Salk Institute for Biological Studies (laboratory, meeting house, and housing), La Jolla, California (Laboratory: elevation of studies)
Louis I. Kahn
American, born Estonia. 1901–1974
1962
A charcoal sketch on tracing paper by Louis I. Kahn that studies the elevation of the Salk Institute laboratory, probing the building’s massing, proportions, and the relationship between heavy piers and a recessed central workspace.
Bold, smudged charcoal strokes define two tall, bookended piers and a recessed central bay, while a tiny drawn figure at the base and the torn paper edge give a tactile sense of scale and working process.
The drawing documents Kahn’s move toward monumental, ordered modernism—showing how simple, powerful forms and controlled light would shape scientific life at the Salk and influence late‑20th‑century institutional architecture.
Medium
Charcoal on tracing paper
Dimensions
15 x 21 1/2" (38.1 x 54.6 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the architect
Accession
382.1967
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
