THE PROJECT

DAYLIGHT FEATURES

The Kimbell Art Museum serves as a key example of incorporating daylight in an innovative way. The museum is a permanent display for artworks and therefore must be lit accordingly. While most museums use artificial light to protect their collections, Kahn felt that works of art should be seen with as much natural light as possible. [2]

Natural light enters through narrow plexiglass skylights along the top of the cycloid barrel vaults, and is diffused by wing-shaped pierced-aluminium reflectors that hang below. This gives a silver gleam to the smooth concrete on the surface of the vault, which provides an illumination for the works of art that does not damage the collection. [2]

Additionally, three courtyards punctuate the interior space. These glass-walled courtyards provide the gallery spaces with natural light. One of them flows through the gallery floor to add natural light to the ground floor conservation studio.

THE ARCHITECT

Louis Isadore Kahn (1901-1974) was one of the great masters of twentieth century architecture. His work was based on the ideals of abstract modern architecture, though in many of his projects he resorted to classical monumentality. Kahn was also considered the architect of light. [3]

When he was four years old, Khan emigrated from Estonia to the United States. He was accepted to the School of Fine Arts in Pennsylvania in 1920, and in 1924, he qualified as an architect. After several collaborations and travelling in Europe, he founded his own design studio in Philadelphia. [3]

The work of Louis Kahn is characterised by architectural abstraction, simplicity and greatness of forms, with a special focus on daylight. His projects are defined by  geometrical shapes that are arranged to produce elegant designs. The order is also significant in the work of Kahn, as it determines the arrangement of geometry.

The most significant factor in the architecture of Kahn, however, is light, as it determines volumes and spaces. Light is, for Kahn, a design factor that gives life to projects in architecture. [3]

On the subject of light, Louis Khan stated: “We were born of light. The seasons are felt through light. We only know the world as it is evoked by light. To me natural light is the only light, because it has mood - it provides a ground of common agreement for man - it puts us in touch with the eternal. Natural light is the only light that makes architecture.” [4]

LOCATION

The Kimbell Art Museum is located in Fort Worth, Texas. Fort Worth has a humid subtropical climate. This is characterised by very hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters. 

The latitude of Forth Worth is 32.8°N. As the location is close to the Equator, the solar angles are generally high throughout the year and in summer, the sun is mostly overhead, and the shadows are relatively short. The orientation of the building is towards north and south on its longitudinal axis. The gallery spaces are orientated towards north and south with their vault-shaped facades, on which they have only narrow semi-circular light slits. The galleries also have elevations facing east and west, which are blind facades except for the narrow linear light slit on the west orientated portico side. The roof lights are positioned on the north-south axis. [6]

CRITIQUE 

There is a distinctive luminous atmosphere at the Kimbell Art Museum that incorporates both top light and side light. The vaulted ceiling acts as a light reflector that redirects light back into the room and produces a well-balanced luminous atmosphere that is free of glare. The galleries adjacent to the courtyards are used to display three-dimensional models which can withstand, and are enhanced by, the abundant side light coming from the courtyards. The end galleries have more stable lighting conditions due to uniform luminosity under the roof-light, and are used to display more light-sensitive artworks. [6]

The Kimbell Art Museum is an important example for understanding Louis Kahn’s lighting idea about the integration of architecture and light. In this unique and luminous environment, Kahn employed both top light and side light to enrich and enhance the lighting conditions inside the gallery spaces. Unwanted glare that may potentially be caused by the overhead sun in Texas has been avoided by tempering the light through the light reflector, vaulted ceiling and internal courtyards. Furthermore, the narrow light slits on the opaque facade better balance the light atmosphere in the galleries. [6]

REFERENCES

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