Louis Kahn's work infused the International style with a fastidious, highly personal taste, a poetry oflight. His few projects reflect his deep personal involvement with each. Isamu Noguchi called him "a philosopher among architects." He was known for his ability to create monumental architecture that responded to the human scale. He also was concerned with creating strong formal distinctions between served spaces and servant spaces. What he meant by servant spaces was not spaces for servants, but rather spaces that serve other spaces, such as stairwells, corridors, restrooms, or any other back-of-house function such as storage space or mechanical rooms. His palette of materials tended toward heavily textured brick and bare concrete, the textures often reinforced by juxtaposition to highly refined surfaces such as travertine marble. He is often well remembered for his deliberation about the use of brick, on how it can be more than the basic building material: If you think of Brick, you say to Brick, ‘What do you want, Brick?’ And Brick says to you, ‘I like an Arch.’ And if you say to Brick, ‘Look, arches are expensive, and I can use a concrete lintel over you. What do you think of that, Brick?’ Brick says, ‘I like an Arch.’ And it’s important, you see, that you honor the material that you use. [..] You can only do it if you honor the brick and glorify the brick instead of shortchanging it. For Kahn, form did not necessarily follow function; nor did his projects celebrate all the new possibilities of industrial materials The Esherick House on Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia is a small, one-person, two storey box of stucco and stained timber that sits on six acres( aprox 2 hectare jumate) of established garden. Considered by some to be Kahn’s most important residential work, this deceptively simple residence contains forays into architectural trope(figura de stil, metafore, leitmotiv) that can be tracked in later, much larger works by the architect. Esherick House is one of the first residential designs constructed by Kahn after his return to the United States from Rome, having been appointed there member of the American Academy in 1953, illustrating his formal ideology. The Esherick house was commissioned by Margaret Esherick, single woman, niece of famed Philadelphia sculptor Wharton Esherick (1887–1970). The house features a complete, one of a kind, custom kitchen by Wharton Esherick, which is one of his last remaining intact interiors. Kahn and Wharton Esherick were close friends and had worked together in Kahn’s design of Esherick’s studio just outside Philadelphia. and is the first residence to illustrate his mature architectural ideals. The concrete block exterior of the house is stuccoed to give it a monolithic appearance. Light streams in the floor-to-ceiling windows. contemplative building simply constructed of warm beige concrete and natural Apitong wood. The approach features a planar composition with a textured mortar finish bisected by a strong vertical chimney. Vanduta in mai 2008-licitatie->expected to fetch $2-3 million. The material nature of the house— what it is and how it is made—is apparent at first glance: a private. Kahn united this architectural history with the modern present in a truly unique structure. By design. serene.The house stands as one of the most important houses realized by Kahn throughout his luminous career. the Esherick House is a true collectible work of art: smart. the organic and sculptural nature of the cabinetry is in definite contrast to the more linear geometry found in the rest of the house. Kahn’s use of pure geometry in the facades and interior spaces speaks to archetypal references that Kahn drew on throughout his body of work. The house has a simple design with a central lobby featuring a staircase and a lounge area with a fireplace. and has a great elegance in combination with wooden structures of the windows and doors. The general shape of this two-story house is rectangular. the Esherick House has thick walls that are cut to accommodate shelves or to embed windows aligned with the interior walls. The cubic layout of the interior of the two-story house is accented by beautiful Apitong wood and crisp textured white walls. conceptual. imbuing the intimate residence with a sense of monumentality. some flush with(acelasi nivel) the exterior and some windows are deeply inserted in the volume of the building. The house is a monument to Kahn’s rigorous vision . while keyhole windows framed with Apitong and placed at irregular intervals punctuate the front facade. Clarity and tranquility characterize the whole of Kahn’s work. Here. The facades are lined with windows. like in all his buildings. reflecting and refracting . and the Esherick house (1959-1961) is no exception. light and materiality are clearly expressed in the Esherick house. The floor plan reveals Kahn’s refined design of two symmetrical side-byside rectangles that allow for both openness and structural clarity.While both designers celebrate truth in materials. and transcending. Wright to Auction Master Architect Louis Kahn’s Esherick House on 18 May 2008 A celebration of light and materiality Kahn’s principles of geometry. There were two particularly ecstatic moments for me. and Mrs. the character and style of this house belongs to no era. staircase with its simple timber balustrade. The dining room overlooks the large private backyard that shares an edge with a pastoral park. the house is truly timeless.” Wright has commissioned artist Todd Eberle to create an original photographic essay that elaborately documents the Esherick house with Eberle’s exactness and astounding understanding of architectural spaces.500 square feet (233 m2) PROVENANCE Commissioned by Margaret Esherick. Burnap Post.throughout the open plan. The second was opening the shutter of the window in the library where knowledge and nature seemed to freeze into one image. totaling 2. one and a half bathrooms. The monolithic exterior in combination with the warm. As a student I was always mesmerized by its playful graphic geometry of the windows and the deceptive simplicity of its plan. The Esherick House is definitely one of Kahn’s most important works which defined lessons he’d go on to use in later projects. while the expansive bedroom and original walk-in closet mirror the craftsmanship and tranquility found throughout the house. which made me fully grasp Judd’s deep admiration of Kahn. Richard Wright.or Shaker-esque. founder of Wright auction house states: “We are thrilled to be offering Kahn’s Esherick House. custom Wharton Esherick kitchen and large double-height living room. and Mrs. the living room incorporates nearly ceiling high built-in bookcases within an impressive double-height space saturated with the natural light. which overlooks the living room.5 hectare) SPACE Two-story structure comprised of one bedroom. Todd Eberle notes: “Photographing Kahn’s Esherick house was the first time that I have seen such a clarity of space and volume since the early nineties when I photographed Donald Judd’s work in architecture in Marfa. thoughtful interior speaks to Kahn’s ability to create monumental structures with a humanist approach. As Kahn clearly intended. Japanese. As the house was designed for a book lover. The house is a monument to Kahn’s rigorous vision.” DATES 1959-1961 LOT SIZE .” The architect and 2006 Louis Kahn professor David Adjaye states. 1981 . 1964 Dr. dining room. “I had the great pleasure of visiting the Esherick House in the Spring of 2006. It was a real surprise to see the care and joy of the materials still very much intact and it being lived in as I’m sure Kahn would have approved. 1959 Mr. which is truly a jewel. Firstly was ascending the beautifully crafted. Robert Gallagher.6 acres ( aprox 2. Their primary purpose is to allow the flow of light while permitting views to the beautiful surrounding landscape.HONORS -Landmark Building Award. Kahn's fusion of materials. Kahn breaks the boundaries of the box in only two instances. American Institute of Architects. A kitchen of wood and copper was created for the house by Wharton Esherick. is true to his geometrically simple style which allows more emphasis to be placed on lighting and environmental context. Kahn's open floor plan allows natural light to penetrate every corner through the floor-to-ceiling windows. the interior walls are primarily white to accentuate the richness of the wood. natural Apitong wood with manmade beige concrete. rests on a lively six acre garden. The living room features built-in bookshelves that stretch up to the ceiling of the double-height space. The house is noted especially for its spatial organization and for the ventilation and natural lighting provided by its unusual window and shutter configuration. circulation. monolithic composition is punctured by an irregular pattern of windows. The two story dwelling. The 2500 sq feet (230 sq m). Designing the residence for a book lover. both of which are chimneys that symmetrically protrude from opposite ends of the dwelling. which is one of only nine private houses designed by Kahn to come into realization. The very orthogonal. the windows hint to the contents of the internal double height spaces. Philadelphia chapter. 1992 -Landmark Building Award from the Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1992 -added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 2009. this is the first residence of its kind to convey the grand ideas of Kahn-style architecture. As is common in many styles of architecture. When experienced from the outside. The primary building material is concrete block with stucco facing Spatial organization .[3] single-bedroom house is a flat-roofed. dining areas. -The house was inducted into the Chestnut Hill Architectural Hall of Fame in 2015 Admired for it's spatial and luminous qualities. rectangular solid with its long side facing the street. revealing the warm interior. A staircase that is reminiscent of Japanese architecture overlooks this living room space. a nationally known craftsman and artist. and living room. His seemingly simple floor plan can be further analyzed into four strips which house the service spaces. they are kept closed in winter. occupied on the ground floor by the Wharton Esherick designed kitchen. which stands apart from the house itself. In the living room.[10] The two-story windows in front have a T shape that also appears in other Kahn designs. notably the Tribune Review Publishing Company Building.) The Esherick house is organized into four alternating served and servant spaces. All the plumbing of the house is in this strip. creating a high wall that provides a sense of protection against the weather. these windows provide a degree of privacy on the ground floor and openness on the upper floor. the bathtub is located not in the area with the toilet but in an adjoining area that contains a fireplace. but they are accompanied by shutters for ventilation. the bookshelf at the front is divided in half by two narrow wooden shutters. all of which are set in alcoves.[8] The most prominent served space is the two-story living room that occupies all of the house to the right of the front door. the side with the living room. Like the living room. the bedroom runs the full width of the house from front to rear. This strip also contains the house's stairway and a gallery at the top of the stairs that overlooks the living room To the left of the front door is a served space occupied by the foyer and dining room on the ground floor and the bedroom on the upper floor. bathrooms. .Kahn often divided his buildings into what he called served spaces (primary areas) and servant spaces (corridors.[7] The side wall of the house to the right of the front door.[9] On the upper floor. one atop the other. Because there is no glass behind the shutters. laundry area and closets. etc. for example. The adjacent servant space is a thin communication strip that contains the front and back doors plus the two balconies above them.[3] The bathtub has a sliding wooden cover that can be pulled over it to convert it into a seating area beside the fireplace Windows and shutters[edit] Each side of the house has a window and ventilation configuration that is distinctly different from that of the other three sides. The side wall contains a deep fireplace. Most of its front wall is occupied by a built-in bookcase (Margaret Esherick was a bookseller)[3] that reaches up to the horizontal window at the second story. which in this case are parallel two-story strips that run the full width of the house between front to back. They cannot be opened. has a single tall. thin window above the fireplace that frames the chimney. At the far left of the house is the remaining servant space. and on the upper floor by a bathroom. a utility room converted into an adjunctive kitchen space and a half bath. The house is naturally ventilated and lit with sun light that streamed in through big wooden frame windows and the light is reflected by the beautiful Apitong wood and shiny white walls that make up the interior of this house. The resulting deep window recesses have a moderating effect on sunlight and ventilation. interior. Overall. The living room and dining room are more openly designed with big windows on sides. one window directly above the other. and light. material. The overall simple geometric form designs of the house and its apparent use of material created static and clean spaces that offer comfort and is ready for all kinds of human activities. four shutters per stack.[7]:93 On both sides of each pair of these large windows are two-story stacks of shutters. They also reach from the bottom of the house to the top. most of the back wall seems to disappear. creating an elaborate set of possible connections between indoors and outdoors. The house takes bennefits from using the simplicity in form and space designs with a humanist approach that is really ideal for the dwellers. one window per floor. The house is almost equally divided into two rectangular spaces. This window cannot be opened. this masterpiece by Louis Kahn clearly demonstrated the cooperation between the principles of simple geometric forms and spaces. bathrooms and kitchen are hidden on the other side of the house that protect privacy. where as all the bedrooms. With the shutters open. the side with the kitchen downstairs and bathroom space upstairs. structure and so forth. This monumental structure has a bold exterior that is made of simple and complete forms of concrete.The window. permits only narrow glimpses through it. It has four large single-pane windows arranged in pairs. One pair serves the two-story living room and the other serves the space with the dining room downstairs and the bedroom upstairs. dining room and bedroom are lined with bookshelves and other structures that create an effective wall thickness of over two feet (60 cm). but also shows the attention that architect payed in the well collaborated fundamental elements such as the form. [5]:160 This house not only serves greatly for its dwellers. Each pair creates a nearly uninterrupted expanse of glass reaching from the bottom of the house to the top. However. This also creats a openness for the interior of the house to welcome the sun light coming in and becomes a part of the . the house does not lose the comfort as a home with its thoughtful interior. The rear of the house faces a garden adjacent to a wooded public park. and when all of the shutters and doors at the back of the house are open. use of light and space. has a variety of small windows that can be opened for ventilation. These windows cannot be opened. and they can be opened and closed in any combination. the living and dining rooms have a completely open view into the back yard. which is not much wider than the chimney. exterior. and there are no shutters on this side of the house. They are provided with cloth roll shades for protection against the sun. The side wall to the left of the front door. The insides of both the front and rear walls of the living room. . His architecture has always kept away from fancy decorations and complicated forms or spaces. 1ST FLR Servant: Kitchen – Laundry – Washroom Served: Dinning – Foyer Serving: Circulation – Stairs Served: Living Room (open to above) 2ND FLR Servant: Dressing Room – Washroom – Storage Served: Bedroom Serving: Circulation – Stairs Served: Open to Living Room below in his ArchiTakes blog post “House Rule 3 – Design from a Diagram” . This simple organizational pattern allows Kahn to organize his architectural program into “chunkable” groups of operational and psychic functions concomitant with his Beaux-Arts training and his personal philosophical aspirations to obtain purely architectural rooms. Instead. Kahn has always emphasized his design on the nature of material with cooperation of natural light and simple geometry.house. The Esherick House is one of Louis Kahn’s most important works which created a very distinct style that clearly reflects his vision as one of the greatest architects of the 20th century formation of the concept: As a revolutionary master in architecture during the 20th century. he uses the nature of the material he has chosen to make up the characteristics of an architectural design. While he maintains his monumental and monolithic style. Continuing his understanding of architecture. David Holowka points out the rhythm of Serving/Served/Serving/Served as abab or narrow/wide/narrow/wide. and clear presentation of the material. he designed the Esherick House. he wanted this house to be a warm and comfortable home for the dwellers with the embrace of light and clear open spaces that create freedom. associates the upside down Tau cross present in the “The Hanged Man” card with the symbol of Resurrection after death. This inspirational dogma may be linked to his appreciation of mystic doctrines such as Taoism and Kabbalah and is reflected in his parallel concepts of measurable and immeasurable. The front is composed of “T” shaped windows. The monolithic stucco and plaster reflect the geometric perfection and coldness of the male mind. I cannot afford to ignore it despite the risk of running into a symbolic trap. This is easily demonstrated by the shapes of the window openings. these allow light to seep through the top of the “glass lintels” and wash the ceiling of the rooms with soft indirect light. The windows at the back of the house are capable of being fully opened and lead onto the private expansive land in the backyard. This openness insinuates a relationship of potentially complete trust towards the personal microcosmic nature located on the owner’s property. the external joints of the balcony slabs and the small concrete bench outside the kitchen chimney on the East side.The Served/Serving paradigm also serves to conglomerate the subset of simple and complex spaces. the active female principle acknowledging the inherent life of the structure. The male/female principles can be found in the materials of the house. This distinction is akin to the usage of Craftsmanship (female/bodily) to accentuate a cold and rational Modernism (male/mind). Whether or not he is conscious of its symbolism is unknown. a symbol of transfiguration. but seeing as he was interested in religious mysteries. Male/Female Materials A large part of Kahn’s philosophy relies on the ideas of balancing dualism such as dark/light and male/female. The Tau cross can also be seen as a primal male phallic symbol. The T shapes are reminiscent of primal masks looking out to the outside world with caution and signals an attitude of vigilance. The great occultist Arthur Edward Waite. Served spaces are spared of technical or functional complexities and Serving spaces celebrate their own functionalism and intricacy. who designed one of the most symbolically celebrated tarot decks (Rider-Waite). Tau Cross The Tau cross or T shape is present throughout Kahn’s design of the house. . This complementary relationship could also be seen from a male/female perspective with the front Tshaped windows representing the male organ and the open back windows representing the opened female element. Private/Public The front and back of the house are direct reactions to their functions as a façade to the public or private realm. sacrifice and surrendering. The Tau can be seen in the window shape. The warm curvacious wood can be seen as a manifestation of the anima. he had a tendency to get his female employees pregnant and ignore the resulting children. By creating a circulatory “cross ventilation”. Klaus-Peter Gast directly associates the Esherick house form to the Square Root Rectangle represented by a ration of √2:1 or 1:1. it is interested to note some of its attributes. Signs of rifts and displays of sexual inequality can be surmised from personal Kahn’s life. Walls Breathing Light By this point in his career (1959-1961). particularly around the main beam and its single rail post. He uses techniques that he acquired through experimentation on previous buildings to manage light infiltration. the thickness of the wall will act as a louver create indirect reflections. Circulatory Crossing A particular preliminary drawing reveals the dotted outline of implied circulation corridors and a side detail reveals the initial conceptual inspiration for the central walkway: A pedestrian road crossing. This does indeed seem to be one of the hidden rules of the design process. Incorporate “T” shaped windows to provide an indirect overhead light source and a human scaled vertical slice for peeking outside while maintaining privacy. a simpler variation of the golden ratio’s application. Hypothetically.This “female” chimney reads differently in three dimensions. Kahn’s concern with light has matured and he is now aware of the importance to preventing glare when using sun powered luminous openings. The articulation may have been a space to cleanly store wood for the interior chimneys. Geometric Order In Louis I. but this generally falls outside the current scope of my investigation. This could reflect a tendency to attribute a more chaotic and disorderly attribute to women as well as the traditional attribution of servanthood to woman. Kahn was eventually able to slice and contain the served spaces into clean and unbroken units. His main strategies are: Create a thick exterior wall. Give occupant control of most window openings through the use of wooden shutters or blinds. It is also most functional and has the characteristics of a serving space. . if this is to be considered the female part of he facade. Male/Female analogies in details The male/female interlocking is found throughout the other details in the house. This side of the building is filled with the most disorderly arrangement of windows of all the exterior walls. but it preserves the analogy of a void. The rectangle is generated by swinging the diagonal of a square. despite his marriage with children. Kahn: The Idea of Order.414. The bathroom and walk-in closet adjacent to the bedroom as well as the first floor kitchen light up automatically. Throughout his career. Serving spaces are entire rooms reserved for utilitarian elements such as piping. enacting the rituals of the morning. Made of : . the kitchen stands out as a complex and lovingly handcrafted gem. Served spaces are pure rooms with no distractions. Margaret Esherick’s uncle took no shortcuts in designing and crafting a fully customized wood kitchen storage system. The feeling is transposed on the first floor. the strange Tau is reminiscent of a primal mask. The sun gives the gift of visibility to the eyes and enables then to see shapes. the linear signature of the sun creeps around the chimney to grace the walls with its dying diffracted spectralities. Plato likens the concept of Good from the Intelligible world of Forms to the sun of the Visible Worlds. In “The Republic“. From the outside. the fireplaceequipped bathroom and the expansive single bedroom suggest a refined female opulence. duct work. the top of the T window act as a light shelf and provide a soft illuminating glow to the ceiling’s edge. Khan used natural light in every room if possible. In the private quarters of the second storey. its utilitarian humanity to its grandiosely “useless” spirituality. Despite his appreciation for the qualities of natural light. Plato would’ve been please by Kahn’s usage of sun light in his rooms and their theories are harmonious. On the inside. Kahn had a very useful theory regarding served and serving spaces. The solar evening terminates around the fireplace in the living room. the walk-in closet. a T shaped window slides between the wooden bookshelves allowing light in while preserving privacy. the sun is a giving source of light. Margaret Esherick. In the case of the Esherick house. he has established an tested various methodologies in an attempt to deal with sunlight’s nefarious effects. he believed that only the light of the sun could give life to a room and make it truly “architecture”. It is perhaps the secret heart of the residence as it is one of its warmest and most personalized spaces. The cycle leaves the house silent with darkness and points to the bedroom as the next point of solar renewal. the sun’s equivalent is Good. As the day progresses the main served spaces are filled with a flurry of photons. Light At dawn the sun creeps through the utility spaces of the West side. once again expressed through it’s serving spaces. the division is quite clear in plan view. In the ineffable Intelligible world. electricity wiring. washrooms. On the wall facing the front of the house. Through the sun’s path.Lifestyle Kahn’s architectural layout suggests the simple and ordered lifestyle of a successful and cultured book seller. appliances. it is undistractedly enjoyable. In the human (Visible) world. The double height living room is one of the most served rooms of the house. This creates an espace that is both comfortable and functional (despite the terrible electrical lighting strategy).” In this manner. the house can be experienced from its Eastern serving to its Western served spaces. The house has no room a child’s bedroom extension and suggests the life of a single woman who enjoys a private comfort and is knowledgeable of the art of hosting guests. Once the architectural purity of the living and dining room are acknowledged. It is seen as the “source of reality and truth which gives which gives intelligibility to objects of thought and power of knowing to mind. growth and life. Wharton Esherick. he understood that is needed to be managed in order to prevent visual glare and heating issues. etc. ” . In the Esherick House. the two mediums demonstrate strikingly different. which he studied in the 1950s: “Greek architecture taught me that the column is where the light is not. while the concrete provides a sense of strength and stability that lends it a reassuring feeling of refuge from the outside world. light. but so much when it comes to thermal control. while concrete reminds us of impersonal factories and remote. To make a column which grows out of the wall and which makes its own rhythm of no-light. The house also reveals the direct physicality of materials that is consistently found in Kahn’s work. For example. The thick walls may be great for sound insulation and solidity. the fireplace wall is literally deep. kitchen. closets which are not part of the axial symmetry of the two major living spaces. It is a matter of no-light. But together. This combination of materials subtly suggests that we can find comfort and strength together. Kahn´s archetypical forms go back to Greek architecture. The walls receiving the beam are made of CMUs. The opposite wall in plan also has a fireplace used in the bathroom. but the wall is thicker containing a zone of servant spaces. In each there seems to be a larger-scale building trying to escape from the confines of the client's budget. yet remarkably complementary virtues. being exterior load bearing walls. An intentionally limited external palette of stucco. Key Buildings of the Twentieth Century Volume 2: Houses 19451989. light: that is the marvel of the artist. light. A column and a column brings light between them. we associate oak wood with Victorian smoking rooms and dusty. suggest a flow of space from void to room to altar. futuristic buildings. bathrooms. light. minimally transformed and manipulated in a craft manner rather than by being overtly machine produced. and the space between is where the light is. concrete and stained timber is extended inside with stained timber and plaster the being most contributive to a set of sophisticated spaces. ancient libraries. In the double-height living room. and then between bedroom and bathroom.. no-light. In the plans. The most intricate planning occurs on the first floor where the sliding doors between the gallery and bedroom." — David Dunster.The actual wall is made of CMUs (Concrete Masonry Units). All these materials are ancient. p52-53. built in 1959. The wood gives the space a warmth and domesticity that makes the house a good place for a bookworm. the inherent monumentality of the plan is diminished by the fact that the major living spaces are surrounded by very thick walls. Usually. the exterior is coated in stucco and the interior in plaster. Kahn especially liked to cleverly juxtapose unexpected materials like concrete and oak. the staircase in apitong (a teak-like African timber) was constructed by a Japanese joiner to Kahn’s design which seemingly combined aesthetic strains from both the Japanese and the Shaker traditions. no-light. The two window walls are also thick but these frame walls with alcoves or niches between the casements. Esherick House Commentary "Kahn built relatively few houses. as he did in his Esherick house. this is represented as 10″ walls (1″ stucco + 8″ CMU + 1″ plaster). Freda Parker. and this crumpled mass called material casts a shadow. and contrasts heavily with the warmth of the wood interiors. at night. the mountains and the streams and the air and we. In her stead. and the shadow belongs to Light. and material’s purpose is to cast a shadow. hired Kahn to design an addition.However. Kahn designed the house in such a way that even without any furniture. the house does not feel empty. A prospective buyer. Margaret Esherick lived in the house for only a few months before her death from pneumonia at the age of 43. are made of Light which has been spent. Burnap and Janet Post purchased the home from the Esherick estate. Each façade responds to its orientation and has a direct relationship to elements in the interior Current owner Lynn Gallagher describes the house as an “almost spiritual” place.” For him. light was also a central element in Kahn´s philosophy because he regarded it as a “giver of all presences”: “All material in nature. The spaces are always filled with light even when the sun isn’t out. light is the maker of material. . The exterior envelope is made of stucco faced concrete block. the house glows outwardly to the landscape. but it remained unbuilt when Parker withdrew her bid.