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Louis I. Kahn: The Last Notebook - by Louis I Kahn & Sue Ann Kahn (Hardcover)
About this item
Highlights
- An intimate record of Kahn's musings on design, coupled with preparatory drawings of his monumental last projectPublished in honor of the 50th anniversary of his death in March 1974, this two-volume set contains a facsimile of the notebook in which Louis Kahn drew and wrote during his last year of life, alongside a second volume of scholarly commentary and transliterations of his musings.
- Author(s): Louis I Kahn & Sue Ann Kahn
- 192 Pages
- Architecture, Individual Architects & Firms
Description
Book Synopsis
An intimate record of Kahn's musings on design, coupled with preparatory drawings of his monumental last project
Published in honor of the 50th anniversary of his death in March 1974, this two-volume set contains a facsimile of the notebook in which Louis Kahn drew and wrote during his last year of life, alongside a second volume of scholarly commentary and transliterations of his musings. Anchored by a magnificent set of preparatory drawings for his monument to Franklin Roosevelt in New York City, the notebook provides an intimate glimpse into private sketches of Kahn's final projects and his poetic reflections on thematic preoccupations, such as "Silence to Light," "Form and Design," "Society of Rooms" and "Desire to Express." Each volume is in a vellum sleeve and both are housed together in a transparent slipcase.
Born in Estonia, Louis Kahn (1901-74) immigrated with his family to Philadelphia when he was four years old. Kahn received Beaux-Arts training at the University of Pennsylvania, under the French-educated Paul Philippe Cret, and then adopted his own idiosyncratic modernism, which would engender the heterogeneous "Philadelphia school." His architectural career did not take off until later in life; he attained his first major commission to design Yale University's Art Gallery in 1951. Upon its completion, Kahn received many international commissions, and he developed a signature style that was monumental, monolithic and transparent in its functionality. He was awarded the AIA Gold Medal and the RIBA Gold Medal.
Review Quotes
A remarkable creation...delivers an intimate reflection of, and connection to, an architect who could embed physical objects with deep feeling; carving out space, light and spirit.--Sam Lubell "The New York Times: Arts"
It would take a full 50 years for Kahn's last notebook to be reprinted -- meticulously, down to the selection of translucent paper and the empty pages that constitute the latter half of the notebook.--John Hill "World Architects"