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December 8, 2004
The AIA today handed its annual 25 Year
award to Louis Kahn’s Yale Center for British Art in
New Haven. The award honors architectural landmarks completed
at least 25 years ago that have stood the test of time.
Begun in 1973, Kahn’s Center, which
opened in 1978, is renowned as one of the legendary architect’s
finest structures. Built largely of concrete and white oak,
the restrained space uniquely employs natural light –
piercing the building through strategically-placed windows
and skylights – to create mystical, serene architectural
moments. The geometrical interior is designed around two courtyards,
one four story main entrance housing a huge concreted cylinder
concealing a spiral stair that dominates the library courtyard.
Subtle spatial interconnection allows for smooth circulation
and surprising glimpses into new areas. Elegance and warmth
are added with travertine flooring, linen wallcoverings, oak
woodwork and stainless steel panels and ducts. Meanwhile,
the exterior’s matte steel and reflective glass surface,
is highly sensitive to the elements: “On a gray day the
building looks like a moth; on a sunny day, like a butterfly,
just as Kahn predicted,” noted Louis R. Pounders, FAIA,
and James F. Williamson, AIA.
The building received an AIA Honor award
in 1978, prompting the jury to call it “a gentle urbane
masterpiece.” It houses the most comprehensive collection
of British art outside the United Kingdom. Kahn taught at
Yale from 1947 to 1957, before becoming the dean of the School
of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. Other significant
structures, most employing similar skillful manipulation of
natural light and exposed concrete forms, include the Kimball
Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas; the Salk Institute for Biological
Studies in La Jolla, California; the Phillips Exeter Library,
Exeter, New Hampshire; and the Yale University Art Gallery,
also in New Haven. Amazingly, all have won the AIA’s
25 year award, giving Kahn the most 25 year winners, 5, tied
with Eero Saarinen.
Sam Lubell
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