Louis Kahn's work infused the International style with style with a fastidious, highly personal taste, a poetry of light. His few projects reflect his deep personal involvement with each. Isamu Noguchi called Noguchi called him a philosopher among architects. He was known for his a!ility to create monumental architecture that responded to the human scale. He also was concerned with creating strong formal distinctions !etween served spaces spaces and servant spaces. spaces. "hat he meant !y servant spaces spaces was not spaces for servants, !ut rather spaces that serve other spaces, such as stairwells, corridors, restrooms, or any other !ack#of#house function such as storage space or mechanical rooms. His palette of materials tended toward heavily te$tured !rick and !are concrete, the te$tures often reinforced !y ju$taposition to highly refined surfaces such as travertine mar!le. He is often well remem!ered for his deli!eration a!out the use of !rick, on how it can !e more than the !asic !uilding material% If you think of &rick, you say to &rick, "hat do you want, &rick() *nd &rick says to you, I like an *rch.) *nd *nd if you say to &rick, Look, arches are e$pensive, and I can use a concrete lintel over you. "hat do you think of that, &rick() &rick says, I like an *rch.) *nd *nd it)s important, you see, that you honor the material that you use. +.. -ou can only do it if you honor the !rick and glorify the !rick instead of shortchanging it.
For Kahn, form did not necessarily follow function; nor did his projects celebrate all the new possibilities of industrial materials he /sherick House on 0hestnut Hill in 1hiladelphia is a small, one#person, two storey !o$ of stucco and stained tim!er that sits on si$ acres2 apro$ 3 hectare jumate4 of esta!lished garden. 0onsidered !y some to !e Kahn)s most important residential work, this deceptively simple residence contains forays into architectural trope2figura de stil, metafore, leitmotiv4 that can !e tracked in later, much larger works !y the architect. /sherick House is one of the first residential designs constructed !y Kahn after his return to the 5nited 6tates from 7ome, having !een appointed there mem!er of the *merican *cademy in 89:;, illustrating his formal ideology. The Esherick house was commissioned by Margaret Esherick, single woman, niece of famed Philadelphia sculptor harton Esherick !"##$%"&$'() !"##$%"&$'() The house features a complete, one of a kind, custom kitchen by harton Esherick, which is one of his last remaining intact interiors) Kahn and harton Esherick were were close friends friends and had worked together in Kahn*s Kahn*s design of Esherick*s Esherick*s studio studio just outside outside Philadelphia)
hile both designers celebrate truth in materials, the organic and sculptural nature of the cabinetry is in definite contrast to the more linear geometry found in the rest of the house)
he house has a simple design with a central lo!!y featuring a staircase and a lounge area with a fireplace. he general shape of this two#story house is rectangular. he facades are lined with windows, some flush with2acelasi nivel4 the e$terior and some windows are deeply inserted in the volume of the !uilding. &y design, the /sherick House has thick walls that are cut to accommodate shelves or to em!ed windows aligned with the interior walls. he concrete !lock e$terior of the house is stuccoed to give it a monolithic appearance, and has a great elegance in com!ination with wooden structures of the windows and doors. The house is a monument to Kahn*s rigorous +ision )The house stands as one of the most important houses realied by Kahn throughout his luminous career, and is the first residence to illustrate his mature architectural ideals) the Esherick -ouse is a true collectible work of art. smart, conceptual, serene, and transcending)
/anduta in mai 0''#1licitatie12e3pected to fetch 4015 million) Wright to Auction Master Architect Louis Kahn’s Esherick House on 18 May 2008 A celebration of light and ateriality Kahn*s principles of geometry, light and materiality are clearly e3pressed in the Esherick house, imbuing the intimate residence with a sense of monumentality) The material nature of the house6 what it is and how it is made6is apparent at first glance. a pri+ate, contemplati+e building simply constructed of warm beige concrete and natural 7pitong wood) 8larity and tran9uility characterie the whole of Kahn*s work, and the Esherick house !"&:&1"&"( is no e3ception) The approach features a planar composition with a te3tured mortar finish bisected by a strong +ertical chimney, while keyhole windows framed with 7pitong and placed at irregular inter+als punctuate the front facade) The floor plan re+eals Kahn*s refined design of two symmetrical side1by1 side rectangles that allow for both openness and structural clarity) 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) -ere, like in all his buildings, Kahn united this architectural history with the modern present in a truly uni9ue structure) The cubic layout of the interior of the two1story house is accented by beautiful 7pitong wood and crisp te3tured white walls)
throughout the open plan) 7s the house was designed for a book lo+er, the li+ing room incorporates nearly ceiling high built1in bookcases within an impressi+e double1height space saturated with the natural light) The dining room o+erlooks the large pri+ate backyard that shares an edge with a pastoral park, while the e3pansi+e bedroom and original walk1in closet mirror the craftsmanship and tran9uility found throughout the house) =ichard right, founder of right auction house states. >e are thrilled to be offering Kahn*s Esherick -ouse, which is truly a jewel) The monolithic e3terior in combination with the warm, thoughtful interior speaks to Kahn*s ability to create monumental structures with a humanist approach) 7s Kahn clearly intended, the character and style of this house belongs to no era; the house is truly timeless)? The architect and 0''
A had the great pleasure of +isiting the Esherick -ouse in the Bpring of 0'') 7s a student A was always mesmeried by its playful graphic geometry of the windows and the decepti+e simplicity of its plan) At was a real surprise to see the care and joy of the materials still +ery much intact and it being li+ed in as A*m sure Kahn would ha+e appro+ed) There were two particularly ecstatic moments for me) Firstly was ascending the beautifully crafted, Capanese1 or Bhaker1es9ue, staircase with its simple timber balustrade, which o+erlooks the li+ing room) The second was opening the shutter of the window in the library where knowledge and nature seemed to freee into one image) The Esherick -ouse is definitely one of Kahn*s most important works which defined lessons he*d go on to use in later projects)? right has commissioned artist Todd Eberle to create an original photographic essay that elaborately documents the Esherick house with Eberle*s e3actness and astounding understanding of architectural spaces) Todd Eberle notes. >Photographing Kahn*s Esherick house was the first time that A ha+e seen such a clarity of space and +olume since the early nineties when A photographed @onald Cudd*s work in architecture in Marfa) The house is a monument to Kahn*s rigorous +ision, which made me fully grasp Cudd*s deep admiration of Kahn)? @7TEB "&:&1"&"
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#Landmark &uilding *ward from the 1hiladelphia chapter of the *merican Institute of *rchitects in 8993 #added to the 1hiladelphia 7egister of Historic 1laces in 3<<9. #he house was inducted into the 0hestnut Hill *rchitectural Hall of =ame in 3<8:
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he house is noted especially for its spatial organi>ation and for the ventilation and natural lighting provided !y its unusual window and shutter configuration. * kitchen of wood and copper was created for the house !y "harton /sherick, a nationally known craftsman and artist. he 3:<< s? feet 23;< s? m4,+; single#!edroom house is a flat#roofed, rectangular solid with its long side facing the street. he primary !uilding material is concrete !lock with stucco facing
Spatial organization
Kahn often divided his !uildings into what he called served spaces 2primary areas4 and servant spaces 2corridors, !athrooms, etc.4 he /sherick house is organi>ed into four alternating served and servant spaces, which in this case are parallel two#story strips that run the full width of the house !etween front to !ack.+@ he most prominent served space is the two#story living room that occupies all of the house to the right of the front door. Aost of its front wall is occupied !y a !uilt#in !ookcase 2Aargaret /sherick was a !ookseller4+; that reaches up to the hori>ontal window at the second story. he side wall contains a deep fireplace. he adjacent servant space is a thin communication strip that contains the front and !ack doors plus the two !alconies a!ove them, all of which are set in alcoves. his strip also contains the house's stairway and a gallery at the top of the stairs that overlooks the living room o the left of the front door is a served space occupied !y the foyer and dining room on the ground floor and the !edroom on the upper floor. Like the living room, the !edroom runs the full width of the house from front to rear. *t the far left of the house is the remaining servant space, occupied on the ground floor !y the "harton /sherick designed kitchen, a utility room converted into an adjunctive kitchen space and a half !ath, and on the upper floor !y a !athroom, laundry area and closets. *ll the plum!ing of the house is in this strip.+9 Bn the upper floor, the !athtu! is located not in the area with the toilet !ut in an adjoining area that contains a fireplace.+; he !athtu! has a sliding wooden cover that can !e pulled over it to convert it into a seating area !eside the fireplace
Windows and shutters +edit /ach side of the house has a window and ventilation configuration that is distinctly different from that of the other three sides.+8< he two#story windows in front have a shape that also appears in other Kahn designs, nota!ly the ri!une 7eview 1u!lishing 0ompany &uildingC these windows provide a degree of privacy on the ground floor and openness on the upper floor. hey cannot !e opened, !ut they are accompanied !y shutters for ventilation. In the living room, for e$ample, the !ookshelf at the front is divided in half !y two narrow wooden shutters, one atop the other. &ecause there is no glass !ehind the shutters, they are kept closed in winter, creating a high wall that provides a sense of protection against the weather.+D he side wall of the house to the right of the front door, the side with the living room, has a single tall, thin window a!ove the fireplace that frames the chimney, which stands apart from the house itself.
he window, which is not much wider than the chimney, permits only narrow glimpses through it. his window cannot !e opened, and there are no shutters on this side of the house. he side wall to the left of the front door, the side with the kitchen downstairs and !athroom space upstairs, has a variety of small windows that can !e opened for ventilation. he rear of the house faces a garden adjacent to a wooded pu!lic park. It has four large single#pane windows arranged in pairs, one window directly a!ove the other, one window per floor. Bne pair serves the two#story living room and the other serves the space with the dining room downstairs and the !edroom upstairs. /ach pair creates a nearly uninterrupted e$panse of glass reaching from the !ottom of the house to the top. hese windows cannot !e opened. hey are provided with cloth roll shades for protection against the sun.+D%9; Bn !oth sides of each pair of these large windows are two#story stacks of shutters, four shutters per stack. hey also reach from the !ottom of the house to the top, and they can !e opened and closed in any com!ination, creating an ela!orate set of possi!le connections !etween indoors and outdoors. "ith the shutters open, the living and dining rooms have a completely open view into the !ack yard, and when all of the shutters and doors at the !ack of the house are open, most of the !ack wall seems to disappear. he insides of !oth the front and rear walls of the living room, dining room and !edroom are lined with !ookshelves and other structures that create an effective wall thickness of over two feet 2E< cm4. he resulting deep window recesses have a moderating effect on sunlight and ventilation. +:%8E<
This house not only ser+es greatly for its dwellers, but also shows the attention that architect payed in the well collaborated fundamental elements such as the form, e3terior, interior, use of light and space, material, structure and so forth) This monumental structure has a bold e3terior that is made of simple and complete forms of concrete) -owe+er, the house does not lose the comfort as a home with its thoughtful interior) The house is naturally +entilated and lit with sun light that streamed in through big wooden frame windows and the light is reflected by the beautiful 7pitong wood and shiny white walls that make up the interior of this house) The house is almost e9ually di+ided into two rectangular spaces) The li+ing room and dining room are more openly designed with big windows on sides, where as all the bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen are hidden on the other side of the house that protect pri+acy) The o+erall 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 acti+ities) D+erall, this masterpiece by
house) The Esherick -ouse is one of
7s a re+olutionary master in architecture during the 0' century, Kahn has always emphasied his th
design on the nature of material with cooperation of natural light and simple geometry) -is architecture has always kept away from fancy decorations and complicated forms or spaces) Anstead, he uses the nature of the material he has chosen to make up the characteristics of an architectural design) 8ontinuing his understanding of architecture, he designed the Esherick -ouse) hile he maintains his monumental and monolithic style, and clear presentation of the material, 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)
1ST FLR •
6ervant% Kitchen F Laundry F "ashroom
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6erved% Ginning F =oyer
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6erving% 0irculation F 6tairs
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6erved% Living 7oom 2open to a!ove4
2ND FLR •
6ervant% Gressing 7oom F "ashroom F 6torage
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6erved% &edroom
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6erving% 0irculation F 6tairs
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6erved% Bpen to Living 7oom !elow
in his ArchiTakes !log post “House Rule 3 – Design from a Diagram” , Gavid Holowka points out the rhythm of 6erving6erved6erving6erved as abab or narrowwidenarrowwide. his simple organi>ational pattern allows Kahn to organi>e his architectural program into chunka!leJ groups of operational and psychic functions concomitant with his &eau$#*rts training and his personal philosophical aspirations to o!tain purely architectural rooms.
he Served/Serving paradigm also serves to conglomerate the su!set of simple and complex spaces. Served spaces are spared of technical or functional comple$ities and Serving spaces cele!rate their own functionalism and intricacy.
Priate!Pu"lic he front and !ack of the house are direct reactions to their functions as a faade to the pu!lic or private realm. his is easily demonstrated !y the shapes of the window openings. he front is composed of J shaped windows, these allow light to seep through the top of the glass lintelsJ and wash the ceiling of the rooms with soft indirect light. he shapes are reminiscent of primal masks looking out to the outside world with caution and signals an attitude of vigilance. he windows at the !ack of the house are capa!le of !eing fully opened and lead onto the private e$pansive land in the !ackyard. his openness insinuates a relationship of potentially complete trust towards the personal microcosmic nature located on the owner)s property. his complementary relationship could also !e seen from a malefemale perspective with the front # shaped windows representing the male organ and the open !ack windows representing the opened female element.
#ale!Female #aterials
* large part of Kahn)s philosophy relies on the ideas of !alancing dualism such as darklight and malefemale. his inspirational dogma may !e linked to his appreciation of mystic doctrines such as aoism and Ka!!alah and is reflected in his parallel concepts of measurable and immeasurable. he malefemale principles can !e found in the materials of the house. he monolithic stucco and plaster reflect the geometric perfection and coldness of the male mind. he warm curvacious wood can !e seen as a manifestation of the anima the active female principle acknowledging the inherent life of the structure. his distinction is akin to the usage of 0raftsmanship 2female!odily4 to accentuate a cold and rational Aodernism 2malemind4. Tau $ross
he au cross or shape is present throughout Kahn)s design of the house. "hether or not he is conscious of its sym!olism is unknown, !ut seeing as he was interested in religious mysteries, I cannot afford to ignore it despite the risk of running into a sym!olic trap. he au can !e seen in the window shape, the e$ternal joints of the !alcony sla!s and the small concrete !ench outside the kitchen chimney on the /ast side. he great occultist *rthur /dward "aite, who designed one of the most sym!olically cele!rated tarot decks 27ider#"aite4, associates the upside down au cross present in the he Hanged AanJ card with the sym!ol of 7esurrection after death, a sym!ol of transfiguration, sacrifice and surrendering. he au cross can also !e seen as a primal male phallic sym!ol.
his femaleJ chimney reads differently in three dimensions, !ut it preserves the analogy of a void. he articulation may have !een a space to cleanly store wood for the interior chimneys. Hypothetically, if this is to !e considered the female part of he facade, it is interested to note some of its attri!utes. his side of the !uilding is filled with the most disorderly arrangement of windows of all the e$terior walls. It is also most functional and has the characteristics of a serving space. his could reflect a tendency to attri!ute a more chaotic and disorderly attri!ute to women as well as the traditional attri!ution of servanthood to woman. 6igns of rifts and displays of se$ual ine?uality can !e surmised from personal Kahn)s life, despite his marriage with children, he had a tendency to get his female employees pregnant and ignore the resulting children, !ut this generally falls outside the current scope of my investigation. #ale!Female analogies in details
he malefemale interlocking is found throughout the other details in the house, particularly around the main !eam and its single rail post.
$irculator% $rossing * particular preliminary drawing reveals the dotted outline of implied circulation corridors and a side detail reveals the initial conceptual inspiration for the central walkway% * pedestrian road crossing. &y creating a circulatory cross ventilationJ, Kahn was eventually a!le to slice and contain the served spaces into clean and un!roken units.
&eometric 'rder In !ouis "# $ahn% The "dea of &rder Klaus#1eter ast directly associates the /sherick house form to the S'uare Root Rectangle represented !y a ration of M3%8 or 8%8.8. he rectangle is generated !y swinging the diagonal of a s?uare. his does indeed seem to !e one of the hidden rules of the design process, a simpler variation of the golden ratio)s application.
Walls (reathing Light &y this point in his career 289:9#89E84, Kahn)s concern with light has matured and he is now aware of the importance to preventing glare when using sun powered luminous openings. He uses techni?ues that he ac?uired through e$perimentation on previous !uildings to manage light infiltration. His main strategies are% •
0reate a thick e$terior wall, the thickness of the wall will act as a louver create indirect reflections.
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ive occupant control of most window openings through the use of wooden shutters or !linds.
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Incorporate J shaped windows to provide an indirect overhead light source and a human scaled vertical slice for peeking outside while maintaining privacy.
Li)est%le •
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Kahn)s architectural layout suggests the simple and ordered lifestyle of a successful and cultured !ook seller, Aargaret /sherick. he house has no room a child)s !edroom e$tension and suggests the life of a single woman who enjoys a private comfort and is knowledgea!le of the art of hosting guests. In the private ?uarters of the second storey, the walk#in closet, the fireplace# e?uipped !athroom and the e$pansive single !edroom suggest a refined female opulence. he feeling is transposed on the first floor, once again e$pressed through it)s serving spaces. Bnce the architectural purity of the living and dining room are acknowledged, the kitchen stands out as a comple$ and lovingly handcrafted gem. It is perhaps the secret heart of the residence as it is one of its warmest and most personali>ed spaces. "harton /sherick, Aargaret /sherick)s uncle took no shortcuts in designing and crafting a fully customi>ed wood kitchen storage system. his creates an es(ace that is !oth comforta!le and functional 2despite the terri!le electrical lighting strategy4.
Kahn had a very useful theory regarding served and serving spaces. Serving spaces are entire rooms reserved for utilitarian elements such as piping, duct work, electricity wiring, appliances, washrooms, etc. Served spaces are pure rooms with no distractions. In the case of the /sherick house, the division is ?uite clear in plan view. he dou!le height living room is one of the most served rooms of the house, it is undistractedly enjoya!le. Bn the wall facing the front of the house, a shaped window slides !etween the wooden !ookshelves allowing light in while preserving privacy. =rom the outside, the strange au is reminiscent of a primal mask. Bn the inside, the top of the window act as a light shelf and provide a soft illuminating glow to the ceiling)s edge. Light *t dawn the sun creeps through the utility spaces of the "est side, enacting the rituals of the morning. he !athroom and walk#in closet adjacent to the !edroom as well as the first floor kitchen light up automatically. *s the day progresses the main served spaces are filled with a flurry of photons. he solar evening terminates around the fireplace in the living room, the linear signature of the sun creeps around the chimney to grace the walls with its dying diffracted spectralities. he cycle leaves the house silent with darkness and points to the !edroom as the ne$t point of solar renewal. hrough the sun)s path, the house can !e e$perienced from its /astern serving to its "estern served spaces, its utilitarian humanity to its grandiosely uselessJ spirituality. In The Re(ublic , 1lato likens the concept of )ood from the "ntelligible world of =orms to the sun of the *isible "orlds. In the human 2Oisi!le4 world, the sun is a giving source of light, growth and life. he sun gives the gift of visi!ility to the eyes and ena!les then to see shapes. In the ineffa!le "ntelligible world, the sun)s e?uivalent is )ood# It is seen as the source of reality and truth which gives which gives intelligi!ility to o!jects of thought and power of knowing to mind.J In this manner, 1lato would)ve !een please !y Kahn)s usage of sun light in his rooms and their theories are harmonious. Khan used natural light in every room if possi!le, he !elieved that only the light of the sun could give life to a room and make it truly architectureJ. Gespite his appreciation for the ?ualities of natural light, he understood that is needed to !e managed in order to prevent visual glare and heating issues. hroughout his career, he has esta!lished an tested various methodologies in an attempt to deal with sunlight)s nefarious effects. Aade of %
he actual wall is made of 0A5s 20oncrete Aasonry 5nits4, the e$terior is coated in stucco and the interior in plaster. he walls receiving the !eam are made of 0A5s, !eing e$terior load !earing walls. In the plans, this is represented as 8
Kahn especially liked to cleverly ju$tapose une$pected materials like concrete and oak, as he did in his /sherick house, !uilt in 89:9. 5sually, we associate oak wood with Oictorian smoking rooms and dusty, ancient li!raries, while concrete reminds us of impersonal factories and remote, futuristic !uildings. &ut together, the two mediums demonstrate strikingly different, yet remarka!ly complementary virtues. he wood gives the space a warmth and domesticity that makes the house a good place for a !ookworm, while the concrete provides a sense of strength and sta!ility that lends it a reassuring feeling of refuge from the outside world. his com!ination of materials su!tly suggests that we can find comfort and strength together.
Esher i ckHouseComment ar y "Kahn built relatively few houses. In each there seems to be a larger-scale building trying to escape from the confines of the client's budget. In the Esherick House the inherent monumentality of the plan is diminished by the fact that the ma!or living spaces are surrounded by very thick walls. In the double-height living room the fireplace wall is literally deep. he opposite wall in plan also has a fireplace used in the bathroom but the wall is thicker containing a #one of servant spaces kitchen bathrooms closets which are not part of the a$ial symmetry of the two ma!or living spaces.. he two window walls are also thick but these frame walls with alcoves or niches between the casements. he most intricate planning occurs on the first floor where the sliding doors between the gallery and bedroom and then between bedroom and bathroom suggest a flow of space from void to room to altar." % &avid &unster. Key uildings of the wentieth (entury )olume *+ Houses ,/,0. p/*-/1. he house also reveals the direct physicality of materials that is consistently found in Kahn)s work. *n intentionally limited e$ternal palette of stucco, concrete and stained tim!er is e$tended inside with stained tim!er and plaster the !eing most contri!utive to a set of sophisticated spaces. *ll these materials are ancient, minimally transformed and manipulated in a craft manner rather than !y !eing overtly machine produced. =or e$ample, the staircase in apitong 2a teak#like *frican tim!er4 was constructed !y a Rapanese joiner to Kahn)s design which seemingly com!ined aesthetic strains from !oth the Rapanese and the 6haker traditions. Kahn´ sar c he t y pi c al f or msgobac kt oGr eekar c hi t ec t ur e,whi c hhes t udi edi nt he1950s :“ Gr eek ar c hi t ec t ur et aughtmet hatt hecol umni swher et hel i ghti sno t ,andt hespac ebet weeni swher e t hel i ghti s .I ti samat t erofnol i ght ,l i ght ,nol i ght ,l i ght .Ac ol umnandac ol umnbr i ngsl i ght b e t we ent h em.T oma k eac o l u mnwh i c hgr o wso uto ft h ewa l l a ndwh i c hma k e si t so wnr h y t h m ofnol i ght ,l i ght ,nol i ght ,l i ght :t hati st hemar v el oft hear t i s t . ”
Ho we v er ,l i ghtwasal s oacent r al el ementi nKahn´ sphi l os oph ybec aus eher eg ar dedi tasa “ gi v erofal l pr es enc es ” :“ Al l mat er i al i nnat ur e,t hemount ai nsandt hes t r eamsandt heai rand we ,a r ema deo fL i g htwh i c hh asbe ens p en t ,a ndt h i sc r u mp l e dma s sc a l l e dma t e r i al c as t sa s hadow,andt hes hadowbel ongst oLi ght . ”Forhi m,l i ghti st hemak erofmat er i al ,andmat er i al ’ s p ur p os ei st oc as tas ha do w. Kahn designed the house in such a way that e+en without any furniture, the house does not feel empty) The e3terior en+elope is made of stucco faced concrete block, and contrasts hea+ily with the warmth of the wood interiors) Each faJade responds to its orientation and has a direct relationship to elements in the interior 8urrent owner almost spiritual? place) The spaces are alw ays filled with light e+en when the sun isn*t out; at night, the house glows outwardly to the landscape) Margaret Esherick li+ed in the house for only a few months before her death from pneumonia at the age of H5) 7 prospecti+e buyer, Freda Parker, hired Kahn to design an addition, but it remained unbuilt when Parker withdrew her bid) An her stead, Gurnap and Canet Post purchased the home from the Esherick estate)
