Tour leader Bill Whitaker explaining breadth of archival materials to groupDuring various parts of the trip we looked at the methods of expression that Kahn employed to transform thoughts and ideas into physical manifestations of architectural grandeur and modern monumentality. These included drawing and model making, close assessment of the materials selected and the way that Kahn exploited the properties of the materials in careful articulation for his designs. The opening reception for the study tour took place in the Architectural Archives at the University of Pennsylvania, the largest repository of archival materials related to Louis I. Kahn. Tour participants were greeted by Julia Converse, director of the archives, and tour guide William Whitaker, and were exposed to many background details of Kahn’s life and practice including his conceptual drawings, plans, elevations, and models of various projects, as well as Kahn’s personal affects such as his passport, luggage, early sketches from childhood, and college transcripts. Bill Whitaker spoke about Kahn’s childhood, as well as his study habits, while displaying original early sketches and Kahn’s college transcript from Penn, which was filled with “D’s” – an abbreviation for “Distinguished.”
A small sampling of collection sketches, elevations, and plans
The group inspected drawings from Kahn that highlighted his geometrical approach to spatialization and aesthetics- everything he produced was rhythmically regulated by shapes such as triangles and trapezoids. Members of the group discussed to what extent they believed Anne Tyng influenced Kahn’s geometrically driven drawings. Whitaker also displayed drawings from Robert Venturi to show the sharp contrast in drawing methodologies and how they visualized building- Venturi’s drawings offered deeper colors and a more energetic, looser stroke of the hand. Examination of Kahn’s drawings also showed the progression of his drawing hand, from extreme rigidity in earlier architectural drawings to a burlier and livelier mark later in life.
Model of Trenton Bath House which displays both the exterior massing and the reflected interior
There were also numerous models on display in the archives, from miniatures of the Trenton Bath House and Day Camp (1954-59) to the Salk Institute (1959-65) and beyond. These models allowed visitors the opportunity to see the three dimensional massing of buildings on the tour, as well as those that we would not visit.
Model of project showing highly expressive experimentation in geometry
Kahn’s ability to articulate space took on various shapes and scales in his work. Some themes included heavy external massing that clearly demarcated “served” and “servant” spaces, rigid geometrical structural systems, refinement of exposed materials, and details of high quality craftwork, which was essential to Kahn. This was seen very clearly in the details of the woodwork in many of his residential projects. The following images highlight particularly intriguing examples of this in the Margaret Esherick House (1959-1961).
M. Esherick House stair wall detail
The "T" form was carried out throughout the design of the Margaret Esherick house, repeated in the exterior fenestration and in varying iterations on the interior.
Railing detail on second floor of the M. Esherick house
Detail of handrail
The handrail of the Margaret Esherick house exhibited the richness and natural variance in material that Kahn would have appreciated and exploited. Such attention to material quality and articulation was not confined to interiors. At the Fisher House (1959-67) Kahn used subtle variations in wood joinery to add texture and complexity to the wooden shutters.
Detail of Fisher House window shutters
Another residential project where Kahn's careful hand and attention to geometric simplicity and rich layering is apparent is the Korman House (1971-1973). The kitchen counter top is buffed to a smooth shine and the wooden components are so closely matched that it is hard to determine the grains of separate pieces of wood. However, upon closer observation it is apparent that Kahn wanted to reveal the hidden secret by adding detailed joinery articulation on the side of the counter top.
Detail of counter top in Korman House
Interlocking wooden pieces in handrail in Korman House
Finally, throughout the tour we continued to return to the idea that materiality was of supreme importance to Kahn. Additionally, Kahn enjoyed employing contrasting materials in his various works, and preferred highlighting the raw essence of material over haughty applied ornamentation.
Exterior detail of Temple Beth El Synagogue (1966-72)
Interior detail of Yale Center for British Art (Kahn, 1969-1974; Pellechia & Meyers, 1974-77)
Exterior detail of Oser House (1940-42) A famous Kahn quote succinctly reveals his thought process in regards to material choice and the articulation of the materials.To express is to drive. And when you want to give something presence, you have to consult nature. And there is where Design comes in. And if you think of Brick, for instance, and you say to Brick, ‘What do you want Brick?’ And Brick says to you ‘I like an Arch.’ And if you say to Brick ‘Look, arches are expensive, and I can use a concrete lentil over you. What do you think of that?’ ‘Brick?’ Brick says: ‘... I like an Arch.'
Korman House exterior - nature meeting designKahn used light with materials as a transcendental, pliable force which had a profound effect on the way the interior of spaces were experienced and perceived.
Yale University Art Gallery stairwell (Kahn and Douglass Orr, 1951-53)All material in nature, the mountains and the streams and the air and we, are made of Light which has been spent, and this crumpled mass called material casts a shadow, and the shadow belongs to Light.
Small light detail in the Richards Medical Laboratory stairwell (1957-61)One of the biggest problems with materials and carefully articulated details, however, is determining how their aging process will transpire over time. We saw that in both situations of interior and exterior maintenance, vigilant attention to the needs of these materials was required to guarantee the lasting beauty of the simplicity of the materials. If not properly and regularly cared for, a building’s gradual deterioration could begin to mask some of the material qualities that made it a true work of art.
Shadow of Korman House
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