Architectural Misconduct 4 - Louis Kahn
Louis Kahn was an American architect, considered by many at the time of his death to be "America's foremost architect". He is best known for the Salk Institute, the Kimbell Art Museum, and the National Assembly Building in Dhaka. His designs are often monumental, with a focus on light, timelessness, and silence.
Kahn was born in present-day Estonia in 1901. As a child, enamored by the glow of the furnace, he attempted to grab hot coals in his apron, which lit aflame and caused permanent facial scars. His mother claimed that these scars were symbols of greatness. His family later moved to Philadelphia, where he showed promise in art and music. He was recognized as a very talented designer and artist early on in his education.
While his talent and style were undeniable, his business acumen was questionable. His professional trajectory was slow and precarious, partially due to the timing of his own practice overlapping with the Great Depression. He had little commercial success, frequently did unpaid work, and at the time of his death left his firm with approximately $3 million in inflation-adjusted debt. This lack of commercial success did not mean lack of reverence architecturally. Some of his most celebrated works, such as the National Assembly and the Salk Institute, were built in the last decade of his life.
Kahn was returning from a trip to India in 1974 when he used the men's restroom in Penn Station, collapsed, and died. The address on his passport was scratched out, which led the authorities to misidentify him. His body was unclaimed for three days. Some believe this was an accident or a way to escape his commercial failures. Or, in the opinion of his mistress Harriet Pattison, a way to abandon his life and live with her and their son Nathaniel.
This gesture would not be out of character, as his life was full of secretive romantic relationships. Kahn was legally married to Esther Israeli Kahn for 44 years. However, he maintained long-term relationships with two other women, both of whom he had children with. None of the children knew about each other until after his death. This triangulated life in the shadows was explored in Nathaniel Kahn's documentary My Architect.
In short: an obvious technical genius but business failure. Shadowy domestic relationships galore. Followed in the footsteps of Gaudi by being mistaken for a vagrant at the time of death.
