In the summer after my first year of school, I spent my free time sketching 2 Louis Kahn buildings: the Yale Art Gallery and the British Arts Center.
The British Arts Center was the first museum in America to have retail shops incorporated in the design. It is designed around a simple 10 x 6 grid of concrete columns spaced in 20'-0" bays. the museum is organized around 2 atriums, one at the 4 story void at the entry, and another 3 story void which the galleries wrap around in the interior. The material palette is simple, travertine marble, white oak, concrete, and belgian linen for the interior and glass, matte steel and concrete for the exterior.
The immaterial palette is more complex and mysterious: light, geometry, and space. Every wall in plan, section and elevation in the museum is carefully planned to land on some harmonious ancient golden ratio or double square dimension. In kahn's words, "A great building must begin with the unmeasurable, must go through measurable means when it is being designed and in the end must be unmeasurable."
If "Every building must have… its own soul", the British Arts Center's soul lies within the skylit rooms on the top floor which form a series of square rooms where the environment is simple and refined. "I Use The Square To Begin My Solutions Because The Square Is A Non-choice, Really. In The Course Of Development, I Search For The Forces That Would Disprove The Square..."
Like every Kahn building, the British Arts Center structure is hollow. Seemingly massive roof beams are actually hollow precast V-shaped concrete pieces. When assembled together, they contain air ducts and and conduits. Supported on the roof beams are layers of glass and louvers that allow diffuse daylight illumination. "The Sun does not realise how wonderful it is until after a room is made." "I sense Light as the giver of all presences, and material as spent Light. What is made by Light casts a shadow, and the shadow belongs to Light." "A room is not a room without natural light."
Kahn was entranced by light his whole life. At the age of three, he saw coals in the stove and was so captivated by the light of the coal that he put the coal in his apron, which caught on fire and burned his face. He carried these scars for the rest of his life.
In his architectural alchemy, Kahn let conduits and air flow through his British Art Center structure, let the light flow between the beams, while simultaneously letting the visitors flow between rooms while looking at the art. As i finished up my Kahn drawings that summer, i spoke with a fellow graduating student who was working on a research project on Kahn. He ended up giving me the entire drawing set and construction photos for the building. Enjoy.
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| model |
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| south elevation |
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| east elevation |
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| west elevation |
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| 20'x20' mockup |
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| roof top louver/light control |
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| Hollow v-shaped beam for ductwork and cabling |
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| V shaped beam being lifted into place |
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| Roof assembly structure. air ducts flow through the structure. |
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| East west section |
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| north south section |
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| section of top floor room |
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| construction photo top floor |
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| basement plan |
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| ground floor/auditorium plan |
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| 2nd floor plan |
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| 3rd floor plan. 10x6 arrangement of 20' structural bays |
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| structural roof plan showing v shaped beams |
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| elevations |
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| elevations |
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| north south section looking west |
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| interior wall sections |
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| roof details |
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| roof details |
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| stair details |
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| Stair details |
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| stair details |
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| basement section |
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| interior elevations |
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| atrium elevations |
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| office space |
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| office space |
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| office space interior elevations |
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| interior elevations |
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| interior elevations |
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| top floor interior elevations/sections |
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| top floor interior elevations/sections |
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| top floor 'pogo' moveable wall details |
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| interior partition details |
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| millwork details |
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| millwork details |
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| millwork details |
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| door schedule/flooring details |
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| door details |
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| window and panel details |
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| exterior details |
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| exterior details |
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| floor finish plans |
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| auditorium section |
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| photo lab details |
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| bathroom details |
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| shutter details |
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| reflected ceiling details - basement |
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| reflected ceiling plan ground floor |
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| reflected ceiling plan ground floor |
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| reflected ceiling plan 2nd floor |
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| reflected ceiling plan 2nd floor |
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| reflected ceiling plan 3rd floor |
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| reflected ceiling plan 3rd floor |
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| millwork details |
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| basement structural plan |
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| 1st floor structural plan |
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| 2nd floor structural plan |
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| 3rd floor structural plan |
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| 4th floor structural plan |
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| structural roof plan |
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| tunnel details |
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| stair details |
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| column schedule |
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| beam schedule |
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| stair details |
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| structural details |
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| structural details |
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| electrical plan basement |
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| electrical plan first floor |
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| electrical plan 2nd floor |
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| electrical plan 3rd floor |
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| electrical plan 4th floor |
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| electrical riser diagram |
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| electrical schedule and details |
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| mechanical plan basement |
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| mechanical plan first floor |
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| mechanical plan 2nd floor |
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| mechanical plan 3rd floor |
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| mechanical plan 4th floor |
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| mechanical plan roof |
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| lower mechanical plan |
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| upper mechanical plan |
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| mechanical room sections |
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| HVAC 3rd floor shaft plan |
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| HVAC 4th floor shaft plan |
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| shaft plan |
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| shaft plan |
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| shaft plan |
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| shaft plan |
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| plumbing plans |
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| plumbing riser diagrams |
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| site utility plan |
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| basement plumbing plan |
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| 1st floor plumbing plan |
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| 2nd floor plumbing plan |
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| 3rd floor plumbing plan |
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| 4tf floor plumbing plan |
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| roof plumbing plan |
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| 3rd floor fire protection plna |
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| 3rd floor fire protection plan |
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| conduit plans 3rd floor |
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| conduit plan |
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| conduit plan |
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| conduit plan |
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| conduit plan |
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| conduit plan |
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| conduit plan |
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| stair sections |
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| mechanical basement plan |
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| mechanical first floor plan |
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| mechanical 2nd floor plan |
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| mechanical 2nd floor plan |
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| mechanical roof plan |
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| shaft details |
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| shaft details |
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| stair details |
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| stair details |
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| beam details |
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| beam details |
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| elevator details |
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| stair details |
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| stair details |
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| stair details |
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| stair details |
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| conservation studio |
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| mechanical shaft details |
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| wall sections |
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| building section |
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| elevator details / miscellaneous sections |
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| 3rd floor plan |
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| elevator details |
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