Between Silence and Light : Spirit in the Architecture of Louis I. Kahn [Paperback]

John Lobell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 12, 1979 | ISBN-10: 0394736877 | ISBN-13: 978-0394736877

In the development of contemporary architecture, few have had greater influence than Louis I. Kahn, whose many buildings included the Salk Institute, the Yale Study Center, and the Exeter Library. For Kahn, the study of architecture was the study of human beings, their highest aspirations and most profound truths. John Lobell, who studied under Kahn while in architecture school, sensitively edits Kahn's own words and provides commentary on Kahn's ideas and his major buildings. In his work as an architect, Kahn searched for beginnings: the origin of joy and wonder, of intelligence, and intuition. He sought the basic principles of being, which he called Silence and Light. Kahn spoke of these qualities with tremendous power and grace. Between Silence and Light —one of the few books on Kahn written for a general audience—introduces us to Louis Kahn the architect and visionary.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fresh approach to a great modern architect." —Publishers Weekly --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

John Lobell is an architect and a professor in the School of Architecture at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. He has written numerous articles and reviews for art and architecture magazines including Artforum and Progressive Architecture. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala (July 12, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394736877
• ISBN-13: 978-0394736877
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 9.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,827,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn why a city can deserve to exist, and more!, July 10, 2001

By 

Brad McCormick - See all my reviews

This review is from: Between Silence and Light: Spirit in the Architecture of Louis I. Kahn (Paperback)

Kahn's words in this book are very wise.

For just one example: The reason a city might deserve to exist is not due to packing a lot of warm squirming bodies into a small cubic footage, but rather to be a place where persons can explore things that interest them beyond the requirements of reproduction of individual and species life which determines peasant (and other non-urban) life.

A city is a place where a young person, as they walk through it, observing various master craftspersons at work, may find something they *want* to do for their whole life (not just something they *have* to do to earn a "living").

This is remarkable stuff, especially when we compare it with the ethical vapidity of postmodernism. Read this book and then see how the "world" you live in and the architects who designed it shapes up. Do you live in spaces which nurture creative human association? Or do you live and work in "decorated sheds" that put sugar coating on places that make you and your loved ones be banal?

11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good book to begin with, October 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Between Silence & Light (Hardcover)

If you're someone who's interested in architecture,but don't seem to get the hang of it, the word of Louis I. Kahn might help. I was a sopmore when I read the book , classes were a bit blur to me,it was like seeing an image but not sure of what you were looking at. But this book put things in a way that incouraged me as a student , to see the many concepts from life that concerned an architect, and how an an archetect was more of a artist of living, a thinker than just a constrution manager.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice pics., July 11, 2003

By 

"peachibookwerm" (Alpharetta, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Between Silence and Light: Spirit in the Architecture of Louis I. Kahn (Paperback)

If you are inerested in late modern architecture and the thoughts "behind the men", it is a good resource. Lots of bright photos of Kahn's work. The text is a little sparse. but for the price it's a good deal.