Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh, National Assembly Building: elevation sketch of light element
Louis I. Kahn
American, born Estonia. 1901–1974
1965
A charcoal and graphite elevation on tracing paper in which Louis Kahn studies a monumental ovoid “light element,” testing how a simple geometric form and scale will shape light and presence in the National Assembly chamber.
A large, dark oval dominates the sheet—rendered with heavy strokes, horizontal striations and smudged shading—while tiny sketched figures at its base insist on the work’s monumental scale and the drawing’s interest in a glowing, suspended volume.
The sheet reveals Kahn’s signature projective method—using pared geometric forms and careful studies of light to produce a dignified civic monument—and points to the formal and spatial ideas that made the Dhaka Assembly a touchstone of late modern architecture.
Medium
Charcoal and graphite on tracing paper
Dimensions
18 x 31 3/4" (45.7 x 80.6 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the architect
Accession
405.1967
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
