Notes of Interest
Completed in 1953, the Kahn Building is widely considered to be the visionary American architect’s first masterpiece and a significant turning point in the history of American museum architecture. Constructed of masonry, glass, and steel, the building has been acclaimed for the bold geometry of its design, its daring use of space and light, and its technical innovations.
The renovation of the landmark building reestablishes its original purity and integrity, restoring many original design features that had become altered or obscured over the years. Roofed over in the 1970’s to create additional gallery space, an exterior courtyard has been restored as an open exterior sculpture space. On the second and third floors, extraneous partitions have been removed, and the individual galleries are now revealed in spacious, unobstructed vistas according to Kahn’s original vision.
Architect
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Polshek Partnership Architects
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Owner
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Yale University Art Gallery
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Location
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New Haven
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ADDITIONAL CREDITS
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Associate Firm
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Wolf & Company
Robert Schwartz & Associates
Shen Milsom & Wilke
Hughes Associates
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Engineer
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Robert Silman Associates PC
Altieri Sebor Wieber Consulting Engineers
David DeLong
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General Contractor
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Barr & Barr Builders
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Landscape Architect
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Towers | Golde
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Photo Credit
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© Elizabeth Felicella
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JURY COMMENTS
This preserves a modern
masterpiece by Louis I.
Kahn, but the award here
honors a superior
commitment to preservation
on the part of its parent
institution and an especially
skillful repair by the
architect's team. The
restored building sparkles
with the original intent,
bringing out its best.
Leaving no new design
'fingerprints' on this
building was indeed
difficult, but was done here
with aplomb.
The architectural clarity of
the building had been
greatly compromised over
the years… The original
intent is now, once again,
perfectly clear.
A masterful response to the
work of a master.
2010 INSTITUTE HONOR AWARDS FOR ARCHITECTURE JURY
Richard L. Maimon, AIA (Chair)
KieranTimberlake
Philadelphia
Jeanne Gang, FAIA
Studio/Gang Architects
Chicago
Sam Grawe
Dwell /At Home in the Modern World Magazines
San Francisco
Jeffrey Lee, FAIA
Pearce Brinkley Cease & Lee P.A.
Raleigh
Justine N. Lewis
AIAS Representative
Atlanta
Miguel A. Rivera Agosto, AIA
Miró Rivera Architects
Austin
Mark Simon, FAIA
Centerbrook Architects & Planners
Centerbrook, Connecticut
H. Ruth Todd, AIA
Page & Turnbull Architects
San Francisco
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