''Even A Brick Wants To Be Something'' -Louis Kahnpublished in: Architecture, Exhibitions, Books By Costas Voyatzis, 09 June 2013

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Lou is Kah n, c. 1972

Robert C. Lau tm an Ph otograph y Col lection, N ational Bu i lding Mu seu m .

When I was thirteen y ears old, while watching ''Indecent Proposal'' (1993) directed by Adrian Ly ne, based onthe nov el by Jack Engelhard, Woody Harrelson held up a brick and said the phrase ''EVEN A BRICK WANT S

T O BE SOMET HING'' whilst giv ing an architecture lecture. Today , twenty y ears later, the ''Louis Kahn-T he

Power of Architecture'' exhibition has just giv en me the chance to discov er more about the complex and

nomadic life of the real man who talked to this Brick.

''If you think of Brick, you say to Brick, What do you want, Brick? And Brick says toyou, I like an Arch. And if you say to Brick, Look, arches are expensive, and I can usea concrete lintel over you. What do you think of that, Brick? Brick says, I like an Arch.And its important, you see, that you honor the material that you use. [..] You can only doit if you honor the brick and glorify the brick instead of shortchanging it.''Lou i s Kahn. Transcri bed from the 2003 docu mentary 'My Archi tect: A Sons Jou rney by Nathani el Kahn'. Master cl ass at Penn,

1971.

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Lou is Kah n working on Fish er Hou se design, 1961.

Lou is I. Kah n Col lection, Universi ty of Pennsylvania and th e Pennsylvania Historical and Mu seu m Com m ission.

The most important projects of the American architect Louis Kahn are extensiv ely documented in the ''Louis

Kahn-T he Power of Architecture'' exhibition which runs until the 11th of August 2013 at the Vitra Design

Museum in Weil am Rhein , Germ any . In unfolding Kahn s architectural oeuv re through a selection of

watercolours, pastels and charcoal drawings created during his trav els in Italy , Greece and Egy pt to name a few,

one thing becomes apparent. His skill, not only as an architect but also as an artist and illustrator. T he exhibition

showcases Kahns div erse range of architecture and photographs of his beautiful spatial

com positions and buildings which display powerful univ ersal sy m bolism . Highlights include a four-

meter-high model of the Philadelphias City T ower (1952-57 ), as well as the prev iously unreleased film shot by

Louis Kahn 's son Nathanial, who was only 11 y ears old when his father died.

Lou is Kah n in front of a m odel of th e City Tower Project in an exh ibition at Cornel l Universi ty , Ith aca, N ew Y ork, Febru ary 1958.

Su e A nn Kah n.

Salk Insti tu te in La Jol la, Cal i fornia, Lou is Kah n, 195965.

Th e A rch itectu ral A rch ives, Universi ty of Pennsylvania, ph oto: Joh n N icolais.

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http://www.design-museum.de/en/exhibitions/detailseiten/louis-kahn-detail.html#c10803

Lou is I. Kah n and N ath aniel Kah n, ca.1970.

Ph oto by Harriet Pattison, 2003 Lou is Kah n Project, Inc.

N ational A ssem bly Bu i lding in Dh aka, Bangladesh , Lou is Kah n, 196283

Directed by Nathanial Kahn , and co-produced with Susan Rose Behr, the film My Architect: A Sons

Journey (2003), unv eils Nathaniel Kahn s attempt to learn more about his fathers complex life using the

haunting, monumental creations as the medium with which to discov er the man who designed them. This is a

journey of lov e, art, betray al and forgiv eness, especially when y ou realise how rife this mans life was with

secrets and chaos. His marriage to a woman (Esther Israeli), the daughter they had, his long-term relationship

with an architect (Anne T y ng), with whom he had another daughter and then a long-term relationship with the

landscape architect (Harriet Pattison), who is y our mother; add to this the fact that the members of this

complicated trio didn't meet until Kahn's funeral, and y ou hav e all the elem ents of a script for the perfect

dram a - which is based on a true story ! Thankfully howev er, with a happy end, as Nathanial in the film, finds

the answers he's been searching for hidden inside Kahn 's magnum opus ''Jatiy o Sangshad Bhaban, the

National Assem bly Building'' in Dhaka, Bangladesh (1962).

http://www.myarchitectfilm.com

N ational A ssem bly Bu i lding in Dh aka, Bangladesh , Lou is Kah n, 196283

Raym ond Meier.

N ational A ssem bly Bu i lding in Dh aka, Bangladesh , Lou is Kah n, 196283.

Raym ond Meier.

Indian Insti tu te of Managem ent, A h m edabad.

Indian Insti tu te of Managem ent, A h m edabad.

A lessandro V assel la, 1970.

Whilst Nathanial Kahn brings a degree of light upon his own "fam ily 's issues", the elem ent of LIGHT

itself was alway s his fathers obsession. It was the protagonist of his designs, both inside and outside his

buildings and danced across the walls he built, changing continuously throughout the course of the day . Unlike

other architects, his palette of materials leaned heav ily towards textured BRICK and bare concrete with

astonishing facility , creating spaces both highly functional and spiritually uplifting.

In 1904, at the age of three, Kahn suffered sev ere burns to his face and hands m arking him for life.

Who would hav e ev er thought then that his preferred drawing material would hav e been charcoal with which he

sketched ''objects'' that went on to become some of the most important buildings of the 20th century during the final

two decades of his life. Some of these masterpieces include; The Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La

Jolla, California (1959); the ''Jatiy o Sangshad Bhaban, the National Assem bly Building'' of Bangladesh in

Dhaka, Bangladesh (1962); the Phillips Exeter Academ y Library in New Hampshire (1965), the Kim bell Art

Museum in Fort Worth, Texas (1966), and the massiv e granite-block m em orial to Am erican President

Franklin D. Roosev elt (designed 197 3-7 4) on the tip of Roosev elt Island in New Y orks East Riv er, which was

posthumously completed in October 2012.

FDR Fou r Freedom s Park (designed 1973-74) on th e tip of Roosevel t Island in N ew Y orks East River. Com pleted in October 2012.

2013 Frankl in D. Roosevel t Fou r Freedom s Park.

"I had this thought that a memorial should be a room and a garden. That's all I had. Whydid I want a room and a garden? I just chose it to be the point of departure. The garden issomehow a personal nature, a personal kind of control of nature. And the room was thebeginning of architecture. I had this sense, you see, and the room wasn't just architecture,but was an extension of self."Lou i s Kahn, transcri pt from a l ectu re at the Pratt Insti tu te i n 1973.

Lou is I. Kah n du ring th e lectu re at th e ETH Zu rich .

Ph oto by Peter Wenger A rch ives de la constru ction m oderne A cm , EPF Lau sanne.

Th e cover of th e book ''Lou is I. Kah n- Si lence and Ligh t'', Park Books.

In 197 4, Kahn died of a heart attack in a men's restroom in Pennsy lv ania Station in New Y ork. He went unidentified

for three day s because he had crossed out the home address on his passport. He had just returned from a work trip

to India. Despite his long career, he was deep in debt when he died. So in answering the question ''Can y ou get to

know som eone after his death?'' the answer lies in the recent interest that Kahn has piqued. Asides from the

exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum, Kahn and his legacy liv e on through a recent publication and

soon to be released opera:

>> His lecture ''SILENCE AND LIGHT '' which he gav e on February 12, 1969 at the School of Architecture at the

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zrich is also the title of a book recently published by PARK BOOKS,

edited by Alessandro Vassella and forwarded by Indian architect Balkrishna V. Doshi. The lecture is

represented in transcripts in fiv e different languages - German, Italian, English, French, and Spanish - as well as a

http://www.fdrfourfreedomspark.orghttp://www.park-books.com/index.php?pd=pb&lang=de&page=books&book=480http://www.park-books.com/index.php?pd=pb&lang=de&page=books&book=480

60 m inute audio recording of Kahn giv ing the lecture in English included on a CD, giv es us an opportunity to

discov er the mans spiritual understanding of architecture, which goes far deeper than simply constructing

buildings.

>> Entitled ''ARCHIT ECT '', the opera composed by Pulitzer Prize-winner Lewis Spratlan with librettist and

electro acoustic composers Jenny Kallick and John Downey , is an instrumental and v ocal music blend drawn

from acoustic recordings within Kahn's buildings. Unv eiling the relationship between sound and space, and the

connection between the past and present, Kahn s work and his assertion that "T O HEAR A SOUND IS T O SEE A

SPACE'', are brought back to life. The opera is expected to be released at the end of July 2013 by Nav ona

Records.

***

Louis Kahn: The Power of Architecture is on show at the Vitra Museum until August 2013. Its next stop will

be the London Design Museum in 2014.

ARCHITECT by Nav ona Records. (Fe aturing a wate rcolor artwork by Michiko Theurer on the cove r)

http://www.navonarecords.com/architect/http://www.navonarecords.com/catalog/nv5905/http://www.navonarecords.com/architect/http://www.navonarecords.com/catalog/nv5905/

Lou is Kah n at th e au ditoriu m of th e Kim bel l A rt Mu seu m , 1972.

Kim bel l A rt Mu seu m , ph oto: Bob Wh arton.

Colonnade on th e north side, Kim bel l A rt Mu seu m , Fort Worth , Texas, Lou is Kah n, 19661972.

2010 Kim bel l A rt Mu seu m , Fort Worth , ph oto: Robert LaPrel le.

Library , Ph i l l ips Exeter A cadem y, Exeter, N ew Ham psh ire, Lou is Kah n, 196572.

Iwan Baan.

Ponte V ecch io, Florence, Italy , Lou is Kah n, c. 1930.

Private Col lection, ph oto: Pau l Takeu ch i 2012.

Steven and Toby Korm an Hou se, Fort Wash ington, Pennsylvania, Lou is Kah n, 197173.

Barry Halkin .

Living-room of th e N orm an and Doris Fish er Hou se, Hatboro, Pennsylvania, Lou is Kah n, 196067.

Grant Mu dford.

Jewish Com m u nity Center, Ewing Townsh ip (near Trenton), N ew Jersey , Lou is Kah n, 195459. Exterior v iew of th e Bath Hou se with a wal l

drawing at th e entrance designed by Kah n.

Lou is I. Kah n Col lection, Universi ty of Pennsylvania and th e Pennsylvania Historical and Mu seu m Com m ission, ph oto: Joh n Ebstel .

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* Com m ent:

A lfred N ewton Rich ards Medical Research and Biology Bu i lding, Ph i ladelph ia, Pennsylvania, Lou si Kah n, 195765.

Th e A rch itectu ral A rch ives, Universi ty of Pennsylvania, ph oto: Malcolm Sm ith .

sources:

Vitra Design Museum, PARK BOOKS

Rob Brown | 201 4-01 -1 4 21 :54:1 3

Came across this blog, and the work that all of these architectures are amazing! Whenev er I am in the NewHampshire are I will definitely check out that library !

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