Summary

I think it all begin in 1912 when Louis I. Kahn attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Graphic Sketch Club. Although he was so interested in music and arts, he chose to turn down a musical scholarship, forgo the plans of studying painting at the Academy of Fine Arts; and signed up for University of Pennsylvania’s School of Fine Arts to study architecture.

In 1929, Villa Savoy by Le Corbusier was published globally; the contemporaries piqued Kahn.  I think the idea of Villa Savoy was to prove that architecture could be thin, asymmetrical. It needs no longer to be symmetrical and massive. Kahn found himself somewhat at an intersection of the two architectural diverges.  

What I loved about Louis Kahn was how he organized the spaces. The idea of “served” and “servant” spaces started with his previous work, the Trenton Bathhouse (1954-1959). It exemplified Kahn’s major innovations in modern architecture: the use of geometric shapes, maximizing natural light, and confidence on choosing building materials.

The relationship between “served” and “servant” spaces was essential to Kahn. In terms of the “served” space, it meant residential constitutions; for instance, being bedrooms and living rooms. The “servant” spaces are the bathrooms and kitchen.

The idea of “served” and “servant” spaces could be seen clearly in the Norman Fisher House. The house was especially built for the Fisher and their wants and needs. There were four members in Fisher’s family, Doctor Norman Fisher, his wife Doris and Nina and Claudia, their daughters. They explored the idea of building their own house where their two daughters could grow up. They used to live outside of Philadelphia, before they purchased a long, narrow lot along Mill Road in Hatboro; Pennsylvania, the site where the Fisher House was built.

It took seven years (1960-1967) to finish the ideas and construction. The house is very simple; it consists of three cubes, two large ones connected together and a small, separate one. The two large ones served as  “served space” and the other as “servant space.” One of them placed at 45 degrees toward the other and merged on an angle The Fishers were unique clients in that they had an appreciation for both Modernism and traditional design. The first cube contained an entrance lobby and the bedroom suite with dressing room and bathroom on the first floor and two smaller bedrooms on the second floor. A large opening to the entrance lobby connects the second cube. The two-story-high first floor contains the kitchen, and the living areas separated by a freestanding stone fireplace, that represented of a man on the building.

What I be keen on the building were the progressive rationalization of habitation space and the sense of mass, geometry, and shadow. It had good intersection, good geometry, and variation of light through great orientation of windows when the Sun in. The orientation of the two cubes were also interesting as it allowed for an intuition of a big space, while still maintaining different zoning of served and servant spaces. This orientation also allows for a variety of natural light.

 Please comment on what I should add or bate. Thank you very much :)

Respectfully,

Bom