Faculty blocks ,Dormitories, Louis Khan Plaza
 Separate entries for institutional and residential complex.
 Separate service entry.
 Academics and social activities have been integrated with
students and staff living.
 Institutional Complex is taken as Focal Building.
 Auditorium is located near main entrance for easy access for
visitors.
 Residential areas have been planned in Hierarchical pattern
 School building Is planned around a court.
 School building and students dorm have been placed diagonally
to take advantage of winds from southwest.
CAMPUS LAYOUT

26. ACADEMIC COMPLEX

27. LIBRARY BLOCK
Exterior view of library
Interior view of library

28. FIRST FLOOR PLAN OF LIBRARY
 The library building is five
storyed structure with
rectangular plan.
 It is approached by a broad,
imposing flight of steps
from the parking lot.
 The design has been
conceived to entail
movement from the active
spaces to most private and
quite carrels at the farthest
reaches.

29. Accommodate triple height reading hall and conference hall
SECOND FLOOR PLAN OF LIBRARY
• THIRD FLOOR : Accommodates bound volumes of journals.
• FOURTH FLOOR : Has bound volumes of old books and journals.

30. CLASS ROOMS
 The shape of classroom is
hexagonal
 The Design of class room is
based on the seminar type
interaction between the
students and the faculty.
 Windows are high to get glare
free light.
Interior view of classroom Plan

31. FACULTY BLOCKS
 Faculty block is on the right side
of the main entrance.
 It is four stored building with
four blocks.
 All the openings are designed to
overlook the adjacent and
landscape garden and Louis Khan
Plaza.

32. DORMITORIES
 The shape of each dormitory
block is square with two
residential wings, triangular
lounge and a service area.
 The position of the staircase
and washroom are meant to
protect the living room from
sun and glare without
obstructing and the breeze
and ventelation.
 In most of the blocks the
ground floor is used as bank
etc.
 The Dorns are placed one
behind the other To Obtain
the much needed breeze and
cross ventelation.

33. Dormitory Block
Courtyard between
Dormitory block

34. LOUIS KHAN PLAZA
 Instead of small courtyard,
one large court has been
planned in the center to
relate the movement
around.
 CAPACITY : 550 SEATS
 ENTRANCE LOBBY : 560 Sq fts
 FOYER : 560 Sq fts
 AUDITORIUM HALL : 3000 Sq fts
 CONFERENCE ROOM : 200 Sq fts
 SEMINAR ROOM :400 Sq fts Each
AUDITORIUM

35. GROUND FLOOR PLAN

36. FIRST FLOOR PLAN

37. BUILDING MATERIALS
 BRICK HAS BEEN USED AS PRIMARY BUILDING MATERIAL FOR THE
ENTIRE COMPLEX WALLS, COLUMNS.
 BRICK ARCHES HAVE BEEN USED FOR WIDE SPANS.
 USE OF CONCERETE HAS BEEN RESTRICTED TO FOUNDATIONS, FLOOR
SLABS, AND TIES FOR ARCHED OPENINGS

38. MANAGEMENT DEVLOPMENT CENTER
 MANAGEMENT DEVLOPMENT CENTER IS LOCATED TOWARDS ESTERN
EDGE OF THE CAMPUS. IT HAS BEEN PLANNED AS A SELF CONTAINED
UNIT WITH ACADEMIC AREA, OFFICES, EXECUTIVES HOSTELS AND
DINING FACILITIES.
 IT IS A DOUBLE STORYED BUILDING WITH A BASEMENT AND HAS A U
SHAPE PLAN ENCLOUSING A COURT IN BETWEEN
 THERE ARE TWO LECTURE HALLS, TWO CONFERENCE ROOMS AND
EIGHT SYNDICATE ROOMS IN THE MDC BUILDING.

39. IDENTIFY HIS MAIN ELEMENTS

40. KIMBELL ART MUSEUM(1966-1972)
ARCHITECT : LOUIS I KAHN
Location : Fort worth, Texas, USA
Date : 1967 to 1972
Building Type : art museum
Construction system : reinforced
concrete
Climate : temperate
Style : modern

41. KINBELL ART MUSEUM

42. KINBELL ART
MUSEUM-2

43. KIMBELL ART MUSEUM
 located in Fort worth, Texas, USA
 opened to the public for the first time in 1972
 a mecca of modern architecture.
 natural light enters through narrow plexiglass skylights along
the top of cycloid barrel vault
 wing-shaped pierced-aluminum reflectors hang below the
vault
 main (west) facade of the building consists of three 100-foot
bays, each fronted by an open, barrel-vaulted portico, with the
central, entrance bay recessed and glazed
 three courtyards punctuate the interior space
 grand arches from Roman architecture have been used

44. KIMBELL ART MUSEUM

45. Selection of Materials –
 Kahn selected materials that complemented each other in
tone and surface
 These were travertine, concrete, white oak, metal and glass
 These gave a sense of serenity, simplicity and elegance
Lighting -
 Natural light has been used to illuminate museum spaces so
that visitors may be able to relate to nature and the effects of
changing weather while inside
 Cycloid vault with “narrow slits to the sky” that allowed natural
light to enter and transform the space have been given.
 Lamps bolster the daylight to give a mixture of natural and
artificial light that is ideal for viewing works of art
.

46. FLOOR PLAN

47. FLOOR PLANS

48. The light strikes a suspended convex,
perforated-aluminium “natural light
fixture”, in the words of Kahn that
prevents direct light from entering the
space. As the light reflects onto the cool,
curved concrete, it retains what Kahn
called the “silver” quality of Texas light
INTERIOR VIEW OF ART GALLERY EXTERIOR VIEW OF MUSEUM

49. SECTIONS

50. ELEVATION

51. INTERIOR SECTION SHOWING DETAIL OF ROOF

52. SALK UNIVERSITY

53. monumental presence for nearly
50 years, the California research
facility designed. where concrete
meets calm
Composed of strong willed yet
sensuous material- traventine and
reinforced concrete-it poses a
hushed dignity that encourages
contemplation.
He built all four outer walls of
the laboratory levels out of large,
double strength glass panes,
producing an open, airy work
environment
THE SALK INSTITUTE

54. Kahn’s creation consists of two
mirror image structures that a
grand courtyard
Each building is six story tall.
Three floors contain laboratories
and three levels above the
laboratory floors provide access to
utilities.
The east end of building contain
heating, ventilating, and other
support systems. At the west end
Are six floors of offices over
looking the ocean.

55. MATERIAL SELECTION
 materials that could last for
generations with only minimal
maintenance.
 The material chosen for this
purpose were concrete, teak,
lead, glass special steel.

56. Exterior photo showing
building facades facing onto
courtyard space
Exterior close –up photo of
water channel in courtyard ,
with sea view beyond

57. SITE PLAN

58. FLOOR PLAN

59. SECTIONS

60. ELEVATIONS
WEST ELEVATION
SOUTH ELEVATION

61. Esherick House
The Esherick House in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, is one of the most
studied of the nine built houses
designed by American architect Louis
Kahn. Commissioned by Margaret
Esherick, it was completed in 1961.
The house is noted especially for
its spatial organization and for the
ventilation and natural lighting
provided by its unusual window
and shutter configuration. A
kitchen of wood and copper was
created for the house by Wharton

62.  Eshrick House is admired for his spatial and luminous qualities
and is the first of its kind residence to convey the grand idea of
kahn’s style architecture
 Kahn’s fusion of materials, wood with manmade beige
concrete is true to its geometrically simple style which allows
more emphasis to be placed on lighting and environmental
context.
 Inner walls are primarily white to
accentuate the richness of wood.
 The living room
is of double floor
height.

63.  It rests on a 6 acre garden.
 Kahn’s open floor plan allows natural light to penetrate
every corner through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
PLAN

64. PHILIP EXETER LIBRARY
The Phillips
Exeter Academy
Library in Exeter,
New Hampshire,
U.S., with 160,000
volumes on nine
levels and a shelf
capacity of
250,000 volumes,
is the
largest secondary
school library in
the world.

65. PLAN
 The library has an almost cubical
shape: each of its four sides is
111 feet (33 m) wide and 80 feet
(24 m) tall.It is constructed in
three concentric areas (Kahn
called them "doughnuts")
 The early designs included some
items that were eventually
rejected, such as a roof garden
and two exterior towers with
stairs that were open to the
weather. They were removed
from the plans when the building
committee reminded Kahn that
neither of those features would
be practical in New England
winters.

66. • Its facade is primarily brick
with teak wood panels at
most windows marking the
location of a pair of wooden
carrels. The bricks are load-
bearing; that is, the weight of
the outer portion of the
building is carried by the
bricks themselves, not by a
hidden steel frame. Kahn calls
this fact to the viewer's
attention by making the brick
piers noticeably thicker at the
bottom where they have
more weight to bear. The
windows are correspondingly
wider toward the top where
the piers are thinner

67. Another arcade circles the
building on the ground
floor. Kahn disliked the idea
of a building that was
dominated by its entrance,
so he concealed the main
entrance to the library
behind this arcade. Visitors
unfamiliar with the library
tend to wander around its
edges before locating the
two entrances, to be found
on either side of a glass-
walled projection into the
recessed arcade that
otherwise fills the first bay
of the ground-floor story

68. • He felt that reading
spaces should be
near the books and
also to natural light.
• The seating was
designed accordingly
A circular double staircase built from
concrete and faced with travertine greets
the visitor upon entry into the library. At
the top of the stairs the visitor enters a
dramatic central hall with enormous
circular openings that reveal several floors
of book stacks. At the top of the atrium,
two massive concrete cross beams diffuse
the light entering from
the clerestory windows.

69. THANK YOU
“EVEN A SPACE INTENTED TO BE DARK SHOULD HAVE JUST
ENOUGH LIGHT FROM SOME MYSTERIOUS OPENING TO TELL
US HOW DARK IT REALLY IS “
STATE INSTITUE OF URBAN PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE ,ROHTAK