His work is often described as monumental because of its scale, geometries, and presence.
He was also a master of material and lighta characteristic highlighted by his often simple forms and geometric moves.
These decisions often led to spiritual experience.
From left to right: Salk Institute for Biological Studies Axis, Salk Institute for Biological Studies Building, Kimbell Art Museum, Phillips Exeter Academy Library and Dining Hall, and Four Freedoms Park
For Lou, every building was a temple, explained David Rinehart, an architect who worked under Kahn.
Salk was a temple for science.
Dhaka was a temple for government.
Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla in San Diego, California, U.S. (Photo:Stock Photosfrom Mark Roger Bailey/Shutterstock)
Exeter was a temple for learning.
Kahn developed his most important architectural principles when he was in his 50s.
It was at this point that he turned away from some of the teachings of theInternational Style.
Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla in San Diego, California, U.S. (Photo:Stock Photosfrom Shawn Kashou/Shutterstock)
Kahn met a tragic and mysterious end in a bathroom in New York Penn Station.
Though he built many influential projects, he was in debt at the time of his passing.
you could learn more about Kahns architecture and life in a film created by his son, titledMy Architect.
Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. (Photo:Stock Photosfrom Aneese/Shutterstock)
Here are five incredible projects by Louis Kahn.
Kahn imagined a campus made up of three sections: meeting/conference, residences, and laboratories.
Kahns creative use of landscape and symmetry make for an almost spiritual atmosphere on the campus.
Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. (Photo:Stock Photosfrom Aneese/Shutterstock)
Salks design celebrated the beauty of La Jolla.
Kahn designed 16 vaults of 100 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 20 feet tall.
The true beauty of the museum is in its skylights that create perfect ambient lighting for the artwork.
National Assembly Building of Bangladesh in Dhaka, Bangladesh (Photo:Stock Photosfrom PixHound/Shutterstock)
It has been described as one of the most beautiful spaces ever built.
The intent of the project shifted dramatically while Kahn was designing it as Bangladesh declared independence from Pakistan.
With this change, the National Assembly Building had to symbolize democracy, hope, and civic pride.
National Assembly Building of Bangladesh in Dhaka, Bangladesh (Photo:Stock Photosfrom PixHound/Shutterstock)
One common criticism of modernist architecture is that it does not respond to context.
Kahns design for this modernist building is a true exception to this criticism.
He celebrated Bengali design by creating modernist forms out of local materials and constructed them following traditional building processes.
Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island in New York, New York, U.S. (Photo:Stock Photosfrom Audley C Bullock/Shutterstock)
In 2010, construction work began on the four-acre park.
Copper beech trees stand at the entrance of the monument.
Kahn described the monument as a room and a garden.
Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island in New York, New York, U.S. (Photo:Stock Photosfrom turtix/Shutterstock)
The procession is found in the park and the speech can be found in the exterior room.
It is carved in the shape of a massive circle that reveals multiple levels of the library.
The outer bricklayer is relatively modest compared to the dramatic interior geometries.
Phillips Exeter Academy Library and Dining Hall in Exeter, New Hampshire, U.S. (Photo:Stock Photosfrom 2_D/Shutterstock)
The Exeter Library is a perfect example of Rineharts description of Kahns architecture being a temple.
Students who enter the project are introduced to a temple for learning.
