Louis Kahn

Louis Kahn
Born(1901-02-20)February 20, 1901
Kuressaare, Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire
DiedMarch 17, 1974(1974-03-17) (aged 73)
New York City, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationArchitect
Parent(s)Bertha Schmuilowsky
Leopold Schmuilowsky
AwardsAIA Gold Medal
RIBA Gold Medal
BuildingsJatiyo Sangshad Bhaban
Yale University Art Gallery
Salk Institute
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
Phillips Exeter Academy Library
Kimbell Art Museum
ProjectsCenter of Philadelphia, Urban and Traffic Study

Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky) (March 5 [O.S. February 20] 1901 – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect. His career was set in Philadelphia.

He founded his own atelier in 1935. While continuing his private practice, he was 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.

Kahn's 1972 design for the Kimbell Art Museum uses narrow skylights and metal reflectors to spread natural light across curved concrete ceilings.

Kahn died of a heart attack on March 17, 1974 in a bathroom at Penn Station in Manhattan, aged 73.

References

  1. ↑ Paulus, Karin; Pesti, Olavi (23 November 2006). "Kus sündis Louis Kahn?" [Where was Louis Kahn born?]. EAA Architecture News (in Estonian). Eesti Ekspress. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  2. ↑ Van Voolen, Edward (30 September 2006). My Grandparents, My Parents and I: Jewish art and culture. Prestel. p. 138. ISBN 978-3791333625. Retrieved 23 July 2019. The Estonian-born architect Kahn (1901–1974), who immigrated with his family to Philadelphia in 1906
  3. ↑ "The Louis I. Kahn Building". Kimbell Art Museum. Retrieved 24 October 2026.
  4. ↑ Goldberger, Paul (March 20, 1974). "Louis I. Kahn Dies; Architect was 73". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2018.