Louis Isadore Kahn: Icon of architecture who blended function and art

Born on February 20, 1901 in a Jewish family in the Baltic region that was part of the Russian empire, an infant named Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky grew up in what then was part of the Livonian Governorate.

In 1906, his family migrated to the United States. Their financial condition was dire and could not even afford pencils. So, charcoal sticks were made from burnt twigs so that boy, who had a talent for drawing, could employ his creativity to earn some money. Later on, he played the piano to supplement silent movies in cinemas. When the family became full-fledged citizens in 1914, Itze-Leib’s parents opted for Americanised names, especially the surname Kahn.

Career

He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, in 1924 and went on a tour of Europe during which he studied and sketched architectural monuments. He worked as senior designer in the city architect John Molitor’s office. His early work focused on designing private residences and houses for workers. In 1941, Kahn struck a partnership with American architect George Howe and from 1942 to 1944 the duo also worked with Germany-born architect Oscar Stonorov. He became professor of architecture at the Yale University in 1947. In 1950, he was Architect in Residence at the American Academy in Rome. That was a phase during which his travels to sites in Greece, Egypt and Italy enabled Kahn to arrive at a basic approach to architecture and established his own style.

The early 1950s witnessed Kahn engage in his first major commission, wherein he designed the Yale University Art Gallery in Connecticut. It was his first masterpiece and became one of his most important achievements.

He was elevated as the Albert F Bemis Professor of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1956. During the same year, he completed the design for the Richards Medical Research Laboratories at the University of Pennsylvania.

Kahn returned to teach at the University of Pennsylvania from 1957 until his death, becoming the Paul Philippe Cret Professor of Architecture. He was also the visiting lecturer at Princeton University School of Architecture from 1961 to 1967.

He was commissioned to design The Salk Institute, which was designed in three parts — laboratories, conference areas and residential quarters. In 1961, Kahn was awarded scholarship by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in Fine Arts that enabled him to study traffic movement and prepare an overpass system.

His last projects included the Phillips Exeter Academy Library, Kimbell Art Museum, Yale Center for British Art, Franklin D Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park and the Flora Lamson Hewlett Library. Kahn died of a heart attack at Penn Station in Manhattan in 1974.

Awards and honours

Kahn was elected Fellow in the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1953. He was made a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1964.

He was awarded the AIA Gold Medal and the RIBA Gold Medal. In 1971, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.

Interesting Facts

When he was 3-years-old, Kahn was fascinated by light from coal burning in the stove. He wore an apron and put in burning coal. His clothes caught fire and burnt his face, leaving scars for life.

Kahn’s magnum opuses included the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad and the Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban in Bangladesh. His design for the IIM campus blended principles of India’s traditional educational system and culture with those of modern architecture. The Bangladesh National Assembly is the shining hub of Kahn concept of the national capital complex in Dhaka.

In 2003, his son Nathaniel Kahn made a documentary on his father titled My Architect: A Son’s Journey. The Oscar-nominated film provides views and insights on Kahn’s architecture. It presents an exploration of the iconic figure through the eyes of his family, friends and colleagues. Kahn’s drawings, sketches, blueprints, writings, lectures and more also form the subject of two other major anthologies on his life & work.

Source: Wikipedia, thefamouspeople.com, kimbellart.org