Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India, Plan and elevation sketches of dormitory
Louis I. Kahn
American, born Estonia. 1901–1974
1964
A charcoal on tracing paper sketch in which architect Louis I. Kahn explores plan-and-elevation relationships for a dormitory at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, testing how arches and modular cells might organize lived space.
The sheet feels like a captured idea: bold, tactile charcoal strokes form a central low arch and adjacent stacked square modules with rounded openings, shaded vigorously on the right while the surrounding paper remains largely empty, giving the marks a raw, urgent presence.
The drawing reveals Kahn’s working method—hand-drawn geometry and material intuition—showing how late-modern architecture translated monumental forms into human-scaled, site-responsive buildings and influencing generations of architects concerned with light, structure, and place.
Medium
Charcoal on tracing paper
Dimensions
11 7/8 x 17 3/4" (30.2 x 45.1 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the architect
Accession
425.1967
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
