Author Description

This condensed edition of Louis I. Kahn: In the Realm of Architecture is a definitive and richly illustrated volume that presents the oeuvre of one of this century's most influential practitioners, teachers, and thinkers in architecture. Here is the detailed account of the architecture and philosophy of Louis Kahn, whose buildings have become the very signature of the modernist aesthetic and whose vision permanently changed the direction of American architecture.Kahn's career is documented here with meticulous attention to all aspects of his work-- from his own fascinating biography to the unique philosophy that underlies his buildings to the structures themselves. The stunning range of Kahn's architectural vision becomes fully apparent: his structures are at once solemn and resonant, elemental and musical. Extraordinary, exclusively commissioned color photographs of his masterworks-- the Yale Center for British Art, the National Assembly complex at Dhaka, Bangladesh, the Kimbell Art Museum, the Indian Institute of Management, the Salk Institute-- exquisitely demonstrate how Kahn's architecture wholly reinvents space and light. In all, more than two hundred illustrations, including numerous drawings and floor plans, accompany the painstakingly researched text.This volume-- published in association with the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and with the exclusive participation of the Louis I. Kahn Collection-- contains six principal essays that critically address different dimensions and periods of Kahn's architecture. The essays and photography are accompanied by succinct notes and captions, as well as a complete list of buildings and projects and an index, making this book the preeminent scholarly and illustrative source for Kahn's architecture.