Louis Kahn

 BIOGRAPHY

1901 Louis Isadore Kahn is born on the island of Osel (now Saaremaa)off the coat of Estonia to
Leopold and Bertha Kahn.
 1912 Kahn starts high school, where his talents for art and music are recognised and he wins
prizes and scholarships.

 1920 Wins a scholarship to study architecture under Paul Cret at the School of Fine Arts, University
of Philadelphia.

 1924 Graduates from university with numerous awards and is employed as a draughtsman by the
architect John Molitor.

 1928 Embarks on a two year tour of Europe visiting the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Scandinavia,
Estonia, Latvia, Switzerland, Hungary, Austria, Italy and France.

 1930 On his return from Europe, Kahn marries Esther Israeli, but has difficulty finding work during
the economic depression.

 1935 Establishes an independent architectural practice in Philadelphia, but struggles to find work
other than modest local housing projects. Birth of his daughter Sue Ann.1947 Starts teaching at
Yale.

 1950 Wins a fellowship to the American Academy in Rome and travels to Greece and Italy where
he is inspired by the ancient ruins.

 1951 On his return, Kahn puts his new ideas into practise in the design of an extension to the Yale
Art Gallery and the Trenton Bathhouse.

 1954 Birth of a daughter Alexandra to Kahn and the architect Ann Tyng.

 1955 Becomes professor of architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches until
his death in 1974.

 1957 Designs the Alfred Newton Richards Medical Research Building at the University of
Pennsylvania.

 1959 Begins a six year project to construct the Jonas Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La
Jolla, California.

 1960 Designs the Dr and Mrs Norman Fisher House in Hatboro, Pennsylvania and starts work on
the campus at Bryn Mawr.

 1962 Starts work on a twelve year programme to build the Indian Institute of Management in
Ahmedabad and on the construction of the Capital Complex in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which will be
completed after his death. Birth of a son Nathaniel to Kahn and the landscape architect Harriet
Pattison.

 1965 Designs the Library and Dining Hall for the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire.

 1966 Begins work on the design of the Kimbell Art Museum in Forth Worth, Texas. The Museum of
Modern Art, New York mounts a retrospective exhibition of Kahn’s work.
 1969 Wins his second major commission at Yale University to design the Yale Center for British
Art.

 1974 Dies of a heart attack at Pennsylvania Station, New York on his return from India.

Timeline of Works

 All dates refer to the year work commenced

 1951 - University Art Center

 1954 - Trenton Bath House
 1957 - Richards Medical Center
 1959 - Salk Institute
 1959 - Esherick House
 1959 - First Unitarian Church
 1960 - Erdman Hall Dormitories
 1960 - Norman Fisher House
 1963 - Institute of Public Administration
 1962 - National Assembly Building, Dhaka, Bangladesh
 1967 - Exeter Library
 1967 - Kimbell Museum
 1969 - Yale Center for British Art