born Feb. 20, 1901, Osel, Estonia, Russian Empire
died March 17, 1974, New York, N.Y., U.S.
Estonian-born U.S. architect.
He came to the U.S. as a child and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. One of the century's most original architects, Kahn turned from the International Style to a timeless, elegant Brutalism evocative of ancient ruins. His Richards Medical Research Building (1960–65) at the University of Pennsylvania isolated "servant" spaces (stairwells, elevators, vents, and pipes) in four towers distinct from "served" spaces (laboratories and offices). His fortresslike National Assembly Building in Dhaka, Bangl. (1962–74), utilized geometric shapes to admit light to its inner domed mosque. Like R. Buckminster Fuller , Kahn was concerned about wasteful use of natural resources; his urban-planning schemes proposed geodesic skyscrapers and huge car "silos." He taught at Yale University (1947–57) and the University of Pennsylvania (1957–74), where appreciation for his intellect gained him a cult status.