Historical Figure
Louis Kahn
1901–1974
Estonian-American architect (1901–1974)
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Biography
Louis Isadore Kahn was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. While continuing his private practice, he served as a design critic and professor of architecture at Yale School of Architecture from 1947 to 1957. From 1957 until his death, he was a professor of architecture at the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania.
Timeline
The story of Louis Kahn, told in moments.
Born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky on the island of Saaremaa, in what is now Estonia. His face was badly scarred at age three when his apron caught fire while he was playing with hot coals. The scars remained his whole life.
Visits the American Academy in Rome at 50. Sees the Pantheon, the Baths of Caracalla. Ancient Roman concrete. Light pouring through oculi. He's been a competent but unremarkable architect for decades. Everything changes. He starts over.
Completes the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California. Two rows of brutalist concrete labs face each other across a travertine courtyard that frames the Pacific Ocean. Jonas Salk had asked him to create a place worthy of a visit from Picasso.
Works simultaneously on three monumental projects: the National Assembly in Dhaka, the Kimbell Art Museum, and the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad. He maintains three separate families. None of the women know about each other.
Dies of a heart attack in Penn Station, returning from Bangladesh. His body goes unidentified for days because he'd crossed out the address on his passport. He was $500,000 in debt. The buildings in Dhaka wouldn't be finished until 1982.
Artifacts (15)
My own plan formed when I was 14 years old. My father had wanted me to be a poli...
of mind over body) and at 17, officially started his competitive career." During a speech in 2001, he said, "My own plan formed when I was 14 years old. My father had wanted me to be a police officer...
I was very young, but I remember my father taking me to the Austrian theaters an...
mirror the next morning if I didn't do it." When asked about his first cinema experience as a boy, he replied: "I was very young, but I remember my father taking me to the Austrian theaters and seeing...
I actually started weight training when I was 15, but I'd been participating in ...
took his team to a local gym. At age 14, he chose bodybuilding over football as a career. He later said, "I actually started weight training when I was 15, but I'd been participating in sports, like...
As a teenager, I grew up with Steve Reeves. His remarkable accomplishments allow...
h as Reg Park, Steve Reeves and Johnny Weissmuller. When Reeves died in 2000, Schwarzenegger fondly remembered him: "As a teenager, I grew up with Steve Reeves. His remarkable accomplishments allowed...
It would make me sick to miss a workout ... I knew I couldn't look at myself in ...
cated as a youngster that he broke into the local gym on weekends to train even when it was closed. "It would make me sick to miss a workout ... I knew I couldn't look at myself in the mirror the next...
More from the Early 20th Century
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