CONTEMPORY

ARCHITECTURE
BIOGRAPHY OF
ARCHITECT
LOUIS KAHN
SUBMITTED BYKRISHNA BHATI

INTRODUCTION
LOUIS KAHN
LOUIS KAHN ;A ARCHITECT,ARTIST AND A

PHILOSOPHER
LOUIS KAHN BELIEVED STRONGLY IN THE
VALUE AND IMPORTANCE OF ARCHITECTURE
IN SOCIATY.

EARLY LIFE
Louis khan whose original name was lize-leib
was born in 1901 in to poor jewish family in
Parnu, formerly in Russia but now in Estonia.
His birth year may have been inaccurately
recorded in the process of immigration.
According to his 2003 documentary film the
family could not afford pencils.they made their
own charcoal sticks from burnt twings so that
Louis could earn a little money from drawings.

 Later

he earned money by
playing piano to accompany
silent movies in theaters.
he became a nationalized
citizen on may 15,1914.

EDUCATION
Kahn

trained at the University

of Pennsylvania in a rigorous
beaux-Arts tradition with its
emphasis on drawing.
After completing his bachelor
of Architecture in 1924,kahn
worked as senior draftmen in
the office of the city architect
John Molitor.

WORKS

KAHN WORKS AT SENIOR DRAFTMAN IN THE OFFICE

OF THE CITY ARCHITECTS JOHN-MOLITOR.
HE WORKED ON THE DESIGNS FOR THE 1926
SEAQUICENTENNIAL EXPOSITION.
KAHN DID NOT ARRIVE HIS DISTINCTIVE
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE UNTILL HE WAS IN HIS
FIFTIES.
AFTER VISITING THE RUINS OF ANCIENT BUILDING
IN ITALY,GREECE AND EGYPT,HE ADOPTED HIS BACK
TO BACK BASICS APPROACH.

TEACHING CAREER

HE ADPTED HIS OWN STYLE AS INFLUENCED BY

EARLIER MODERN MOVEMENTS.
HE DESCRIBED THIS PROPOSAL AT A LECTURE
GIVEN IN 1962 AT THE INTERNATIONAL ESIGN
CONFRENCE IN ASPEN,COLORADO.
KAHN TEACHING CAREER BEGAN AT YALE
UNIVERSITY IN 1947.
HE WAS A VISITING LECTURE AT PRINCETON
UNIVERSITY FROM 1962 TO 1967.
FROM 1957 UNTILL HIS DEATH HE WAS A
PROFESSOR OF ARCHITECTURE AT THE SCHOOL
OF DESIGN AT THE UNIVERSITY

WORKD WITH DATES

1935-JERSEY HOMESTEADS COOPERATIVE

DEVELOPMENT.
1940-JESSE OSER HOUSE.
1947-PHILLIP E HOUSE
1951-YALE UNIVERSITY ART GALLARY
1952-CITY TOWER PROJECT
1954-TRENTION BATH HOUSE
1956-WHARTON ESHERICK STUDIO

1959-FIRST UNITARIAN CHURCH

1960-NORMAN FISHER HOUSE
1962-INDIAN INSTITUTE OF
MANAGEMENT,AHMEDABAD
1966-KIMBELL ART MUSEUM
1969-YALE CENTER FOR BRITISH ART.

FAMOUS BUILDING

YALE UNIVERSITY ART

GALLARY
GALLERY PROCESSING
ESPECIALLY RENOWENED
COLLECTIONS OF EARLY
ITALIAN PAINTING,AFRICAN
SCULPTURE,MODERN ART

SIGNATURE BUILDING
IIM AHAMDABAD

IIM AHAMDABAD IS DESIGNED BY LOUIS KAHN.

THE IIM IS SPREAD OVER ACRES OF LUSH
GREENERY.
HE CONCEIVED THE DESIGN AS A BLEND OF
AUSTERITY AND MAJESTY.
THE MODERN INSTITUTE IS BUILT ENTIRELY IN
TRADITIONAL BRICK CONSTRUCTION.

KAHN ARCHECTURE IS
NOTABLE FOR ITS
SIMPLE,PLATONIC FORMS
AND COMPOSITIONS.
KAHN DESIGNED OF
BUILDINGS,CHARACTERISE
D BY POWERFUL,MASSIVE
FORMS.

 THIS

BUILDING
IS A MAJOR ICON
OF MODERNISM
ARCHITECTURE
DESIGNED BY
AMERICAN
ARCHITECT
LOUIS KHAN

SALK INSTITUTE

SALK HAD SOUGHT TO MAKE A

BEAUTIFUL CAMPUS IN ORDER TO
DRAW THE BEST RESEARCHERS IN
THE WORLD.
THE ORIGINAL BUILDINGS OF SALK
INSTITUTE WERE DESIGNED AS A
HISTORICAL LANDMARK IN 1991.
THE ENTIRE CAMPUS IS 27 ACRE.

IN THE BEGINNING OF THE

BUILDING WERE MADE UP OF
DIFFERENT KINDS OF CEMENT
MIXERS.

MIXTURE HAD A DIFFERENT

COLOUR.

IN THE BASEMENT OF THE COMPLEX,THERE

ARE DIFFERENT COLORED CEMENT WALLS
BECAUSE KAHN WAS EXPERIMENTING WITH
THE MIXTURES.
KAHN ALSO ADDED WOOD IN THE
COMPLEX.

KIMBELL ART MUSEUM

THIS SIMPLE BUT ELEGENT
BUILDING IS OFTEN
DESCRIBE AS KAHN
GREATEST MASTERPIECE.
THE FORM IS SIMPLE,USING
REPEATED UNITS.
IN IS CONSTRUCTED OF
CONCRETE AND
TRAVERTINE.

FISHER HOUSE

THE FISHER HOUSE ALSO AS THE

NORMAN FISHER HOUSE,WAS
DESIGNED BY THE LOUIS KAHN AND
BUILT BY FOR NORMAN FISHER AND
HIS WIFE.IN 1967
HATBORO,PENNSYLVANIA.

AWARDS

HE WAS AWARDED THE AIA GOLD MEDAL

AND THE RIBA GOLD MEDAL.
AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH HE WAS
CONSIDERED BY SOME AS AMERICA
FOREMOST LIVING ARCHITECT
HE WARKED ALWAYS IN MODERISM.

LOUIS KHAN WORK WITH

ARCHITECTS
LOUIS

KAHN WORKED WITH GEORGE

HOWE IN THE LATE 1930 ON PROJECTS
FOR THE PHILADELPHIA HOUSING
AUTHORITY.
ALONG WITH GERMAN BORN ARCHITECT
OSCAR STONOROV FOR THE DESIGN
OF HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS IN OTHER
PARTS OF PENNSYLVANIA

PRINCIPLE AND CONCEPT OF

LOUIS KAHN BUILDINGS

THANKYO
U