John Lobell Louis Kahn's Philosophy

johnlobell.com Louis Kahn was a major figure in 20th century architecture, important for his buildings, but also for his spiritual philosophy, which has parallels with that of Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, as well as with Eastern thought.

[@simonwax7575]

Love Kahn’s buildings, the sense of serene order is palpable. Thanks for the interesting discussion.

[@johnlobell526]

Thanks. Read my book on Kahn, "Between Silence and Light: Spirit in the Architecture of Louis I. Kahn."

[@JamesScottGuitar]

Very cool !
I am debating a course change from Music to Architecture. And, one of my Major Inspirations has been Khan, whom I just discovered last year. What a brilliant man he was.

[@kalilsarraff8141]

+JamesScottGuitar
I hope you are doing well with Architecture. Kahn is a wonderful inspiring person.

[@blauwzakjecrack]

Did you change course?

[@pietervoogt]

Thank you, that was very informative and pleasant to watch. I study these modernist architects because I don't like their work but they are influential. Many of these architects are so concerned with great principles they forget that most of the quality in human life is about small, charming things. Classical monumental buildings have ornament because the charming details give us the feeling that a rich and varied experience can be part of something bigger, while the bigger thing feels rich because of its details. Remove multiplicity from unity and you get boredom and repetition. Remove unity from multiplicity and you get chaos. The big mistake of most modernists, including Kahn, was thinking that removing the ornament would reveal the essence. They killed the essence, the tree of life, by removing its leaves and flowers.

[@ay9464]

Your personal experience does not speak for “human life”, please. For me the small ornaments only make me feel dizzy and restless. One of the charm of Kahn’s work is the feeling of serene eternal order, which is heavily borrowed from Ancient Greek architectures. The ancient Greeks have a deep understanding of what is “essence” (philosophically).

[@mateitufan2809]

Someone said if you try to explain an idea, you may end up killing the idea. So I appreciate how you talk about Kahn stopping and leaving it at 'Order is'.

[@Autumnerable]

Your making this available for public perusal certainly is a commendable action hopefully inspiring others to do the same. /Architect & Kahn-fan

[@ArchetypeLimited]

very very nice john, good to see your presentation after a long time, this is your student Lukan Alamgir from bangladesh.

[@johnlobell526]

Thanks :-)

[@williambrooks4654]

Thank you very much for this lecture - very informative and interesting!

[@mox.kartal]

brilliant video essay!

[@johnlobell526]

Wow -- thanks!

[@toubutey]

Thank you very much! I'm an architecture student from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, currently doing some research for an essay on Khan. Your lecture was very inspiring and of great help.
Can I just ask you who was the other os the text in the slide at 30:19 , I read somewhere in the internet that It was from your book "Between Silence and Light: Spirit in the Architecture of Louis I. Kahn." (which I don't currently have access to) but I just wanted to be sure before citing.

[@mimi_pesss]

thank you for this!

[@johnlobell526]

You are welcomed. Tell us about your background.

[@prabathwjesooriya8373]

I am architect from Sri Lanka now live in new York.could u help me to practice architecture in us ..

[@SuperbD2009]

Wow thank you for posting this lecture. it was very informative.

[@Ganbertuli]

thank you John for the lecture! regards from an architecture student!

[@Alv286]

Very Interesting!

[@RAH-Andrew]

Great video John, you presented Kahn very well.

[@johnlobell526]

Thanks -- I got more. :-)

[@johnlobell526]

Thanks :-)