Louis I. Kahn
(Kuressaare, 20 February 1901 – New York, 17 March 1974)
Born right on the cusp of Aquarius and Pisces, within the water-fish dialectic Louis Kahn can be best understood as Aquarius; as water bearer, force of the deluge. Kahn's architecture was governed by quest for a structural and mythic essentialism, a search for origin beyond the dream-like, creative meanderings of his zodiac counter part, the Pisces.
The Aquarian is bereft of a sense of humour however in its place lies an earnestness and sincerity. Aquarians lack the easy emotionality of Pisces. As a water bearer, they are both hostile yet life giving. Simultaneously cold and friendly, the Aquarian is socially charismatic coupled with the complexity of a dysfunctional personal/emotional life as seen in the plurality of Kahn's relationships with women. As an Aquarius Kahn was driven by humanist ambition, sacrificing the normalcy of domestic home life for his architectural idealism.
This Aquarian idealism is reflected in the social program of many of Kahn's projects notably his National Assembly Building in Bangladesh, and the Indian Institute of Management in India along with the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park. The Aquarian mind is driven by logic, reflected in Kahn's interest in structure and mathematics. With water as a neutral yet essential element, the Aquarius architect rejects the decorative and is instead driven by an adherence to the intrinsic structural and aesthetic properties of materials as generator of architectural form – Kahn's use of concrete and brick. This Aquarian interest attracted Kahn to the ruins of Rome.
Perhaps Kahn can be seen more as Spartan than a mystic; a warrior, winning wars in a very direct way – back to the Greeks always in architecture. Reducing things to basics is read in Kahn's use of light, where we see a reduction beyond the physical and into the realm of Greek Logos, the physical stripped down to a philosophical basic. Kahn, a Jewish Agnostic, possessed an interest typical of Jewish intellectuals of the period, in Egyptian and Sumerian culture coupled with an interest in the structure and mysticism of medieval scholasticism. This concern can also be read in Kahn's preoccupation with light as an element endowed with both physical and mythical dimensions. According to Freud, in Moses and Monotheism The Egyptian deity Aten (sun disk) was one of the main influences for the Jewish God and its departure into monotheistic religion; one god of life- giving force – perhaps an influence behind Kahn's mystic preoccupation with light. This search for meaning through an investigation of ancient mythology reflects the Aquarian as water element with their intrinsic interest in a search for the origin of life-giving forces and innate deep structural systems, both physically and mystically. Dan Graham, Jessica Russell
In the photo: Louis Kahn (from Domus 472, March 1969)
Jessica Russell studied and practiced art in Melbourne Australia, where she also worked in film and television before relocating to NYC in order to explore the possibilities of the grid and enjoy finer weather. She currently studies architecture at The Cooper Union. Of late she has been listening to a lot of Elvis.