Louis I. Kahn architectural records and personal papers, ca. 1908-1984.

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Louis I. Kahn architectural records and personal papers, ca. 1908-1984.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122491278

This collection comprises the entire professional archive of Louis I. Kahn, with the addition of personal materials. After Kahn's death, his estate faced substantial financial obligations, primarily wages and professional fees to consultants, and the decision was made to liquidate the assets of the firm. The entire archive was purchased in 1976 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and was placed on permanent loan to the University of Pennsylvania the following year. The trustees of the University assumed responsibility for making the collection available for scholarly research, exhibition and publication. After the projects still under construction at Kahn's death were brought to completion, documentation for those projects was donated to the Architectural Archives by Kahn's former associates. Personal materials were donated to the Architectural Archives by family and friends. Additional materials continue to be received. Architectural drawings in Kahn's own hand include sketches for his built works and also a large number of important designs for works which were never built. His professional writings, published and unpublished, document his personal philosophy of architecture and his perspective on the architecture and urban planning of his time. Substantial documentation is found in this collection for all Kahn's mature works. Materials may include preliminary sketches, schematic drawings, design development drawings, construction drawings, construction photographs, office files and models. In addition, the collection includes photographs of completed buildings by distinguished photographers. Kahn's archive contains drawings by his associates and employees; no attempt has been made to identify and index drawings by a particular associate or employee. Oscar Stonorov and George Howe were his associates for a number of earlier projects. Anne Griswold Tyng made substantial design contributions to several Kahn projects. The national capital of Bangladesh at Dhaka was completed by David Wisdom & Associates (David Wisdom, Henry Wilcots and Reyhan T. Larimer). The Yale Center for British Art was completed by Pellechia and Meyers (Anthony Pellechia and Marshall D. Meyers). Professional correspondence includes letters to and from major architects of Kahn's period. Correspondence has not been indexed. Personal materials include childhood sketches, travel sketches, personal and family photographs, drawing materials and drafting equipment. In addition, a small amount of personal correspondence is found mixed in with professional correspondence. The collection contains only one student drawing from Kahn's architectural education at the University of Pennsylvania.

Personal drawings ca. 6500 sketches.Office drawings ca. 40,000 sheets : various media.Notebooks and sketchbooks 10 v.Photographs ca. 15,000 photoprints.Models 100 items.Office files 148 cu. ft.Other personal materials 25 cu. ft.

University of Pennsylvania, Architectural Archives

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6733579

Related Entities

There are 19 Entities related to this resource.

Howe & Kahn.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6xh5c8d (corporateBody)

Pellechia and Meyers.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6wx34tr (corporateBody)

Kahn, Louis I., 1901-1974

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w616565t (person)

Louis I. Kahn was born in Estonia and raised in Philadelphia. He was trained in architecture in the Beaux-Arts tradition at the University of Pennsylvania under Paul Philippe Cret. As a mature architect, Kahn was distinguished from his contemporaries (in a period dominated by the International Style) by his unique personal philosophy of architecture and a style marked by a profound sense of history and pure geometry in design and the texture of materials in construction. His legacy is as much in...

University of Pennsylvania.

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In 1919 Edward Bushnell was appointed publicity agent for the University of Pennsylvania. His appointment began a long and expanding effort at public relations at the University. In 1954 the Department of Public Relations expanded its work to include two new units, Motion Picture Services and the Office of Radio and Television. These two offices operated until 1975 when they were phased out of a stream-lined department. From the description of University Film Collection, 1915-1989. (...

Howe, Stonorov & Kahn.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6n06t9z (corporateBody)

University of Pennsylvania. Graduate School of Fine Arts

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Davis Library (Phillips Exeter Academy)

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First Unitarian Church (Rochester, N.Y.)

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Salk Institute for Biological Studies

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Yale Center for British Art.

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Bryn Mawr college

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Howe, George, 1886-1955

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6dr3jtn (person)

Architect, Chair of the Dept. of Architecture at Yale University. Partner in the architecture firm Howe & Lescaze. From the description of George Howe papers, 1926-1974, (bulk 1926-1955). (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 505720125 ...

Stonorov & Kahn.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62v8361 (corporateBody)

Stonorov, Oscar, 1905-1970

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ng6k9w (person)

Oscar [Oskar] Stonorov (1905-1970), an architect and sculptor, emigrated to the United States from Germany in 1929 and settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the early 1930s. He was interested throughout his career in public housing and affordable housing for the working classes. His architectural associates included Alfred Kastner, Louis I. Kahn, George Howe, and Frank Haws. In addition to numerous projects in Philadelphia and the northeastern U.S., Stonorov was the designer of the Frank Lloy...

Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad

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David Wisdom & Associates.

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Kimbell Art Museum.

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Art museum; Fort Worth, Tex. From the description of Kimbell Art Museum records, 1961-1983. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 80335388 ...

Tyng, Anne Griswold, 1920-2011

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6988s9z (person)

Anne Griswold Tyng (July 14, 1920- December 27, 2011) was an architect and professor. She is best known for her three decade collaboration and partnership with Louis I. Kahn. Tyng graduated with a B. Arch from the Radcliffe-Harvard College (1942) and later received her Masters from Harvard Graduate School of Design (1944). She had the unique experience of being at the heart of three architectural movements: "Bauhaus Renaissance" at Harvard, Buckminster Fuller's exploration of innova...

Yale University. Art Gallery.

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