Louis .I.

Kahn

PRANAY NAGPAL
RAJAT PATHAK
SHUBHAM CHAUDHA

Life
Born 20.2.1901 on Saaremmaa Island in
Kuressaare.
Kahn's Jewish parents immigrated to the
United States in 1906.
His given name at birth was Itze-Leib
Schmuilowsky but was changed upon
arrival in the US.
On 17.3.1974, he died of a heart attack in
a men's restroom in Pennsylvania Station
in New York City.

Education/ Occupation
He attended the University of Pennsylvania and
received his Bachelors degree in architecture at the
age of 24.
After college, he worked as a senior draftsman in
the office of Philadelphia City Architect John Molitor.
To find his inspiration, he traveled through Europe
visiting castles and medieval strongholds in 1928,
only 4 years after graduating.
He finally started his own firm in 1935.
While he still designed and worked as a design
critic on the side, Louis became a professor of
architecture at Yale school of Architecture.

Personal designs
Kahn created many unique an intricate buildings, but
among his most memorable were
* The Yale University Art gallery: 1951.
* The Jonas Salk institute for Biological
Studies:
1965
* The Margaret Esherick house: 1961
* The National Assembly building: 1962

Creations

Top left: The Jonas Salk institute for Biological Studies

Top right: The National Assembly building
Bottom left: The Yale University Art gallery
Bottom right: The Margaret Esherick house

Buildings
The Yale university art Gallery
Said to be Kahns first significant commission.
Uses many bold lines, both parallel and perpendicular,
to make a statement.
In this amazing creation, he uses hollow tetrahedral
concrete ceiling and floor slab system, which
accommodate the mechanical and electrical systems.

Buildings (continued)
The Jonas Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Made to be a garden of stone and water.
Built from reinforced concrete, marble, crystal, wood,
and water this masterpiece standswith two parallel
laboritories each 65 feet wide, and 245 feet long.

Buildings (continued)
The Margaret Esherick house
Built 1961
One of Kahns few house designs
Built mainly of stucco and wood
It is a one bedroom residence created for a
local bookstore owner Margaret Esherick
during that time.
Uses streamline silhouettes to open up
space and use natural light in a new an
inventive way.

Geometry in his work

used many different shapes and lines to
create his masterpieces.
However, among his most famous creations,
he seems to favor both parallel and
perpendicular lines.
Through his bold technique, he created
streamline, radical, and futuristic looking
buildings. His style is his own, and his creations
are legendary, through the use of geometry, he
has created both beautiful works of art, and
useful establishments, for the whole world to
enjoy.

Bibliography
Sokol, David. Louis Kahn-Designed House (Still) Up for Sale
http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/08
052k
ahn.asp 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies,
Inc. Nov 8, 2008
Wikipedia, free encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Kahn
4 October 2008. Nov 9, 2008.
Cavern, Jackie. Louis Kahn, ModernistArchitect.
http://architecture.about.com/od/greatarchitects//louiskah
n.htm. Nov 9, 2008.