Quite a number of comprehensive books have been written about Estonian-born architect Louis I. Kahn (1901-74) but if I had to recommend just one this would be it: Robert McCarter’s eponymous monograph on the master, published by Phaidon in 2005 and in enlarged, expanded and updated version in 2022. McCarter, who has published monographs about such diverse architects as Alvar Aalto, Marcel Breuer, Aldo van Eyck and Carlo Scarpa, in the book provides a career-spanning narrative that follows Kahn from his upbringing in Estonia and Philadelphia to his unexpected death in 1974. Although McCarter’s text is a little dry at times it is, by virtue of its focus on the designs and their genesis, very well aligned with the rich pictorial material consisting of drawings, photographs and renderings of unbuilt projects. In this regard the case studies discussing key projects like the Salk Institute, the Yale Center for British Art or the Kimball Art Museum stand out as exemplary analyses of Kahn’s multi-layered architecture as well as his dealing with monumentality. Drawing upon rich archival material McCarter presents these projects from sketch to final building and also shows the changes they underwent in the process. Accordingly, the volume is warmly recommended to anyone seeking to take a deep dive into Louis Kahn’s fascinating oeuvre!
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