Alfred Newton Richards Medical Research Building and Biology Building, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Elevation
Louis I. Kahn
American, born Estonia. 1901–1974
1957
A charcoal and color‑crayon study on tracing paper by Louis Kahn for the Alfred Newton Richards Medical Research and Biology Buildings, in which the architect explores a bold, layered horizontal composition and facade rhythm.
The eye is drawn to a long, panoramic sweep of cross‑hatched terraces and slablike layers in energetic charcoal, anchored by a tiny flag and sketched figures for scale and a small red‑crayon plan that reveals the drawing’s working, iterative quality.
The sheet captures Kahn’s pursuit of monumental order—clear massing, structural expression, and the served‑and‑servant distinction—that helped redefine postwar modernist architecture’s emphasis on tectonic clarity and material presence.
Medium
Charcoal and color crayon on tracing paper
Dimensions
11 3/8 × 35" (28.9 × 88.9 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the architect
Accession
366.1967
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
![Alfred Newton Richards Medical Research Building, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Structure of typical laboratory tower [final version])](https://www.moma.org/media/W1siZiIsIjUzMTI0MyJdLFsicCIsImNvbnZlcnQiLCItcmVzaXplIDEwMjR4MTAyNFx1MDAzZSJdXQ.jpg?sha=4c65ee888723a3e7)
![Alfred Newton Richards Medical Research Building, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (Overall building complex [final version], scale model 1/16" = 1')](https://www.moma.org/media/W1siZiIsIjQzOTI4NSJdLFsicCIsImNvbnZlcnQiLCItcmVzaXplIDEwMjR4MTAyNFx1MDAzZSJdXQ.jpg?sha=f18f1e30b78f06a7)
