To appreciate the meaning of Kahn’s work, and to make it accessible to a wider audience, in the spring
of 2013 the Vitra Design Museum will open the long-awaited retrospective, “Louise Kahn. The Power of
Architecture.” Here, numerous discoveries are brought to light: in Kahn’s travel sketches, for the urban
planning of Philadelphia, in respect to his collaboration with renowned engineers, and especially the
vital role of nature in his work, both in terms of design and embedding his architecture in the land-
scape. The exhibition is not limited to fresh historical developments in Kahn’s work. Countless inter-
views with contemporary architects were conducted, to capture Kahn’s reception and its historical
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including Renzo Piano, Mario Botta and Peter Zumthor, but also younger players such as Sou Fujimoto
and Alejandro Aravena.
“LOUIS KAHN - THE POWER OF ARCHITECTURE” WILL BE SHOWN FROM 8 SEPTEMBER 2012 TO 6 JANUARY 2013 IN THE NETHERLANDS ARCHITEC-
TURE INSTITUTE IN ROTTERDAM. FROM THE 23 FEBRUARY TO 11 AUGUST 2013, IT WILL BE OPEN AT THE VITRA DESIGN MUSEUM, AND FINALLY
AT SELECT INTERNATIONAL MUSEUMS. ALONG WITH THE EXHIBITION A CATALOGUE HAS BEEN PUBLISHED INCLUDING, AMONG OTHERS,
AUTHORS STANISLAUS VON MOOS, NEIL LEVINE AND WILLIAM J.R. CURTIS. THE CATALOGUE IS AVAILABLE AT WWW.DESIGN-MUSEUM.COM OR IN
BOOKSTORES. MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EXHIBITION AND CATALOGUE CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.DESIGN-MUSEUM.DE.
Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, USA, 1959 – 65
© THE ARCHITECTURAL ARCHIVES, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA,
PHOTO: JOHN NICOLAIS
VITRA DESIGN MUSEUM
