{"id":474,"date":"2015-10-01T18:58:00","date_gmt":"2015-10-01T18:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marianamagcosta.com\/2016-1-25-museu-de-arte-kimbell-louis-kahn-fort-worth-texas\/"},"modified":"2020-09-24T12:22:12","modified_gmt":"2020-09-24T15:22:12","slug":"2016-1-25-museu-de-arte-kimbell-louis-kahn-fort-worth-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marianamagcosta.com\/en\/2016-1-25-museu-de-arte-kimbell-louis-kahn-fort-worth-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"Kimbell Art Museum, Louis Kahn | Fort Worth, Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Still on the subject of Louis Kahn\u2019s architecture (click here<\/strong><\/a> to read last month\u2019s article on the Salk Institute), today\u2019s text is about the Kimbell Art Museum, a reference when it comes to the architecture of museum and art galleries.<\/p>\n

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Kimbell Art Museum Photo: Xavier de Jaur\u00e9guiberry Source: archdaily.com<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Opened in 1972, the Kimbell Art Museum is located in the city of Fort Worth, which is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan region in the state of Texas, USA. During my stay I was closer to Dallas but, being aware that one of Kahn\u2019s buildings was a mere 40 minute drive away, I couldn\u2019t help but take a day to visit it.<\/p>\n

The museum is part of Fort Worth\u2019s cultural district, a region which gathers museums, urban art and historical sites. Just across the street from the Kimbell Museum is the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, a museum designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando. Another must-see museum, home to an exceptional collection of modern art.<\/p>\n

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Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, designed by Tadao Ando, across the street from the Kimbell Museum. Photo: Liao Yusheng. Source: archdaily.com<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

About the museum<\/h2>\n
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Concrete Vaults side by side. Photo: Foto: Xavier de Jaur\u00e9guiberry Source: archdaily.com<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Kimbell Art Museum holds around 350 pieces that belong to the Kay and Velma Kimbell Collection. Even though it is not a huge collection, it includes important samples of European, Asian and African paintings and sculptures. Kahn\u2019s architecture project reflects the collection\u2019s essence. Its scale is modest yet there is great refinements in its details.<\/p>\n

Kahn\u2019s projects generally express a great concern with the experience of the interior environment. He would prefer to speak in terms of \u2018place\u2019 rather than \u2018space\u2019 and he used to say that “a room is not a room without natural light”. In fact, the lighting in the Kimbell Museum is one of it\u2019s most spectacular and beautiful features.<\/p>\n

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Incidence of natural light on the top and reflected throughout the tunnel vault.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Kimbell\u2019s project was strongly inspired by Roman architecture. The barrel vault structure alludes to the ancient houses of Pompeii. Placed side by side, the barrel vaults\u2019 repetition generates a rhythmic effect.<\/p>\n

These concrete vaults possess openings at the top which extend along its entire length. These skylights allow the incidence of natural light and the curved ceiling reflects the light in a diffuse manner throughout the space. The light dissipates as it reaches the ends of the room. This lighting axis helps direct the exhibition\u2019s visitation route.<\/p>\n

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Detail showing the barrel vault and its opening at the top.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Under these openings, aluminum reflectors were allocated, which serve as light filters. These reflectors are changeable, allowing greater control over the light incidence and varying degrees of opacity. This solution aids curators when organizing an exhibition.<\/p>\n

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Detail of the structure and light filtering screens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Flexibility is a vital for museums. This is present here not only through the already mentioned lighting solution, but also through the movable walls, which can easily be adapted to the current display.<\/p>\n

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Detail of the movable walls. Rails embedded in the structure.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kahn placed a great importance on the role of monumentality in architecture. The Kimbell museum has become an icon overtime. Despite its modest scale, the building includes classic architectural elements such as arcs and vaults, which are highlighted through repetition. Nonetheless, the building is still designed according to the human body’s proportions. One example of this is the low ceiling, which brings a sense of intimacy to the space. Similarly, the small internal patios offer the visitors a place of rest and contemplation while enhancing the incidence of natural light in the interiors. It is no wonder that Louis Kahn would say that \u201carchitecture is the thoughtful making of space\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Hall \u2013 a space that connects the bookshop, the waiting area and an external patio (on the left). The patio is an environment ideal for rest and contemplation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The variation in the flooring materials helps establish a contrast between indoor and outdoor spaces. Wide glass glazing allows incidence of natural light throughout the interiors.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Materials. The wood contrasts with the marble and the exposed concrete and brings a certain warmth to the environment. The benches offer the visitors a place of rest. At the background, we can see the bookshop opened to the hall due to the lack of walls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I visited the Kimbell in December 2012. At the time, the museum was going through renovation and extension work. The pavilion in construction was designed by Renzo Piano, an Italian architect who has become a reference when it comes to museum architecture. He has designed museums for several American cities, including Dallas\u2019 Nascher Sculpture Center. Many of his projects follow the Kimbell\u2019s premise of small scale and richness of details. In his youth, Piano even collaborated in Kahn\u2019s office at the time that the Kimbell Art Museum was designed. Here are some images of the new pavilion, which was opened in 2013.<\/p>\n

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Kimbell Art Museum Pavilion, designed by Renzo Piano. Photo: Robert Laprelle Source: archdaily.com<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Photo: Robert Laprelle Source: archdaily.com\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Still on the subject of Louis Kahn\u2019s architecture (click here to read last month\u2019s article on the Salk Institute), today\u2019s text is about the Kimbell Art Museum, a reference when it comes to the architecture of museum and art galleries. Opened in 1972, the Kimbell Art Museum is located in the city of Fort Worth, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1868,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,4],"tags":[121,125,93],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marianamagcosta.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marianamagcosta.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marianamagcosta.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marianamagcosta.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marianamagcosta.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=474"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/marianamagcosta.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3498,"href":"https:\/\/marianamagcosta.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474\/revisions\/3498"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marianamagcosta.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marianamagcosta.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marianamagcosta.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marianamagcosta.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}