The works we visited, however, speak volumes. Compare, for example, a modest early building and two major, later works: the Trenton Bath House (1954-1959), Yale University Art Gallery (1951-1953), and the Yale Center for British Art (1974-1977).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMk-xcr8kIXLhUqdMxnbhMr_x9HrD3OS8_lGXnHt7W8QJIhxs0N5-eY19ZgkHxmIMngL5hyphenhyphenmVt5G-FWfQaZ3MVT8H40-b5GKcwRvLYKp_10636hnZXN2pV2bZ2ZGga1YounKme1hcOahJx/s200/trentonspinelow.jpg)
It should be noted here that Anne Tyng played a significant and under-appreciated role in the bath house design, contributing among other things geometry and the elegant corner entries to each changing room, all of which underpin the light effects. An associate recalls that "...Kahn was having trouble with the design [and] Tyng was heard calling...that she 'had something." Kahn walked over and...'immediately saw that Anne's design was it." (See Carter Weisman. Louis I. Kahn: Beyond Time and Style, p. 93.)
Entering the changing room at Trenton, Tyng's corner entries transition beautifully to the shade and cool of the changing area (while eliminating need for doors and their maintenance). Yet the skylight brings in a soft light (eliminating the need for fixtures, too). In contrast, sharp slivers of light pierce the rough concrete walls, stabbing through the gap between walls and floating roof.
How different from Kahn's museums at Yale, especially the diffuse glow in the galleries of the Yale Center for British Art. Natural lighting was a shared goal with the clients. In fact, it was a requirement for the painting galleries. The desire for a domestic scale was also a factor (presumably the corresponding light effects were desired as well). In the preliminary phase of the design, Kahn visited homes of patron and collector Paul Mellon, as well as the Phillips Collection, a house-museum in Washington, DC. The YCBA glow is the product of the large-span skylights and their deep pyramidal wells. The 20-foot spans help to break the spaces up into room-sized galleries, but moveable, floating partitions and louvered windows keep the feeling open and of course, light. The skylights illuminate the top galleries and atrium. In turn, atrium overlooks allow light to enter galleries on lower floors. White oak panels and smooth concrete complete the effect.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2dTdV0y6W2mnrbq1wlHEm9QjUGtjVgqxAmzhyG-LdWLiuhsCs8eQ-STU2S3gBn-meqfoMR_o4klf9gmcsWHfdaxFwyEKyy_cBqo8vOG09kYh1Zq3d0QNgivDaFUPAnawiCogMZk1yU3E0/s200/yaleskylightlow.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMLx-QsN72G1nB8RQ5c7DSbbG0KXQ03UF_D28kzAWtEyKKitRCaOxTQP_SqZc5xt6BPj7wjFni9gt_bYbM3XdXdqRGueusEq_kmrB5p1MmiWn_k4UF1wdXiA3dxTpcdPutNjErtzNoN9G/s200/yaleartarch3web.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSVfSEKxYp3xoxHHmJ0XItGcmFpasiihSBpb5fxgHVnKv6UJSMnhvRlva_yLy3XjZO_5hRi_P464SsGa5gxc8ta5zqdtfEyk_eYzwwBLhfIGYJH28IKXwUzzfurr1i_wvdfF-hvqaCdBu_/s200/c020035.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg74-5fCAC-_Ht3ysMlwPTdTIjG9BO3IBaxJVIfdC0ETqDO9j3nSxa_tEsNEGuNkNyYa66yevU_AnG7ZoTAU0Vx9w9EoINJfFqRXR5c6gGGOHXaOyykBx6clSkRA60He2czHzbG4RdkEdR4/s200/thumb.php.jpeg)
One imagines that Kahn would have appreciated Soane. Both architects were intuitive and idiosyncratic. Both sought the sublime. Both appreciated but transcended ancient precedents. Both were influential teachers. And they both developed unprecedented techniques for indirect natural illumination.
Someday I hope to visit the Kimbell (1966-1972), known as Kahn's greatest achievement with light. What is the combined effect of Texas sun, barrel vaulting, and Kahn's ingenious skylights? How does this change our perception of the works on view? And can I sketch in the galleries?
On this note I end these posts on "The Value and Aim of Sketching." I hope they've conveyed some of the value of the SAH Kahn Tour.
Image (top): Jennifer Tobias. Trenton Bath House.
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-sa/3.0/80x15.png)
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-sa/3.0/80x15.png)
Image (bottom): Dulwich Picture Gallery (John Soane, 1814).
See Louis Kahn. "The Value and Aim in Sketching." T-Square Club Journal of Philadelphia. May 1931, 18-21.
Technorati Profile