In 1956, architect Louis Kahn was invited to take part in the competition for “The Olin Library”, a 200.000 square feet building in Washington.
The uncompromising design of the proposal, a cruciform pyramid, didn’t convince the jury which preferred the more reassuring project by Joseph Murphy and Eugene Mackey from St. Louis.
The powerful perspective drawing by Kahn (see below) is a testimony of the research for a monumental form, autonomous from the context, introverted. The continuous plan, structured by a uniform grid, organizes the spaces in a flowing sequence.
Plan of entrance level, Washington University Library Competition, St. Louis Missouri 1956. Copyright 1977, Louis I. Kahn Collection, University of Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Perspective view Washington University Library Competition, St. Louis Missouri 1956. Copyright 1977, Louis I. Kahn Collection, University of Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
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