Architecture is the thoughtful making of spaces. It is the creating of spaces that evoke a feeling of appropriate use. Louis I.

Kahn Kahn was trained in the Beaux-Arts tradition at the University of Pennsylvania under Paul P. Cret and he worked at Cret's office in 1929-30. In the 1930s and 40s he came close to the radical ideas of Buckminster Fuller and Frederick Kiesler He defined space by means of masonry masses and a lucid structure laid out in geometric, formal schemes and axial layouts with a strong processional character of space and images, an approach that derives from the Beaux-Arts tradition. Kahn's architecture also projects a strong emotional quality, a nostalgia for the lost ancient world which is infused into his severe masonry. Kahn was resolute in his philosophy that architecture is the thoughtful making of spaces whose design can and should simultaneously reveal the story of their construction and meet the aesthetic and functional needs of the people who inhabit them. He believed strongly that architecture should appeal not only to practical and aesthetic needs but also to the humanistic needs of the people and communities it serves. He was continually striving to create spaces that evoked a sense of spirituality, a sense he felt was lacking in the built environment of that time Buildings were not inert configurations of form and space but living organic entities, created by the architect for human use

. Three Phase Theory of the Creative Process - Louis Kahn

For Kahn it was natural light that brought architecture to life; the artificial light had an unvarying "dead" quality in contrast to the ever-changing daylight. Kahn saw architectural elements, such as the column, arch, dome, and vault, in their capacity of molding light and shadow. In 1939, Kahn rejected the simple-minded, if socially committed, functionalism in favor of an architecture capable of transcending utility. Geometry in his work Kahn used many different shapes and lines to create his masterpieces. However, among his most famous creations, he seems to favor both parallel and perpendicular lines. Through his bold technique, he created streamline, radical, and futuristic looking buildings. His stile is his own, and his creations are legendary, through the use of geometry, he has created both beautiful works of art, and useful establishments, for the whole world to enjoy.

"> Kahn designed a project for the Philadelphia City Hall (1952-7) in association with Ann Tyng. In this project Buckminster Fuller's influence was prevalent. The basic concept was of a geodesic skyscraper, stabilized by tetrahedronal concrete floors ("a vertical truss against the wind")

In 1954, in his Yale Art Gallery the frame is concealed while emphasis is placed on the monumentalization of walls, floors, and ceilings. The main orthogonal volume is animated by a cylindrical form housing the major access stair. Here, the cylinder is the "servant" and the rectangle the "served" form. This asymmetrical architecture depends no longer (as in Mies) on the manifestation of structure as frame but rather on the manipulation of surface as the ultimate agent for the revelation of light, space and support Said to be Kahn s first significant commission. Uses many bold lines, both parallel and perpendicular, to make a statement. In this amazing creation, he uses hollow tetrahedral concrete ceiling and floor slab system, which accommodate the mechanical and electrical systems. .
In 1962, he designed the National Assembly Building in Dacca Bangladesh (1962-74) as a dense, multilayered, concentric agglomeration of walled spaces clustered around the central Assembly Chamber: press offices, secondary meeting hallls, and a mosque (slightly off-axis to face Mecca). The minor units are also multilayered, admitting light through geometric cutouts in their solid, forbidding walls which suggest an austere, overpowering image of a fortress enclosed by rings of walls and towers. Kahn in his mature work used masonry (especially reinforced concrete) almost exclusively for their massive, rugged qualities. In this he was inspired by Le Corbusier's late style. Le Corbusier's "brise-soleil" became in his hands freestanding perimetric screens. Kahn wrote about this: "I thought of the beauty of ruins . . . of things which nothing lives behind . . . and so I thought of wrapping ruins around buildings."

In 1959, he designed the First Unitarian Church at Rochester New York (1959-63). The basic concept of the church was of the central sanctuary as the place where questions were generated. A corridor and a school were arranged around the sanctuary in concentric fashion. The final design consisted of two concentric cubes with four towers attached at the four corners which admitted light and diffused it (or "softened" it) making the space appear radiant

In 1957, Louis Kahn created a world-wide reputation with the Richards Medical Research Building (1957-61) of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The brick walled shafts which form the exhaust chimneys for the glasswalled laboratories are reminiscent of the image of the defense towers in a medieval city or an Italian hilltown. At the Richards Laboratories one of his principal ideas was the distinction between "served and "servant"spaces. The glass-walled workrooms are "served" by separate, freestanding brick chimneys. Each "served" space has its independent structural frame with a complete set of supports and its own source of natural illumination. The problematic aspect of Kahn's method lay exactly in this issue, as to whether or not the overall form was typologically justified. The subsequent difficulties encountered in using the building would suggest that it was not.

I firmly realize that the architecture of Italy will remain as the inspirational source of the works of the future. Those who dont see it that way ought to look again. Our stuff looks tinny compared to it and all the pure forms have been tried in all its variations. What is necessary is the interpretation of the architecture of Italy as it relates to our knowledge of building and needs. I care little for the restorations (that kind of interpretation) but I see great personal value in reading ones own approaches to the creation of space modified by the buildings around as the points of departure. Louis Kahn