Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Lawrence Technological University

December 15, 2015

Kahn, Louis Isidore

Stevens, James (photograph)

American

Single Built Works

September, 2014

California (state)

La Jolla (neighborhood)

Modern (style or period)

office buildings

research laboratories

Salk, Jonas, 1914-1995

Exterior view of the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, designed by Louis Kahn and completed in 1966, with the ocean in the background. "... Louis Kahn believed buildings should be monumental and spiritually inspiring. In his design for the Salk Institute, he was successful in creating the formal perfection and emotional expressions that he so vigorously tried to achieve. Kahn was commissioned to design the Salk Institute in 1959 by Dr. Jonas Salk, inventor of the polio vaccine. Salk's vision included a facility with an inspiring environment for scientific research, and Kahn's design decisions created a functional institutional building that also became an architectural masterpiece. Before designing, Kahn referenced and studied monasteries in order to build his concept of an "intellectual retreat." With a prime location in La Jolla, California and bordering the Pacific Ocean, Kahn took advantage of the site's tranquil surroundings and abundant natural light. His scheme became a symmetrical plan, two structures mirroring each other separated by an open plaza,"--,"--AD Classics: Salk Institute / Louis Kahn, by Adelyn Perez, Arch Daily website.

reinforced concrete

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