form

Salk Institute
Louis I. Kahn
Andrew Pun
EVDA 621
October 18, 2011

Form characterizes a harmony

of spaces good for a certain
activity of man.
LOUIS KAHN 1960
Form is an integral theme in architectural theory because it defines the spirit of the architectural work itself.

Figure 1: Schematic Development of Site Plan

Louis Kahn was guided by a set of principles which influenced his architectural philosophy and manifested into
his works. His concept of Form was free yet concise and he expressed this understanding in the Salk Institute
for Biological Research located in La Jolla, California. In analyzing this case study, it is evident how Kahn began
to search for form through a series of design iterations and the social and cultural factors that influenced the
form of the project. Finally, I will add my own thoughts on form in relation to Salk Institute.
Salk Institute is situated on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Since no formal programme was given, the
programme evolved throughout the course of the project. Kahn included three main programmatic functions
in his first scheme: housing, laboratories, and a common Meeting Place (Fig. 1).1 In Louis I. Kahn: Building Art,
Building Science Thomas Leslie notes that this scheme was almost immediately abandoned after its presentation to the city, and Kahn even apologized to Salk for its too rapid conception and lack of sensitivity towards
the site.2 After establishing a general site layout, Kahn shifted his focus to the form of the building itself. In a
second iteration, he turned the vertical laboratories into four rectilinear two-story blocks. James Steele suggests
Scheme 1

Scheme 2

Scheme 3

As- Built

in Architectural in Detail: Salk Institute, while this approach began to respond to the expansiveness of the area
available to him, problems with access to pipe work led Kahn to think of another solution.3 In the final scheme,

Laboratories
Housing
Meeting Place
Main Circulation

Kahn revised the number of laboratories, reducing the four blocks to two. He also increased the number of
stories to three, but placed one storey below grade to give neighbouring developments clear views. Each block
contained five porticos of studies with a 45 wall looking out to the Pacific Ocean (See figure 2).4 Through
meticulous design process, Kahn carefully considered the notion of Form in relation to the site and for the
laboratories.

Figure 2: Development of Form for Laboratories

The form of the Meeting place which was also carefully considered, changed significantly in all three schemes.
In the first proposal, the meeting place was configured as a rectilinear group, around closed courts and connected by an ambulatory.5 In the second iteration, Kahn look towards Hadrians Villa in Tivoli and grouped the

spaces around a covered hall which acted as the ambulatory. He also began conceiving interstitial spaces
between inner and outer surfaces and how to separate them.6 The final proposal shows the Meeting place as
a balance between the rational and the organic in which each element occupies its appropriate place in a
thoughtful composition.7 This suggests for Kahn, the search for form not only encompassed the site, or an
individual building, but in between the relationship of buildings.

Figure 3: Relationship of Buildings for Meeting Place

3
Scheme 1

ocean views

Study Porticos

Scheme 2

Scheme 3

Kahn struggled in finding a form for what is now one of the most iconic spaces of the Salk institute the central
court. In fact, early sketches reveal Kahn had envisioned the court to include some kind of natural vegetation,
but Steele notes, after collaborating with engineer and self-trained architect Luis Barragan, Kahn was advised
against the idea.8 The addition of trees would hinder the purity of Kahns idea which was to unite the surface
of the faade to the sky as if everything had been hollowed out.9 Indeed, had Kahn fulfilled the initial garden
concept, the same effect experienced today would have been lost.
Several social and cultural forces also influenced the form of Salk Institute. One major event that helped Kahn
gain the commission for the project was his speech entitled Order for Science and Art related to the Richards
Medical Research Building at the University of Pennsylvania. Here Kahn spoke of form as a harmony of
spaces good for a certain activity of man and making the immeasurable measurable.10 This sentiment aligned
with Salks own values who envisioned a space where even Picasso could come to visit and believed
medical research does not belong entirely to medicine or the physical sciences. It belongs to Population.11
Through a synthesis of these two ideas Kahn was able to devise a form that would test the limits of his
philosophies because his client shared similar values.

Figure 4: Iterations of Form in Central Court

Early Sketch by Louis. Kahn

Another challenge of form based on social and cultural influences relate to problems with financial funding.
By 1965, the project had reached $14 million and the master-plan had not been fully realized. Today, only the
laboratories have been constructed. Steele proposes: [w]hile the residential portion of the complex may arguably have been omitted without serious damage to the form idea, the loss of the Meeting Place has seriously
compromised it, to the great detriment of the institution12 Steele explains that the Meeting Place represented
the antithesis of the laboratories and was an irreplaceable component to the project.13 Although the absence of
the Meeting Place may have compromised the project, In hindsight, it has served a higher purpose within the
history of architectural theory. The relevancy of Form or lack of is constantly in contention in architectural
theory.
In examining the idea of form in relation to the Salk Institute, it becomes clear how several determinates operated at various levels to reveal what the form should be. In an essay entitled Form and Design, Kahn writes that
Form is what, and Design is how.14 What the site demanded was a form that could mediate between the sky
and Pacific Ocean and unify the expansiveness of the bluff. Kahn found this form at the macro scale, but also
explored the notion of form at many other levels; from grouping of buildings, to the individual building itself,
and finally to interstitial spaces around the central courtyard. At each level, there is a consistency and logical
thought process that can be followed in the quest for form from one iteration to the next.
Kahn also wrote that Design is a circumstantial actform has nothing to do with circumstantial conditions15,
however, there were several social, cultural, and economic factors of the time that influenced the form of the
Salk project. The lessons learned at the Richards Medical Centre allowed Kahn to make that essential departure from the first iteration to the second. Leslie also proposes for Kahn, form was another expression of type.16
Cultural Factors
Historical Factors
Political Factors
Social Factors

Kahn was also very fortunate in having Salk share a similar vision with him. Without his commitment and trust,
he would never have been able to develop a form that embodied his architectural philosophy completely. The
absence of the living and communal aspects at Salk also raise important questions about the form of the project itself: what would the project be like if it had been fully realized? And would we have the same discussion if
the master plan had been completed? Although we can only speculate, it serves as an important topic on the

Figure 5: Social and Cultural Factors for Salk Institute

synthesis of Form and relevance in architectural theory today.

works cited

1. Steele, J. (1993). Architecture in Detail: Salk Institute. London, UK: Phaidon Press Limited. (p. 1)
2. Leslie, T. (2005). Louis I. Kahn: Building Art, Building Science. New York: George Braziller Inc. (p. 135)
3. Steele, J. (1993). Architecture in Detail: Salk Institute. London, UK: Phaidon Press Limited. (p. 2)
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Bell, N. a. (2005). Louis I. Kahn. New York: Phaidon Press Limited.
11. Steele, J. (1993). Architecture in Detail: Salk Institute. London, UK: Phaidon Press Limited. (p. 2)
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. Bell, N. a. (2005). Louis I. Kahn. New York: Phaidon Press Limited.
15. Ibid.
16. Leslie, T. (2005). Louis I. Kahn: Building Art, Building Science. New York: George Braziller Inc.

body
Salk Institute
Louis I. Kahn
Andrew Pun
EVDA 621
November 1, 2011

Pacific Ocean

Oxygen
scholars
innovating
new

Meeting Place

collaboration

analyzing

brilliance

knowledge
ideas

discussion

originality

thinking
inspiration
brainstorming

creating

intellectualizing

breathing
air exchange respitory system
Laboratories

I believe that consciousness is

in all life.
LOUIS KAHN 1969

air cycling
working exhaling
flow
carbon dioxide removal
air management
processing

The human body and architecture have always shared an intimate relationship with one another and this notion
is completely embodied in the Salk Institute. Dr. Salk was guided by the belief that medical research does not
belong entirely to medicine or the physical sciences. It belongs to population (Steele, 1). And what he meant
was anyone with a mind, with or without a scientific background, could discover new frontiers in biomedical
research. Grounded in this belief, Kahn was able to translate the theme of body into architecture at varying
degrees. These include the building as body, the building for bodies, and the type of bodies the building produces.
Perhaps the most direct connection between the body and architecture relates to Dr. Jonas Salk and nature
of his work itself. In 1955 Dr. Salk discovered a vaccine against polio and after successful tests he became an
instant public figure. This in turn helped him establish the Salk Institute as a place where young scientists could
focus on their careers and medical research.
However, the Salk project can also be considered as a body itself. In Vidlers essay The Building in Pain, he
illustrates how architecture was understood as a projection of the body, especially in the Classical and Renaissance era. Vidler draws on Renaissance theorists like Francesco di Giorgio who writes: the organs are
arranged in and around the body as a function of its needs and necessities; one should do likewise in cities
(Vidler, 4). This is also suggested by Steele who notes, if the laboratories may be referred to as the lungs of
the Salk Institute, the Meeting Place was to be its brains (Steele, 16). This analogy helps our understanding
of the organization of the Salk Institute. Like a brain that needs oxygen to operate, the Meeting Place was situated closest to the Pacific Ocean because it needed the ocean to draw inspiration from. The function of lungs

Figure 1.0 Diagram showing the building as body and

related functions

is to manage the flow of oxygen, and similarly in the laboratories this inspiration is processed into new medical
discoveries.

Facial symmetry also has associations with physical attractiveness, beauty, and health. The formal configuration of the laboratories shows a very symmetrical organization along the central axis in plan. One can speculate
that after several iterations to find a form for the laboratories one factor which helped Kahn establish the symmetry was the associative bodily qualities.
The Salk Institute may also be regarded as a building for bodies. In The Medical Body in Modern Architecture,
Comina writes: Not only did modern architecture emphasize health and exercise...their architecture was understood this way (Comina, 1). While no formal program was given, Kahn envisioned the Salk Institute as a place
where researchers and scholars could live, work, and play, that is, a place where all functional and needs of the
body were cared for. The emphasis of health and exercise is supported by Steele who writes: the far-sighted
theme of health as a unitary or holistic process is constantly stressed [in the Salk Institute], as is the study of
both the body and mind of total person (Steele, 1). The initial concept that the Salk project would extend beelf to what Steele notes as the study of a totality of values integral to a
yond a medical research centre lends itself
n of total health (1).
vision

MIND

HEALTHY
MINDS

A PLACE TO LIVE

A PLACE TO WORK

SALK
INSTITUTE
HEALTHY
SOULS

HEALTHY
BODIES

A PLACE OF PLAY

Figure 2.0 Comparison between facial symmetry and plan

MEETING
PLACE

RESEARCH
LABORATORIES
TOTAL
HEALTH

BODY

LIVING
PLACE

Figure 3.0 Venn diagrams of the relationship between health and architecture

MIND

Comina also writes: even more significant is the impact of medical thought on domestic architecture, the constant preoccupation with ventilation, sunlight, hygiene, and white walls (Comina, 1). Although this project is not
domestic architecture, the same principles apply. In Kahns essay Form and Design he describes the laboratories as the architecture of air cleanliness and area adjustability (Kahn, 470). Kahn was very interested in the
management of air. Since the nature of research work was ongoing throughout the day, Kahn had to devise a
heating ventilation and air conditioning system that would remain in operation constantly. Leslie notes the air
strategy was to make the air to breathe be away from the air to throw away (243). Kahn employed two strategies to handle air which included a dual duct system in the north building and a reheat system in the South.
Proper air circulation of air and comparable to the human bodys circulation of blood. The implementation of
two strategies employed for air quality management highlight Kahn intentions to make a building functional to
the bodies that inhabit it.

South Building
Reheat System

North Building
Dual Duct System
Figure 4.0 Comparison between air ventilation system and blod circulation

Through the configuration of spaces, Kahn was also thoughtful about the human psyche and type of bodies
the building could produce. For example, Kahn deliberately separated the porticoes of studies by bridges to
maintain a sufficient physical and psychological distancing between private and collaborative thought (Steele,
4). The choice in materiality is also expressive of how the body should function. Kahn used teak wood in the private studies, a symbol of reflection and growth, and concrete in the laboratories symbolic of work and produc-

Passion

ing results. Steele notes that both Kahn and Salk were involved in the colour and quality control of concrete and
that Kahn even researched the components used in Roman pozzolana in order to achieve a similar reddish hue
(Steele, 9). This attention to coloration in the walls speaks to Kahns attention to the human psyche and overall
concept of the building as a humanistic approach to medical research. It becomes clear that Kahn wanted the

Wisdom

Creativity

building to produce total bodies that were well nourished and cared for both physically and psychologically.
The human body has played a significant role in architectural form as a metaphor and physical presence. In the
Salk Institute, the importance of the theme of body was strongly felt from the onset of the project. This enabled
Kahn to see the building as a body in terms of organs and symmetrical configurations, the building for bodies
through ventilation and air quality control, and a place that promoted total health. Finally, the attention to the
human psyche by materiality changes and color hues show how Kahn thought the building could inform the
bodies it produced.

Stability

Intellect

Safety

Figure 5.0 Color wheel and psychological associations and coloration of concrete

works cited

1. Steele, J. (1993). Architecture in Detail: Salk Institute. London, UK: Phaidon Press Limited.
2. Leslie, T. (2005). Louis I. Kahn: Building Art, Building Science. New York: George Braziller Inc.
3. Bell, N. A. (2005). Louis I. Kahn. New York: Phaidon Press Limited.
4. Colomina, B. (1997). The Medical Body in Modern Architecture, in Anybody. MIT Press
5. Vidler, Anthony. The Building in Pain: The Body and Architecture in Post-Modern Culture. AA Files 19.
6. Freud, S. Creative Writers and Daydreaming in P. Gay ed., The Freud Reader. W.W. Norton & Co.

technique
Salk Institute
Louis I. Kahn
Andrew Pun
EVDA 621
October 18, 2011

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egins...

"

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no form-ties

spacing for
9 form ties

is an art because it is in Architecture

terested not only in the original need
for shelter but also in putting together,
spaces and materials, in a meaningful
manner. This occurs through formal
and actual joints. The joint, that is the
fertile detail, is the place where both
the construction and the construing
of architecture takes place...

"

The Tell-the-Tale Detail by Frascari in

Kenneth Framptons
The Case for the Tectonic
Kahn was especially interested in the joint and paid
careful attention in the details to reiterate broader
concepts and ideas of his works. Steele notes that
rather than trying to conceal the joint, Kahn chose
to accentuate and that the holes left by the form
ties were not patched so the spacing was carefully considered. The intention of these diagrams
is to see what the building may have looked like if
the treatment of the form-ties and spacing were
considered differently.

spacing for
5 form ties

single building is no longer an object

...the
now. It is only the place in which the individual
cells, through elementary assembly, assume
physical form...

"

M. Tafuri
Towards a Critique of Architectural Ideology

This diagram illustrates how the building may have

been constructed (based on a detail drawing found
in The Details of Modern Architecture by Ford) As
suggested by Tafuri, much of the modernism movement began exploring mass assembly and a kit of
parts approach towards architecture. After doing this
exercise, it is evident that Kahn was unlike most
architects of his time and thought of buildings
differently through methods of construction.

Formwork Materials List

3/4 x 3/4 tapered wood strip inserted at joint

between pours
two 2x6 beams to counteract pressure of wet
concrete
screw type form ties
3/4 plywood formwork
4x4 structural wood support

we approach the final phase

Rapidly,
of the extensions of man the technological simulation of consciousness, when the creative process of
knowing will be collectively and corporately extended to the whole of human society, much as we have already
extended our senses and our nerves
by the various media.

"

M. MacLuhan
Understandsing Media

How was the Salk Institute understood in the past and how is it understood today? Various forms of media have given meaning to the
building. The purpose of this diagram is to see what types of media
and methods of communication have influenced our undertstanding
of the building, and what methods of communication continue to give
meaning to the building today.

to 19
1959
959

pre-co
onst
s ruc
uction

19
959-1
1con
9n65
965
s5
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uct
1966--psot
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o

works cited

1. Steele, J. (1993). Architecture in Detail: Salk Institute. London, UK: Phaidon Press Limited.
2. Cecil Balmond, New Structure and the Informal, in Pierluigi Nicolin, ed. Lotus International 98, 1998,
pp. 70-83
3. Kenneth Frampton, Rappel a Lordre, the Case for the Tectonic, in Kate Nesbitt, ed. Theorizing a
New Agenda for Architecture, 1996.
4. M. Tafuri, Toward a Critique of Architectural Ideology, in K.M. Hays, ed., Architecture and Theory
since 1968, MIT Press, 2000.
5. Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media, in E. McLuhan and F. Zingrone, eds., Essential McLuhan, Anansi, 1995.

space
Salk Institute
Louis I. Kahn
Andrew Pun
EVDA 621
December 05 2011

I sense Light as the giver of all presences, and material as spent Light. What is made by Light
casts a shadow, and the shadow belongs to Light.
Louis Kahn, Architecture: Silence and Light (1969)

"

The purpose of the diagram on the following page was to explore the daylight effects and spatial
qualities of the central courtyard at various times of the day. The mass model was geo-located in La Jolla, CA for
accuracy. What I learned in doing this exercise was that in the mid afternoon, the courtyard experiences more
shade than I previously thought and the most tranquil experience occurs at the end of work day, around 5:00 pm.

6:00 am

8:00 am

10:00 am

12:00 pm

2:00 pm

3:00 pm

4:00 pm

5:00 pm

6:00 pm

The materials are there to signal the passage of time and a bonding with place, with the
g
authenticityy of living.

Abalos, Heidegger in his refuge: the existensalist house

Materiality becomes important in understanding a character of the space. The intent of this diagram was to see how Kahns use of natural
materials with concrete and wood informed the organization and formal logic of the space through a sectional perspective drawing. The
notion of served and service space, public and private is clearly expressed through the proportions and consideration of different materials.

Activites: Supervise lab

experiments, lead teams

Study
Portico, Lab, Offices

Spatial Requirements:

space
space of
of flows
flows

Title:Senior Researcher

The relationship between the space of flows and the

space of places, between simultaneous globalization
and localization are not predetermined in their outcome
-Manuel Castells

Title:Int.Researcher
Activites:Carry out experi-

ments, report to senior

researchers
Spatial Requirements: Lab,
Offices

Title:Student Researcher
Activites:Assisting lab

Title:VisitingResearcher
Activites:Offer critique of

experiments, new insight,

lab experiments
Spatial Requirements: Lab

user profiles

researchers, carrying out

experiments
Spatial Requirements: Lab

The intent of this diagram is to represent the number and groups of people that would inhabit the building by doing a sample character profile of one person from each of the group. Next, I wanted to show
the flows of people and exchanges of information in the use of the institution in plan and section. The
learning outcome for this diagram was Kahns deliberate use of the open plan allowed for maximum
flexibility and constant flow of communications and ideas. This formal move allowed for non-predetermined
outcomes to occur, an important concept for medical research.

works cited

1. Steele, J. (1993). Architecture in Detail: Salk Institute. London, UK: Phaidon Press Limited.
2. M. Casterlls, The Space of Flows, in The Rise of the Network Society, John Wiley and Sons, 2009,
pp. 376-378 &410-428.
3. M. Heideggar, Building, Dwelling, Thinking, in D.F. Krell, ed., Martin Heidegger Basic Writings,
Harper, 1993, pp. 344-363.
4. I. Abalos, Heidegger in his refuge: the existentialist house, in The Good Life, Editorial Gustavo Gili,
2001, pp. 37-59.
5. Tom McDonough, Situationist Space, in T. McDonough, ed., Guy Debord and the Situationist International, 2004, pp. 241-265.
6. Bell, N. a. (2005). Louis I. Kahn. New York: Phaidon Press Limited.