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''Even A Brick Wants To Be Something'' Louis Kahn

published in: Architecture, Exhibitions, Books By Costas Voyatzis, 09 June 2013
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Give a Bit of Mmh to Me! {NSFW}

Lou i s Kah n , c. 197 2

R obert C. Lau tm a n Ph otogra ph y Col l ecti on , N ati on al Bu i l di n g Mu seu m .

When I was thirteen y ears old, while watching ''Indecent Proposal'' (1 993) directed by Adrian Ly ne, based on
the 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'' ex hibition 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 to
you, I like an Arch. And if you say to Brick, Look, arches are expensive, and I can use
a 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 do
it if you honor the brick and glorify the brick instead of shortchanging it.''
Lou i s Ka h n . Tra n scri bed f rom t h e 2003 docu men t a ry 'My Arch i t ect : A Son s Jou rn ey by Na t h a n i el Ka h n '. Ma st er cl a ss a t Pen n ,
1 971 .

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Lou i s Kah n worki n g on Fi sh er Hou se desi gn , 1961.

Lou i s I. Kah n Col l ecti on , Un i v ersi ty of Pen n sy l v a n i a an d th e Pen n sy l v an i a Hi stori cal an d Mu seu m Com m i ssi on .

The most important projects of the A merican architect Louis Kahn are ex tensiv ely documented in the ''Louis
Kahn-T he Power of Architecture'' ex hibition which runs until the 11th of August 2013 at the Vitra Design
Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germ any . In unfolding Kahns 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 ex hibition
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 fourmeter-high model of the Philadelphias City T ower (1 952-57 ), as well as the prev iously unreleased film shot by
Louis Kahn's son Nathanial, who was only 1 1 y ears old when his father died.

Lou i s Kah n i n fron t of a m odel of th e Ci ty Tower Project i n an exh i bi ti on a t Corn el l Un i v ersi ty , Ith aca, N ew Y ork, Febru a ry 1958.
Su e A n n Kah n .

Sal k In sti tu te i n La Jol l a, Cal i forn i a, Lou i s Ka h n , 195965.

Th e A rch i tectu ra l A rch i v es, Un i v ersi ty of Pen n sy l v an i a, ph oto: Joh n N i col ai s.

Y atzer Lov es

Lou i s I. Kah n an d N a th a n i el Ka h n , ca .197 0.

Ph oto by Ha rri et Pa tti son , 2003 Lou i s Ka h n Project, In c.

N ati on al A ssem bl y Bu i l di n g i n Dh aka, Ban gl adesh , Lou i s Ka h n , 196283

Directed by Nathanial Kahn, and co-produced with Susan Rose Behr, the film My Architect: A Sons
Journey (2003), unv eils Nathaniel Kahns 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 (1 962).

N ati on al A ssem bl y Bu i l di n g i n Dh aka, Ban gl adesh , Lou i s Ka h n , 196283

R ay m on d Mei er.

N ati on al A ssem bl y Bu i l di n g i n Dh aka, Ban gl adesh , Lou i s Ka h n , 196283.

R ay m on d Mei er.

In di an In sti tu te of Man agem en t, A h m edabad.

In di an In sti tu te of Man agem en t, A h m edabad.

A l essa n dro V a ssel l a , 197 0.

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 tex tured 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 (1 959); the ''Jatiy o Sangshad Bhaban, the National Assem bly Building'' of Bangladesh in
Dhaka, Bangladesh (1 962); the Phillips Ex eter Academ y Library in New Hampshire (1 965), the Kim bell Art
Museum in Fort Worth, Tex as (1 966), and the massiv e granite-block m em orial to Am erican President
Franklin D. Roosev elt (designed 1 97 3-7 4) on the tip of Roosev elt Island in New Y orks East Riv er, which was
posthumously completed in October 201 2.

FDR Fou r Freedom s Park (desi gn ed 197 3-7 4) on th e ti p of R oosev el t Isl an d i n N ew Y orks East R i v er. Com pl eted i n October 2012.
2013 Fran kl i n D. R oosev el 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. Why
did I want a room and a garden? I just chose it to be the point of departure. The garden is
somehow a personal nature, a personal kind of control of nature. And the room was the
beginning of architecture. I had this sense, you see, and the room wasn't just architecture,
but was an extension of self."
Lou i s Ka h n , t ra n scri pt f rom a l ect u re a t t h e Pra t t In st i t u t e i n 1 973.

Lou i s I. Kah n du ri n g th e l ectu re at th e ETH Zu ri ch .

Ph oto by Peter Wen ger A rch i v es de l a con stru cti on m odern e A cm , EPF Lau sa n n e.

Th e cov er of th e book ''Lou i s I. Kah n - Si l en ce an d Li gh t'', Park Books.

In 1 97 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. A sides from the
ex hibition at the V itra 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 1 2, 1 969 at the School of A rchitecture 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

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, Kahns work and his assertion that "T O HEAR A SOUND IS T O SEE A
SPACE'', are brought back to life. The opera is ex pected to be released at the end of July 201 3 by Nav ona
Records.
***
Louis Kahn: The Power of Architecture is on show at the V itra Museum until A ugust 201 3. Its next stop w ill
be the London Design Museum in 201 4.

ARCHITECT by Na v on a Records. (Fe aturing a wate rcolor artwork by Michiko T heurer on the cove r)

Lou i s Kah n at th e a u di tori u m of th e Ki m bel l A rt Mu seu m , 197 2.

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

Col on n ade on th e n orth si de, Ki m bel l A rt Mu seu m , Fort Worth , Texas, Lou i s Kah n , 1966197 2.
2010 Ki m bel l A rt Mu seu m , Fort Worth , ph oto: R obert La Prel l e.

Li brary , Ph i l l i ps Exeter A cadem y , Exeter, N ew Ham psh i re, Lou i s Kah n , 19657 2.
Iwan Baa n .

Pon te V ecch i o, Fl oren ce, Ita l y , Lou i s Kah n , c. 1930.

Pri v ate Col l ecti on , ph oto: Pau l Ta keu ch i 2012.

Stev en an d Toby Korm a n Hou se, Fort Wa sh i n gton , Pen n sy l v a n i a, Lou i s Kah n , 197 17 3.
Barry Ha l ki n .

Li v i n g-room of th e N orm an an d Dori s Fi sh er Hou se, Hatboro, Pen n sy l v an i a, Lou i s Kah n , 196067 .
Gran t Mu dford.

Jewi sh Com m u n i ty Cen ter, Ewi n g Town sh i p (n ear Tren ton ), N ew Jersey , Lou i s Kah n , 195459. Exteri or v i ew of th e Ba th Hou se wi th a wa l l
drawi n g at th e en tra n ce desi gn ed by Kah n .
Lou i s I. Kah n Col l ecti on , Un i v ersi ty of Pen n sy l v a n i a an d th e Pen n sy l v an i a Hi stori cal an d Mu seu m Com m i ssi on , ph oto: Joh n Ebstel .

A l fred N ewton R i ch ards Medi ca l R esearch an d Bi ol ogy Bu i l di n g, Ph i l adel ph i a, Pen n sy l v an i a, Lou si Kah n , 1957 65.
Th e A rch i tectu ra l A rch i v es, Un i v ersi ty of Pen n sy l v an i a, ph oto: Mal col m Sm i th .

sources:
V itra Design Museum, PA RK BOOKS

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Rob Brow n | 2 01 4 -01 -1 4 2 1 :54 :1 3

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