Louis Kahn

Louis Kahn was born in Kuressaare in a Russian empire. In 1905 his Jewish family immigrated to the United States. He was raised in Philadelphia as a naturalized citizen May 15, 1914. When he was three years old he was burned on his face by hot coals and had scars for the rest of his life. He lived in a Jewish ghetto where he had barely enough to eat. His father changed his name to a more German sounding last name because of anti-Semitism. His father said he would be better off dead from the accident when he burned himself. His early life was bad, but he still enjoyed it. He was influenced by Paramount, which he later moved to Pennsylvania. He loved the city life in Philadelphia that’s where he came up with his later designs. He was picked out by public schools that moved him in his career. He then entered the university of Philadelphia.
Later Life
He trained in Beaux-Arts tradition he learned to draw at University of Pennsylvania. He completed his master’s degree in 1924; one year later he was a chief designer for sesquicentennial exposition. In 1947 he became a teacher for a decade at Yale. His teaching helped him develop his own concepts and to show his definition of design. His work was linked between modern and classical architecture. Louis Kahn had black and white illustrations in his book. He was a great writer and had great speeches. He died of a heart attack in the Penn station bathroom in New York. He crossed out his home address on his I.D. card for reasons unknown. He just came back from a trip in India it was almost like he knew he was going to die. Louis Kahn has made thirteen buildings. His buildings were not as unique as others, but they still had a feel to them. Louis Kahn was a humanitarian. He believed that humans could perfect life and do that through architecture. He traveled Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and The Indian subcontinent.