Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sketch of light elements for hostels
Louis I. Kahn
American, born Estonia. 1901–1974
1964
A charcoal drawing on tracing paper in which Louis Kahn experiments with circular light openings and their arrangement for hostel facades in his Sher-e-Bangla Nagar master plan.
You’re struck by the rhythmic grid of hand-drawn circles and the heavy, textured vertical shaft anchoring arched openings, with smudges and erased marks giving the study an immediate, tactile sense of design in progress.
The sketch reveals Kahn’s reliance on elemental geometry and light as generators of form, showing how intimate hand studies informed the monumental civic architecture he created for newly independent Bangladesh.
Medium
Charcoal on tracing paper
Dimensions
17 3/4 x 19 1/2" (45.1 x 49.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the architect
Accession
418.1967
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
