Approach Towards Building Façade Design from the Perspectives of Louis I Kahn Shubhi Vaid 1 and Gireendra Kumar2 1, 2 Department of Architecture and Planning, MNIT Jaipur, Jaipur, {[email protected], [email protected]} @MNIT Jaipur

Abstract: Louis I Kahn spent his entire career in need to find an ‘order' that could bring silence into the light. His buildings characterized the quality of timelessness while embracing silence and light. This paper mainly focuses on the theories given by Louis I Kahn and how those can be interpreted and implemented in the present context of building facade design. He said, "Architecture is an art you can walk around and be in." He wanted to create monumental spaces with the essence of spirituality and function. Kahn was considered ‘universalist' and ‘humanist' in his approach as his works are based on a logical system of theories and relationships between ‘form',' ‘structure', ‘scale', ‘light' and ‘shadow'. The unique geometrical abstraction in his façade helped him to create a distinct approach towards building design. The paper explores how various conceptual theories of Kahn are linked to his works especially of the Indian Institute of Management in (1962-74) and the National Capital Complex in (1962-83).

Keywords: Building facade, Monumentality, Window Opening, Daylight.

1. Introduction "Louis I Kahn wanted was a mystery, a sense of majestic and ambiguous scale, of function transcending into awe. It is totally, as it were, outside time – has escaped time as a ruin does – containing within it, as always, the sublime." (Gusheh, M., 2013). The paper explores his journey of thought resulting in the formation of various theories towards façade design along with implication in the present context. According to him, an architect should build a building that not only serves its function but also creates a space that makes the user aware of its presence. He didn't want to simply create a building but rather, a sculpture with ‘spaces' in it. His buildings always had the essence of spirituality with a reflection of past architecture of building design through the use of innovative construction techniques. Architecture design evolution inspired him to develop his perspective for a distinct design of buildings. This directed him to build monolithic structures and bold openings represented as perfect examples for interpretation of the past in the era of .

The review of his work journey is highlighted in this study. His journey was inspired by many architects, which helped him in the evolution of his thoughts and further lead to the emergence of various design theories. Kahn wanted to create structures which are monumental yet functional to the need of its present user. His search of monumentality led to the origins of Roman and Greek architecture which further led to understand the importance of ‘form', ‘structure', ‘space' and most importantly ‘light' in a building. Various philosophies such as ‘Served and Servant Spaces', Silence and Light' and ‘Ruins of ' developed by Louis I Kahn lead to a new outlook for architecture. Kahn's philosophies had different subjective jargons that lead to the development of various interpretations about his buildings. His works show excellent geometrical abstraction, façade opening, and unique construction techniques that make his buildings monumental in nature as well as emphasize the importance of light in a building. He tried to explain the relation of light with the function of the building in his design perspectives that could provide a unique experience to the user.

Revisiting the Role of Architecture for 'Surviving’ Development. 53rd International Conference of the Architectural Science Association 2019, Avlokita Agrawal and Rajat Gupta (eds), pp. 421–430. © 2019 and published by the Architectural Science Association (ANZAScA). 422 Vaid S. and Kumar G.

The study elaborates the relationship between his theories and building openings especially of the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad (1962-74) and the National Capital Complex in Bangladesh (1962- 83). He believed that "architecture began with the making of a room" and "the room is not a room without natural light". Various interesting openings can be seen in his buildings at and Ahmedabad. These geometrical openings are one of the reasons that make a space monumental. Further, the study shows how Kahn used these openings as a method to bring change in the modern architectural era by using the innovative design approach for façade development of modern buildings with the essence of monumentality.

2. Kahn’s Design Journey 2.1. Beaux-art and Classicism Kahn started his architectural journey from the University of (a leading university in Beaux-Arts tradition). This style emphasized, "the study of Greek and Roman structures, composition, and symmetry, and the creation of elaborate presentation drawings" (Black, 2007; Rabifard, M., 2011). It focused on the masses of historical buildings, the nature of material, composition and using it in the present context. "Beaux-Arts design depended on the regular breaking and disguising of axes in order to preserve the freshness of their organizing effect" (Brownlee D, De Long D, 1991; Rabifard, M., 2011).

Kahn believed that contemporary and modern architecture should have remanence of Classicism as it perfectly defines the proper rational composition that can be used to make better structures. Paul Cret, one of the professors at the University of Pennsylvania had a great influence on Kahn's architecture. He believed in theories of "Structural Rationalism by Viollet-Le-Duc and De Baudot" and "The Classicism of Durand's Permutative System". He tried to link these two theories by building a façade with the combination of Greek and Roman structures without compromising the material characteristics.

Kahn became an ardent follower of the beaux-arts style. He always remained true to his principles even as the majority moved towards the modern era of architecture. He was deeply intrigued by the use of light, material, scale, and geometries in historical structures during his visit to Rome and Greece, which greatly influenced his teachings and approach. He used to trace the lines of Greek and Roman structures to find hidden geometries, which could be used in modern structures with innovative techniques. During his years of teaching, he emphasized on the sketches. Sketches reflect the understanding of scale, light, and geometry. He teaches "appropriateness" (, 1974; Rabifard, M., 2011).

2.2. Influence of architects was at its glory in the mid-twentieth century, looking forward to a new beginning without traces from the past. Many famous architects like Le Corbusier, , and Mies Van Der Rohe left huge marks in the era of modernism. Louis I Kahn who was one of the few architects of that era with a different approach. Yet, he was greatly influenced by these architects; one of them was Le Corbusier. During Kahn's entire career, he looked up to him. He always thought about Le Corb's opinion on his buildings. (Louis Kahn, 1972; Rabifard, M., 2011). Kahn greatly admired Le Corb for his understanding of scale, composition, masses, materials and his zeal to create architecture that not only serves its function but also to fulfill the user's emotional and psychological needs. In the same way, Kahn spoke about his ‘form' and ‘order'. Architecture for Kahn was not just a need but also an order between the thoughts and reality. (Namazian, A., Mehdipour, A., 2012).

Other architects such as F.L. Wright and Meis Van Der Rohe might have influenced Kahn on some of his theories. Scully defined the similarities between his works with other architects. (Namazian, A.; Mehdipour,

Approach Towards Building Façade Design from the Perspectives of Louis I Kahn 423

A., 2012). For Kahn "Architecture comes from making of a room" and Wright believed in "the room to be expressed on exterior as space enclosed” (Wright, 1928, p.168) (fig.2). Their respect for the material, abstract composition and use of masses in their buildings is quite similar but still different. Their similar ideologies were expressed through different approaches. Kahn appreciated abstract forms but that extracted from historical forms instead of a completely new composition of the modern era where the only motto was not to refer the past. (Coulter, G., 2015).

2.3. Trip to Europe After his graduation, Kahn visited many places and sketched almost all the structures during his expedition. His trip to Europe in 1950-51 proved a turning point in Kahn's life where he realized the importance of "monumentality in the regulation of architecture" (McCarter, 2005) and "use of shadows and light" in buildings. Later he developed his theories of light and shadow, which he called "Silence and Light". After coming back from Rome, he wrote "Our stuff looks tinny compared to it and all the pure forms have been tried in all variations." (Kahn, 1951; Rabifard, M., 2011). He felt the need to understand the ideas and approaches to create spaces and compare them with modern principles and objectives.

Earlier works of Kahn showed the reflection of traditional modernism before his journey to Europe. Later, he tried to develop an order to "redefining the use of structure, light, form, and space." (UKEssays, 2018). Kahn was in the search of a new "beginning", where one builds a new life instead of a building, a spiritual resource blended with monumentality. He studied how scale, form, and light can create a monumental space from the remains of Greek and Roman structures. The use of light in Pantheon from Oculus, the scale of Baths of Caracalla and pure form of Pyramid – all these structures taught him to create sustainable monumentality. "Monumentality for Kahn involved the enigmatic, the eternal, and the timeless – it could not be the goal of architectural thinking, but more the outcome of architecture's use." (Coulter, G., 2015). He used past examples to understand the relationship between monumentality, scale, light and shadow. The dual nature of shade was to provide natural cooling and serve as a medium between light and structure. Thus, Kahn's architecture highlighted the innovative use of light and shadow in his buildings with the use of geometric openings that reflect the reminisce of historical architecture.

3. Design Theories and Approach Kahn was one of the few architects whose works show the progression of thoughts. If we deeply study his buildings according to the timeline, we will find his understanding of the relationship between form and structure led to the development of various theories. These theories mainly focus on light entering into the building. Further, vital relationships such as (1) Servant and served spaces, (2) function and geometry, (3) form/structure and geometry, (4) structure and form; is always present in his buildings. (Rabifard, M., 2011). For Kahn architecture is not just building with functional space according to needs of the user but an amalgamation of form, function, structure, geometry, light and shadow to build a space. However, to understand these relations we need to understand some terms, which were constantly used by Kahn while explaining his buildings. 3.1 Terms 3.1.1 Order Kahn designs revolve around "order", a guiding principle to create structures. Order is a variable between thoughts and reality. For Kahn, it was a filling gap between art and architecture, between subconscious and culture. It was all the tangible and intangible condition in the design process. Lobell explained order for Kahn in two ways. He explained it with the statement "what brick like?" irrespective of its nature, properties and

424 Vaid S. and Kumar G. cost. Similarly, "What does this building want to be?" irrespective of physical boundaries. A second way, what is the background or history of building and spaces in a particular place, an order which already exists in the society in the name of culture, traditions or rituals. (Lobell, 1979; Rabifard, M., 2011).

Figure 1: L. Kahn, on the creation of Form, 1960 Figure 2: L. Kahn, drawing for City/2 exposition: [Tyng 1984, p. 30; Desvaux,N., Tordesillas, A. The Room, 1971. Louis I. Kahn Collection; (2017)]. Desvaux,N., Tordesillas, A. (2017).

3.1.2 Form and Design Kahn was always intrigued by how thoughts come to reality, how immeasurable can be converted into measurable. It leads to the development of certain theories that explain how ideas are converted into ‘form', ‘form' into ‘design' and ‘design' into ‘space'. "Form is what, Design is how. The form is impersonal, the design belongs to its producer.” (fig.1) The design depends upon different aspects such as cost, availability of material, client preferences, etc. whereas a form is the harmony of spaces to fulfill the function. (Kahn 1962; Desvaux, N., 2017).

3.1.3 Space and Monumentality For Kahn space also held a different meaning. It was something with the spiritual quality defining the light at every point of time, space leads to monumentality. Kahn defined monumentality as space which cannot be defined but only felt, "a spiritual quality" which reflects the quality of "timelessness". (Kahn, 1944; Rabifard, M., 2011). In the pantheon, the oculus controls the light in such a way that light reaches the altar in the morning and moves towards the other altar during the afternoon. By being in such spaces we feel the presence of the building and such architecture is referred "timeless" by Kahn.

3.2. Served and servant spaces After analyzing the Greek and Roman structures Kahn always questioned himself: how to bring natural light, mechanical supporting system and monumentality in a space without hiding any of them instead complementing each other. Kahn used to call all the mechanical supporting systems such as air conditioning ducts, elevators, store areas as servant spaces as they serve the main areas which are served spaces. He considered all these serving spaces as useful as the served spaces and always gave a distinct identity to these

Approach Towards Building Façade Design from the Perspectives of Louis I Kahn 425 spaces. He used to place the serving space around the served areas which lead to blockage of light entering into a building but also created a new opportunity to bring light into served spaces. Kahn believed in building the character of the space. (Namazian, A., Mehdipour, A., 2012). The character of the space was defined by the need for light in the space according to its function. Kahn believed that no space was, architecturally, a space unless it has natural light. In Philips Exeter Academy Library, the diagonal braces are used upon the central space to bring light and support the structure. The character of the space is a community meeting place, the space wants to be magnificent to its users which led Kahn to build large circular voids in walls unified by the diagonal bracing on the top.

3.3 Silence and Light "I sense light is the giver of all presences and material as spent light. What is made by Light casts a shadow belongs to light." (Louis I Kahn). For Kahn shadow is as important as light. He developed the theory of "silence and light". Authors have different interpretations upon this theory, due to lack of objective explanation. Few author's explanation was purely conceptual while others tried to connect his theories to ruins of Greek and Roman. The silence was considered as the thoughts inside mind while the light was the design, the product of thoughts in physical form (fig.4). A school of thought considered that Kahn wanted to create buildings in which the silence reflected the institution of place. To move from silence to light, there was the threshold where "order" sits. (fig.3) (order explained in the above paragraph) Another school of thought considered silence as the indoor spaces or the form of the building and light as outdoors which were connected by the medium called "openings". These opening were referred to like the spaces between one column and another, windows, doors, skylights, etc. through which we experience the outside world by being inside the building. These openings in Kahn's architecture reflected the ruins of Rome and Greek structures. commented on Kahn's work that, he could have used glass but due to the presence of order in his building he successfully created void in thin brick walls representing the roman architecture (Scully, V., 1993) referring to the buildings of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and National Assembly Building, Dhaka.

Figure 3: L. Kahn, Silence and light, 1972 (Tyng 1984, p. 135; Desvaux, N., Tordesillas, A. 2017). Figure 4: Chart showing LIK Design philosophy (Drawn by Author).

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3.4 Ruins of Rome Kahn used "skins", a wall around the main structure, as a division between indoors and outdoors which acted as the threshold to cut direct glare but allowed light into the building. Kahn used to put a wall in front of a window to avoid glare but provided cutout in the wall to receive light and view. (Gusheh, M., 2013). Scully coined the term "Ruins of Rome" to explain the façade or skins with the pure geometric void wrapped around the building in hot and dry climate to protect the building from direct sunlight as well as to explain the coolness of shadow. These geometric voids were derived from "superimposition of circles" (Park, J., Baldanchoijil, G., 2014) of Greek and Roman architecture. These ruins enhanced the user experience with the play of shadow and light, unconcealment and concealment. Kahn said "I thought of the beauty of ruins … the absence of frames … of things which nothing lives behind … and so I thought of wrapping ruins around buildings." Kahn deliberately created a façade with pure shape void as these pure forms cannot be outdated, such shapes were timeless which made his architecture monumental. The shapes were derived from triangles of the pyramid, Vitruvius theory of square and circle. These theories reflected the richness of Roman and Greek architecture which inspired Kahn. He tried to put together the geometry and structure to put forth his order (openings) in front of the user. (Curtis, W.J. R., 2012). Kahn always prioritized characteristics of a place over function. The curved arches in IIM Ahmedabad acted as the medium for cool air as well as block glare before entering the building, which is much more to just serve the function of the space. (Coulter, G., 2015)

In 1964, Kahn first used the term "ruins" for his buildings. Tyng explained the term ruin as "It was the freedom from the servitude of performing the practical function for which it was designed, freedom to fully express its spirit or form essence." (Tyng, 1984). Gusheh further explained ruin as the critical line between past and present, which was free to interpretation but reflected the difference of opinion between past and present. (Gusheh, M., 2013). The buildings in Ahmedabad and Dhaka were "beyond function" wrapped around ruins. Such buildings were called timeless "because they carry out a determined function, but because they permit other functions. Finally, because they permit everything that is unforeseeable in life." (Ibid.,113; Gusheh, M., 2013). The buildings were the hollow shells punched with the circles and triangles, which are hard to date. They were abstract as well as open to interpretation irrespective in which era they exist, like every opening in his building has its interpretation and derivation which are free from the measure of time. Scully commented that "Kahn's use of the ruin is not only visual, it is also conceptual, structural, and systematic." Visual as the void on the panel walls, conceptual due to their relation with his theory of silence and light related to Roman and Greek architecture. Its structural that made them look like built deformed due to their large voids, for example the concrete lintel placed to support the brick arches and systematic because of their "delineation and radical separation of building parts” (Gusheh, M., 2013).

4. Geometrical abstraction for openings As we can see the "openings" played an important role in Kahn's designs, so he tried to give distinct identity to each one of them like the cycloid arches in , geometry of squares and circles in buildings of Ahmedabad and Dhaka, triangular roof of Art Gallery and so on. He realized the metaphysical effect of light in the building. The quantity and quality of light entering into the building mattered to him. The façade developed by Louis I Kahn in IIM, Ahmedabad and National Assembly building, Dhaka were quite complex in their underlying principles of the geometry of circles and squares. These circles and squares were juxtaposed on the façade. These openings are not only placed on flat surface but on the curved walls also. They broke the dullness and strictness and brought out the dynamic visual in the façade. (Park, J., Baldanchoijil, G., 2014). Park tried to explain the mathematical geometry of the unique façade of Kahn. He called the whole process as "Superimposition of Circles" under which he had taken a unit circle, a modular unit for the whole geometry (fig.5). Circles were superimposed on one another with related scales

Approach Towards Building Façade Design from the Perspectives of Louis I Kahn 427 making a different opening on different levels of buildings in the façade. These opening can be a connecting corridor on one level or a window on another. This method of Kahn can be used in the development of the façade in the present time. It showed various possibilities to create unique openings according to its function at different levels. These are not only function-specific but also monumental in its way, as they explain its own story.

Figure 5: The Geometric construction of façade of passage that links between the classroom and library block (Park, J., Baldanchoijil, G., 2014). Certain examples of openings are used to explain the geometry of circles and squares from IIM Ahmedabad and National assembly Dhaka. (Park, J., Baldanchoijil, G., 2014). Example 1: Design of Façade that links passages between the classroom and the library block around the inner courtyard. (Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad). The façade is made of 3 concentric circles, C1, C2 and C3 (fig.5). The corridor in the middle floor is taken as the base length that is predecided. The square for the corridor is circumscribed by the circle i.e. C1. C1 is taken as the unit circle. Each circle used is proportional to the unit circle i.e. C1:C2: C3 = 1:1.5:2.5. The length of the square is equal to the top chord in circle C3 cut by extended line L1 and L4. L2 and L3 are the midpoints between L1 and L as well as L and L4. These lines cut an arch in the circle C3 with the square window below it and on the floor above the corridor. A small arch is cut with the intersection of L2 and L3 with the circle C2. The two square windows are cut below the corridor with the reference of the above

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square. Such geometric combinations are used to create a variety of opening on each floor with their unique shape. (Park, J., Baldanchoijil, G., 2014).

Example 2: The opening on the round walls of Hostels for the Ministers of Government in National Assembly, Dhaka. This opening is placed on the curved wall. These curved walls are the screen walls. The space between the wall and the main building acts as the diffusion chamber for the hostels. Here C1 is the unit circle (fig.6). A point O1 is taken as the intersection of two-unit circles from which circle C2 is drawn. The ratio of C1:C2 = 1:2.5. Another circle C3 is drawn similarly with the ratio with a unit circle as, C1: C3 =1:1.5. Then chords are drawn from the intersection of two-unit circles. Such openings are created on the "skins" on a huge scale to give the idea of "ruins".

Figure 6: Construction of geometric opening on the round walls of Hostels for the Ministers of Government (Park, J., Baldanchoijil, G., 2014).

5. Conclusion Kahn's quest to find order led to drastic changes in his life. After 1950, Kahn started to apply his theories in his buildings which led his career to a better path. Much like the beauty of ruins is appreciated centuries later, Kahn's contributions were acknowledged much after his unfortunate sudden death. Kahn's approach to façade design is very unique and connected to climatic factors to a great extent. These approaches can be used to make better buildings in the present and future. The superimposition of circles is based on pure geometry but its scale is what makes the difference. Kahn's buildings are more than functional needs. The mass of brick walls cut open by brick arches supported by concrete lintels is greater than the conventional

Approach Towards Building Façade Design from the Perspectives of Louis I Kahn 429 practices of R.C.C. beam and column in terms of structure, light, and quality of space. He wanted to create monumental buildings with efficient light and shadow. These buildings possess the spiritual quality where one can feel the silence of the structure and feel one with the building. The theory of silence and light majorly focused on the light in the building whose presence can be detected only because of darkness and shadows. Kahn created openings that cut glare but light reached inside the buildings for functional purposes in an innovative way. These openings created a play of light in the most geometrical way inside the building. They brought the light inside the structures which reflect the time during a day. His buildings are combinations of vernacular and technical architecture. He binds together the cultural and social aspects of a place with the function of light in the building. All his theories help in one way or another like served and servant spaces talk about planning, silence and light talk about the importance of light in building and monumentality and Ruins of Rome talk about façade development. Kahn's approach is quite useful for beginners or students of architecture to understand the relationship between the scale, light, and geometry to create a façade. He found a way to create monumental spaces without disturbing the function of the building through these facades. These façades can be applied to any type of building, whether residential, community space or institutional building. He succeeded in creating an "order" for building design.

Acknowledgements The Authors are grateful to MNIT Jaipur for infrastructure support for writing this review paper.

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