A Mock Book

Asmund Havsteen-Mikkelsen

Louis Kahn i

Danmarkin

Denmark

Asmund Havsteen-Mikkelsen

A Mock Book København 2018

Louis Kahn i

Danmarkin

Denmark

5

LOUIS KAHN I DANMARK

1. ’Louis Kahn i Danmark’ er titlen på mit Insta-

gram-projekt, der startede i juni 2016. Hver gang, jeg

er stødt på arkitektur, hvori jeg har set en inspiration

fra arkitekten Louis Kahn, har jeg taget et billede og

lagt det op på Instagram. I begyndelsen var det ikke

tænkt som et bog-projekt, men snarere som en måde

at udnytte platformen til en indholds-produktion1 på

frem for en ophobning af private billeder og selvfrem-

stillinger. Publikationen her er derfor udtryk for en

modsatrettet bevægelse: fra en digital medieplatform

til en analog materialitet. Værdien af sidstnævnte me-

dieform ligger i dens afsluttede form og denne tekst,

der skaber en ramme omkring billederne, som de ikke

kan få på Instagram. Ikke desto mindre skyldes bogen

og tilblivelsen af dens billeder den integrerede tekno-

logi i vores smartphones: at vi kan tage fotografier på

farten, uploade dem, og lade dem indgå i internettets

billedstrøm. Rækkefølgen, hvormed de optræder her,

følger kronologien på min profil.2

1.1. Projektet er baseret på det postulat, at der

blandt arkitekter i Danmark fra 1960’erne og frem kan

spores en inspiration fra Louis Kahn. Selv har Kahn al-

drig bygget noget i Danmark (eller for den sags skyld i

Europa). Han blev født i Estland i 1901, og familien flyt-

tede kort tid efter til Philadelphia i USA, hvor han bo-

ede indtil sin pludselige død i 1974. Han virkede som

arkitekt fortrinsvis i USA samt stod bag to store byg-

ningskomplekser i Indien og Bangladesh. I Danmark er

han relativt ukendt uden for arkitektkredse, da meget

få danskere ved selvsyn har oplevet hans arkitektur.

Inden for arkitekturhistorien regnes Kahn dog blandt

de mest betydningsfulde arkitekter i det 20. århund-

rede i kraft af de bygninger, han opførte, men mindst

lige så meget i kraft af den indflydelse, han havde på

senere generationer af arkitekter. Især som underviser

havde Kahn stor gennemslagskraft først på Yale Uni-

versity fra 1947 til 1955, som professor i arkitektur på

University of Pennsylvania fra 1956 til sin død, samt

som gæsteprofessor på Princeton University fra 1961

LOUIS KAHN IN DENMARK

1. ‘Louis Kahn in Denmark’ is the title of my

Instagram project that started in June 2016. Every

time I have come across architecture that has been

inspired by Louis Kahn, I have taken a picture and

posted it on Instagram. In the beginning it was not

meant to be the start of a book, but rather a way

of using the platform to produce content1 instead

of just accumulating private pictures and self-pre-

sentations. Publishing the result is therefore a step

in the opposite direction: from a digital platform to

analogue material. The value of the latter medium

lies in its completed form and the text which gives

the pictures a frame that Instagram cannot provide.

Nevertheless, the book and the origins of its pictures

are due to the integrated technology of our smart

phones: we can take pictures while travelling, upload

them and let them flow into the Internet´s stream of

pictures. The order of content follows the chronolo-

gy in my profile.2

1.1. The project is based on the postulate that

Louis Kahn has influenced architects in Denmark

from the 1960’s onwards. Kahn himself never built

anything in Denmark (or in Europe for that matter).

He was born in Estonia in 1901, and shortly after the

family moved to Philadelphia in the US where he

lived until his sudden death in 1974. His main work

as an architect was in the US and he was also the

driving force behind two big building complexes in

India and Bangladesh. In Denmark he is relatively

unknown outside architectural circles as very few

Danes have personally experienced his architecture.

However, in the history of architecture Kahn is con-

sidered to be one of the most influential twentieth

century architects both because of the buildings he

constructed and because of his influence on future

generations of architects. Kahn had enormous im-

pact especially as a teacher, first at Yale University

from 1947-1955, as professor of architecture at the

University of Pennsylvania from 1956 until his death,

Yale Art Gallery

76

1.3. Ideen til Instagram-projektet opstod efter et

foredrag, jeg holdt hos arkitekterne Leth & Gori på Ves-

terbro i maj 2016. Titlen var: Merleau-Ponty, Non-filo-

sofi og Louis Kahn. Her forsøgte jeg at koble krops-

begrebet og tankerne om non-filosofi hos filosoffen

Maurice Merleau-Ponty med Louis Kahns særegne er-

faring af at blive voldsomt forbrændt i ansigtet som

barn – og efterfølgende leve et liv som vansiret. Fore-

draget blev indledt med at fortælle om min egen ’op-

dagelse’ af Kahn i 2007 igennem filmen My Architect

fra 2001 af hans søn, Nathaniel Kahn.7 En dokumen-

tarfilm, der har spillet en stor rolle for udbredelsen og

kendskabet til Kahn i nyere tid, fordi den på en elegant

måde sammenvæver udsagn fra berømte arkitekter

med besøg til Kahns bygningsværker, samtidig med

at aspekter af Kahns privatliv drages ind i filmen. Bl.a.

interviewes Anne Tyng og Harriet Pattison, to kvinde-

lige arkitekter der arbejdede for ham, og som han fik

børn med (samtidig med at han var gift med Esther

Kahn). Begge kvinder inspirerede ham og påvirkede

udformningen af hans projekter, selvom de ikke blev

krediteret for deres bidrag.8 Et eksempel på at Louis

Kahn lod sig inspirere af mange og ikke altid gjorde

opmærksom på, hvor han fik sine ideer fra.9 Efter fore-

draget havde arkitekten Vibeke Krogh en lidt forbløf-

fet kommentar til min ’sene opdagelse’: ’Da jeg stude-

rede arkitektur i 1980’erne talte alle om Kahn.’

1.4. Vibeke Kroghs kommentar fik mig til at tæn-

ke. Min tanke var følgende: I de formative år, som ens

uddannelse til arkitekt udgør, indoptager man vigti-

ge impulser og tanker, der danner grundlaget for det,

man senere i sin karriere vil forsøge at virkeliggøre.10

Ikke med øjeblikkelig virkning (mange arkitekter be-

gynder hos etablerede arkitekter, hvorefter de stifter

deres eget praksis), men i de efterfølgende år vil man

arbejde ud fra det, man har lært. Arkitekterne aktive-

rer med andre ord først deres ’Louis Kahn-inspiration’

flere år efter, de har forladt arkitektskolen, hvormed

der over længere tid opstår et kontinuum af arki-

tekt-generationer, som i højere eller mindre grad har

været inspireret af Kahn. Herudover er der også de

arkitekter, der lod sig inspirere på et senere tidspunkt

i deres karriere – altså efter de var færdige med arki-

tektuddannelsen.11

1.3. The idea for the Instagram project arose af-

ter a talk I gave at the architectural practice of Leth

& Gori in Vesterbro in May 2016. The title was Mer-

leau-Ponty, non-philosophy and Louis Kahn in which

I tried to connect Maurice Merleau-Ponty´s thoughts

on the body and non-philosophy, with Louis Kahn´s

traumatic experience of being severely burned in

the face as a child – and of subsequently living with

disfigurement. The talk started with my own ‘dis-

covery’ of Kahn in 2007 through My Architect, a film

made in 2001 by his son Nathaniel Kahn.7 In recent

years, this documentary has been hugely influential

in spreading knowledge of Kahn because it elegantly

combines quotes from famous architects with visits

to Kahn´s buildings together with glimpses of his

private life. For example, Anne Tyng and Harriet Pat-

tison were two female architects who worked for him

and with whom he had children while simultaneously

being married to Esther Kahn. Both women inspired

and influenced the design of his projects although

they were never given the credit.8 An example of how

Louis Kahn allowed himself to be inspired by many

and did not always draw attention to where he got

his ideas from.9 After the talk, Vibeke Krogh who is

an architect, came with a rather astonished comment

on my ‘late discovery’: ‘when I studied architecture in

the 1980´s we all talked about Kahn.’

1.4. Vibeke Krogh´s comment made me think.

My thoughts were as follows: in the formative years,

which is when one studies to become an architect

one assimilates important impulses and ideas that

form the basis of what one will try to achieve later

in one´s career.10 Not immediately (many architects

begin with established architects before starting

their own practice) but in the years after they will

try to put into practice the ideas they have learnt.

In other words, architects first activate their `Louis

Kahn-inspiration’ several years after they have left

the school of architecture, and this creates a continu-

um of architects who, to a greater or lesser degree,

have been inspired by Kahn. Additionally, there are

the architects who found inspiration in Kahn later in

their career ie. after they had finished their studies.11

til 1967. Blandt hans studerende og assistenter i eget

firma var senere så prominente arkitektnavne som Ro-

bert Venturi, Moshe Safdie, Richard Rogers, Norman

Foster og Renzo Piano.3

1.1.1. Kahns betydning som arkitekt skyldes det

brud, han indvarslede med den Internationale Stil,

der dominerede fra 1930’erne og frem til midten af

1950’erne og således var han både inspirationskilde til

brutalismen, kritisk regionalisme og den senere post-

moderne arkitektur.4 Et brud, der er karakteriseret ved

Kahns forsøg på at give moderne arkitektur et nyt

sprog for monumentalitet og en sans for den histori-

ske og kulturelle kontekst, hvori arkitekturen bygges.5

1.2. Refleksionerne, der her præsenteres, kan be-

tragtes som et forsøg på at kortlægge, hvordan og

hvorfor Kahn har haft en betydning i Danmark. Det

er en kortlægning af de strømninger, der ’førte’ Kahn

til Danmark, og de personer, der formidlede og om-

satte hans ideer i Danmark. Derudover vil jeg skitsere

Kahns arkitekturteoretiske ideer, fordi de giver et ind-

blik i hans betydning – ikke bare som udøvende arki-

tekt, men i lige så høj grad som inspirationskilde for

efterfølgende generationer af arkitekter og kunstnere.

Afslutningsvis vil jeg anskue Kahn som en kritisk figur

i forhold til nutidens profitorienterede brandscape ar-

kitektur.

1.2.1. At tænke ’Louis Kahn i Danmark’ er for mig en

spekulativ mulighed. Spekulativ, fordi jeg stiller skarpt

på én ud af de mange inspirationskilder fra udlandet,

der igennem tiden har påvirket dansk arkitektur. Kahn

indgår i hybriden af ’store internationale arkitekter’,

der igennem årtier har haft indflydelse på moderne

byggeri i Danmark i det 20. århundrede. Le Corbusi-

er, Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe og Alvar Aalto

kunne man lave tilsvarende projekter om. Det speku-

lative består i forsøget på at indfange hans særlige

bidrag – og dermed begrunde min påstand om ’Louis

Kahn i Danmark’. Rent metodisk har jeg i min tilgang

til denne tekst bestræbt mig på at realisere, hvad jeg

andetsteds har kaldt for ’non-filosofi’.6

and also as a visiting professor at Princeton Universi-

ty from 1961-1967. Among his students and assistants

were many prominent architects such as Robert Ven-

turi, Moshe Safdie, Richard Rogers, Norman Foster

and Renzo Piano.3

1.1.1. Kahn´s importance as an architect is because

he heralded the break with the International Style

which was dominant from the 1930´s to the middle

of the 1950´s, and he therefore became a source

of inspiration for brutalism, critical regionalism and

later for post-modern architecture.4 A break that is

characterized by Kahn´s attempt to provide modern

architecture with a new language for monumental-

ism, and a sense for the historical and cultural con-

text in which architecture is constructed.5

1.2. The reflections presented here can be con-

sidered as an attempt to explain how and why Kahn

has been influential in Denmark. It is a mapping of

the currents that ‘led’ Kahn to Denmark, and the

people that communicated and translated his ideas.

Additionally, I will outline Kahn´s architectural the-

ories because they help to explain his importance –

not only as a practicing architect but, just as vital,

as a source of inspiration for future generations of

architects and artists. Finally, I will evaluate Kahn as

a critical figure in relation to the present day profit

oriented brandscape architecture.

1.2.1. To think ‘Louis Kahn in Denmark’ is for me

a speculative possibility. Speculative because I am

concentrating on one out of the many sources of

inspiration from abroad which has influenced Dan-

ish architecture. Kahn is part of the hybrid of ‘great

international architects’ who have inspired modern

buildings in Denmark during the twentieth century.

Similar projects could be made about Le Corbusier,

Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe and Alvar Alto.

The speculative element arises in the attempt to

capture his particular contribution – and through

that justify my statement: ‘Louis Kahn in Denmark’.

From a methodological perspective I have tried to

approach the text from what I elsewhere have de-

scribed as ‘non-philosophy’.6

98

1.4.1. Begrebet ’inspiration’ skal her forstås i Kahns

forstand, nemlig i relation til en institution. I en sam-

tale med landskabsarkitekten Karl Linn fra 1965 siger

Kahn: ’One is always primarily serving an institution,

and an institution comes from inspiration. And the-

se inspirations are the inspiration to live, the inspira-

tion to learn.’12 I Kahns optik betyder inspiration den

kraft, hvormed vi er i stand til at leve og til at tilegne

os verden. Inspirationen er en ekspressiv gestus, der

skaber institutioner, som rummer ideer om verden. I

denne sammenhæng skal ’inspirationen fra Kahn’ for-

stås således, at Kahns værker, hans tanker og måde at

anskue arkitektur på, har inspireret danske arkitekter

til at realisere en bestemt måde at skabe arkitektur på

(arkitekturen som en ’institution’ i samfundet).

1.5. Efter disse indledende overvejelser om Kahns

mulige indflydelse på danske arkitekter begyndte jeg

at betragte det bebyggede landskab på en ny måde.

Den første bygning, jeg fik øje på, var en lille pum-

pestation i Sydhavnen tæt på mit atelier, der rummer

en række ’kahnske’ elementer: den enkle form, brugen

af mursten, den rå betonbjælke over porten og det

buede tag. Det var i ’opdagelsen’ af denne uanselige

bygning, at jeg blev bestyrket i ideen om, at der kun-

ne være en sammenhæng. Jeg tog billedet og valgte

intuitivt at lægge filteret på, der hedder ’moon’, hvil-

ket transformerer billedet til sort/hvid. Et filter der un-

derbygger det delvist dokumentariske ved mit projekt

– en kortlægning af Louis Kahn-inspireret arkitektur i

Danmark. Brugen af filteret peger tilbage til traditio-

nen fra det topografiske fotografi, der blev udviklet

bl.a. af Bernd og Hilda Becker i Düsseldorf, og som

vandt indpas i kunstverdenen fra 1970’erne og frem.

1.5.1. For mit vedkommende har ambitionen dog

ikke været neutrale fotografier, der forsøger at afbil-

de en objektivitet i genstanden for motivet, eller en

dokumentation af ’samtlige’ bygninger i Danmark, der

er inspireret af Kahn. Snarere er der tale om et forsøg

på at indfange aspekter ved bygningerne, der peger

tilbage på formelementer, som kendes fra Kahn, så-

som en bestemt variation af lys og skygge, brug af

klassiske former, en relation mellem forskellige typer

materialer, i differentieringen af bygningens program

1.4.1. The concept of ‘inspiration’ should be under-

stood according to Kahn ie. in relation to an insti-

tution. In 1963, in a conversation with Karl Linn, a

landscape architect, Kahn says: ‘One is always pri-

marily serving an institution, and an institution comes

from inspiration. And these inspirations are the inspi-

ration to live, the inspiration to learn.’12 According to

Kahn, inspiration is the force that allows us to live

and acquire knowledge of the world. Inspiration is

an expressive gesture that creates institutions which

contain ideas about the world. In this context, ‘being

inspired by Kahn’ should be understood to mean that

Kahn´s works, his thoughts and his way of interpret-

ing architecture have inspired Danish architects to

develop a certain way of doing architecture (archi-

tecture as an ‘institution’ in society).

1.5. After these preliminary thoughts on Kahn´s

potential influence on Danish architects, I began to

consider buildings from a new angle. The first build-

ing I set eyes on was a small pump station, near my

studio in Sydhavnen, Copenhagen, which contained

elements of ‘Kahnism’: a simple form, built of brick,

the naked cement beam holding up the porch and

the curved roof. It was through the ‘discovery’ of

this unremarkable building that I was confirmed in

my idea that there could be a connection. I took the

picture, and, intuitively, chose a filter named ‘moon’

which transformed it to black/white. A filter which

substantiates the documentary element in my proj-

ect – a mapping of Louis-Kahn inspired architecture

in Denmark. Using the filter links back to a tradition

stemming from topographical photography which

was developed by Bernd and Hilda Becker in Dussel-

dorf, and which gained recognition in the art world

from the 1970´s onwards.

1.5.1. For myself, my ambition has not been to be-

come a neutral photographer who tries to attain ob-

jectivity in the subject being photographed, or a doc-

umentation of ‘all’ the buildings in Denmark that are

inspired by Kahn. Rather, it is an attempt to capture

aspects of a building that illustrate the influence of

key elements of Kahn´s ideas eg. a certain variation

between light and shade, use of classical forms, the

Yale Art Gallery

1110

eller en måde at arbejde monumentalt. I udsnittet,

beskæringen eller detaljeringen ligger der en pointe

gemt: at inspirationen fra Kahn viser sig i glimt som

aspekter af en kahnsk ikonografi. I dele af et kompleks,

i måden en facade er bearbejdet på, i brugen af mur-

sten, hvorledes overgangsrum eller konstruktionen er

gjort synlige – mange steder har arkitekter forsøgt at

indarbejde deres inspiration fra Kahn i form af henvis-

ninger til hans arkitektur.

1.5.2. Billederne er taget i forbifarten. I regnvejr, grå-

vejr og solskin. I begyndelsen i varierende opløsninger

– høj, mellem, lav – først halvvejs i forløbet begyndte

ideen at rumstere, at projektet kunne udgives som en

bog. Derefter har billederne gennemgående den hø-

jest mulige opløsning, min smartphone tillader – en

Samsung Galaxy Xcover 3. Jeg er ikke vendt tilbage

og har taget ’bedre’ billeder til bogen med et rigtigt

kamera. I enkelte tilfælde har jeg foretaget målrettede

ekskursioner med henblik på at fotografere bygninger

til projektet. Det drejer sig om billederne af Vangede

Kirke og Stavnsholtkirke i Farum tegnet af J. O. von

Spreckelsen.

1.6. I min research fandt jeg ud af, at Spreckelsen

kunne være en af de væsentligste årsager til, at ’alle

talte om Louis Kahn på Kunstakademiets Arkitekt-

skole. Han underviste her, først som lektor fra 1955 og

siden som professor fra 1978 frem til 1983, hvorefter

han fik orlov til at tegne den nye triumfbue i Paris. Der-

udover opholdte Spreckelsen sig fra 1960 til 1962 på

Ohio State University som gæsteprofessor, hvor han

studerede Kahn indgående.13 Inspirationen fra Kahn

hos Spreckelsen ses tydeligt i mange af de bygninger,

han selv tegnede og fik opført: den klare geometri-

ske form, brugen af mursten og beton og sansen for

monumentalitet. Fra kirkerne i Esbjerg, Vangede og

Stavnsholt til Triumfbuen ses dette, og derfor var det

oplagt at tage ud og se dem.

1.6.1. At Spreckelsen har været inspireret af Kahn,

kan der ikke herske tvivl om. Og sandsynligt er det

også, at Spreckelsen har formidlet Kahns idéer til

mange generationer af danske arkitekter uddannet fra

Kunstakademiets Arkitektskole. Af andre undervisere,

der bidrog til formidlingen, bør nævnes arkitekt Ole

Ramsgaard Thomsen, der arbejdede for Kahn i Phila-

delphia 1963-64 og efter sin hjemkomst underviste på

arkitektskolen 1964-70 og siden som lektor i perioden

1975-88, og som ekstern lektor 1989-93.

1.6.2. Arkitektskolen i Aarhus blev først oprettet i

1965. Her har Kahn haft en betydning bl.a. igennem

undervisningen af C.F. Møller, Johan Richter, Johannes

Exner og teoretikeren Nils-Ole Lund. Især Kahns sans

for form har været et omdrejningspunkt i formidlingen

(ifølge sidstnævnte).14 Interessen for Kahn har dog af-

spejlet de skiftende internationale trends, og under

68-oprøret var fokus ikke på Kahns optagethed af mo-

numenter – snarere læsning af Kapitalen og fyring af

professorer. I de efterfølgende årtier har bl.a. en under-

viser som arkitekten Kurt Jakobsen stået for formid-

lingen af Kahn til de studerende på arkitektskolen og

gjort ham til et fast referencepunkt i undervisningen.15 I

hvert fald har det slået mig, hvor ofte jeg på mine rejser

i Jylland har kunnet spore inspiration fra Kahn.16 Alene i

Vejle har jeg således bemærket en håndfuld bygninger

rundt om i byen, hvilket også tydeligt ses her i bogen.

1.6.3. En anden faktor, som kan tilføjes til Kahns

virkningshistorie i Danmark, er den ’lydhørhed’, der

kunne være over for de ideer, Kahn repræsenterede.

Her tænker jeg på den danske murermestertradition

og sansen for at bygge i tegl og mursten. Helt tilbage

til traditionen fra P.V. Jensen-Klint (Grundtvigskirken)

og Kay Fisker (Aarhus Universitetspark) var der både

en sans for historicisme og funktionel enkel ’afsluttet’

form,17 hvor murstenen spillede en fremtrædende rolle

som materiale. Her kan inspirationen fra Kahn delvist

opfattes som en ’organisk’ videreførelse af en bevæ-

gelse, der blev udfordret af den Internationale Stil og

den mere industrielt-betonede massefremstilling af

arkitektur. En af Kahns fortjenester var nemlig at gen-

indføre brugen af mursten som et legitimt ’regionalt’

materiale i skabelsen af moderne arkitektur (til forskel

fra den Internationale Stil der foretrak stål, beton og

glas). Dette ses bl.a. tydeligt hos Spreckelsens kolle-

gaer og nære venner, arkitektparret Inge og Johannes

Exner, der også delte interessen for Kahn og gennem-

gående har brugt mursten i deres projekter.18

interplay between different types of building materi-

als, the differentiation of the building´s programme,

or a way of expressing monumentalism; eg. in the

fragment, cropping or the details there lies a point:

that inspiration from Kahn reveals itself in glimpses

of his iconography. In parts of a complex, the way a

façade has been treated, the use of bricks and mor-

tar, how a transition space or a construction is made

visible – there are many places where architects have

tried to incorporate their inspiration from Kahn.

1.5.2. The pictures are taken in transit. In rain, grey

days and sunshine. In the beginning with varying de-

grees of resolution – high, medium, low – the idea of

making a book only occurred halfway through the

project. After that, the pictures generally were taken

in the highest resolution possible on my smartphone

– a Samsung Galaxy Xcover 3. I have not returned

to take ‘better’ pictures for the book with a proper

camera. Occasionally I have gone on intentional ex-

cursions with the aim of photographing buildings for

the project, such as Vangede Church, and Stavnsholt

Church in Farum designed by J.O. von Spreckelsen.

1.6. Through my research I found out that Spre-

ckelsen could be one of the most important reasons

why ‘everyone talked about Louis Kahn’ at the Acad-

emy, because he taught here, first as a lecturer from

1955 and since as professor from 1978 to 1983, after

which he was given leave to design and construct

the new triumphal arch in Paris. Other than that, from

1960-1962 Spreckelsen taught at Ohio State Univer-

sity as a guest professor where he studied Kahn in

detail.13 The inspiration from Kahn is clearly seen in

many of the buildings he designed and constructed:

the clear geometric forms, the use of bricks and con-

crete and a sense of monumentality. All this is evi-

dent in the churches in Esbjerg, Vangede and Stavn-

sholt carrying through to the Triumphal Arch. It was

therefore obvious that I needed to go and see them.

1.6.1. There can be no doubt that Spreckelsen was

inspired by Kahn, and likely that Spreckelsen also

communicated his ideas to many generations of Dan-

ish architects trained at the Academy. Other teachers

that contributed to the process should include Ole

Ramsgaard Thomsen, an architect who worked for

Kahn in Philadelphia from 1963-1964. On his return to

Denmark he taught at the Academy from 1964-1970,

then as a lecturer from 1975-1988, and finally as an

external lecturer from 1989-1993.

1.6.2. The Aarhus School of Architecture was first

opened in 1965. Here Kahn has been influential

through the teachers C.F. Møller, Johan Richter, Jo-

hannes Exner and the theorist Nils-Ole Lund. Ac-

cording to the latter, especially Kahn´s sense of form

has been a particularly crucial aspect.14 Interest in

Kahn has, however, reflected the changing interna-

tional trends, and during the student rebellions of

1968 the focus was not on Kahn´s concern with mon-

umentalism but rather on The Kapital by Marx and

sacking professors. In the following years, architec-

tural teachers such as Kurt Jakobsen have been re-

sponsible for disseminating Kahn to students at the

School, and have made him a permanent reference

point in the teaching.15 At any rate, it struck me how

often I could find traces of Kahn during my travels in

Jutland.16 In Vejle alone I noticed several buildings, as

is clearly seen here in the book.

1.6.3. Another factor that can be attributed to

Kahn´s influence in Denmark is this ‘receptiveness’

to the ideas he represented. Here I am thinking of

the Danish tradition of building with bricks and tiles.

As far back as the tradition from P.V. Jensen-Klint

(Grundtvig´s church) and Kay Fisker (Aarhus Univer-

sity Park) there was a sense for historicism and sim-

ple, ‘closed’ forms17 with bricks playing a dominant

role as the material of choice. Here, inspiration from

Kahn can partially be perceived as an ‘organic’ con-

tinuation of a movement that was challenged by the

International Style and the more industrial mass pro-

duction of architecture. One of Kahn’s achievements

was to re-introduce the use of bricks as a legitimate

‘regional’ building material in the creation of modern

architecture (in contrast to the International Style

that preferred steel, concrete and glass). This can

clearly be seen in the work of Spreckelsen’s close

friends and married colleagues Inge and Johannes

1312

1.6.4. En række arkitekter har med den britiske bru-

talisme som udgangspunkt også ladet sig inspirere

af Kahn. I bogen New Brutalism – Ethic or Aesthetic

fra 1966 gør teoretikeren Reyner Banham status over

brutalismen som arkitektonisk bevægelse i det fore-

gående årti. Bogen indeholder en gennemgang af

de væsentligste byggerier i perioden, heriblandt af

de kendte Peter og Alison Smithson, samt vigtige in-

spirationskilder for bevægelsen (såsom den sene Le

Corbusier, japansk arkitektur, L’art brut og eksisten-

tialisme). Derudover figurerer Louis Kahns Yale Art

Gallery fra 1953 som det første eksempel på såkaldt

brutalistisk arkitektur uden for Storbritannien. Om

bygningen skriver Banham: ’It is a classic demonstra-

tion of absolute Brutalist truth to a particular met-

hod of construction, and has the added historical im-

portance of being the most extended demonstration

to date, by anyone other than Le Corbusier, of the

aesthetics of ’béton brut’.’19 Hos Banham – og Kahn –

er et afgørende aspekt ved brutalismen dens blotlæg-

gelse af bygningens egen konstruktion, og Yale Art

Gallery har denne: ’Frank expression of structure and

materials.’20 Kahn bruger selv følgende formulering

til at udtrykke samme æstetiske princip: ’An archite-

ctural space must reveal the evidence of its making

by the space itself.’21 Dette princip for arkitekturen var

hos Kahn gældende for alt skabt: at det rummer en

bevidsthed om sin egen tilblivelse.

1.6.5. Kahns prominente status hos Banham bety-

der, at hans virkningshistorie i Danmark indledes med

de manifestationer af brutalistisk arkitektur, vi finder

i Danmark.22 Et oplagt eksempel på brutalistisk arki-

tektur inspireret af Kahn er Panum-instituttet i Kø-

benhavn opført i perioden 1971-1986 af KKET ved ar-

kitekterne Eva og Nils Koppel, Gert Edstrand og Erik

Thyrring. Kahn er tilstede i idéen om at blotlægge

betonkonstruktionen og arbejde med bygningen som

masse. Derudover er hele murstensfacaden ud mod

Tagensvej et eksempel på Kahns idé om ’wrapping ru-

ins around buildings.’23 Her er der ikke tale om inspira-

tion fra Kahn via Spreckelsen og Ramsgaard Thomsen

(arkitekterne bag Panum blev færdig på Kunstakade-

miets Arkitektskole allerede i 1941).

Exner, who also shared his interest in Kahn, and have

used bricks in their projects.18

1.6.4. With the starting point in British Brutalism,

several architects can be seen to have been inspired

by Kahn. In New Brutalism – Ethic or Aesthetic (1966)

the theorist Reyner Banham assesses the impact

of Brutalism as an architectural movement in the

preceding years. The book examines the most im-

portant buildings from the period, among others by

renowned Peter and Alison Smithson together with

key sources of inspiration for the movement (eg.

late Le Corbusier, Japanese architecture, L’art Brut

and existentialism). Additionally, Louis Kahn’s Yale

Art Gallery (1953) is the first example of Brutalism

outside the United Kingdom, described by Banham

thus: ‘It is a classic demonstration of absolute Brutalist

truth to a particular method of construction, and has

the added historical importance of being the most ex-

tended demonstration to date, by anyone other than

Le Corbusier, of the aesthetics of ‘beton brut’.’19 With

Banham – and Kahn – a decisive aspect of Brutalism

has been the exposure of the building´s construction,

as illustrated by the Yale Art Gallery which has this:

‘frank expression of structure and materials.’20 Kahn

himself used the following formulation of the same

aesthetic principle: ‘An architectural space must re-

veal the evidence of its making by the space itself.’21

A guiding architectural principle for Kahn was that

everything created should be conscious of its own

creation.

1.6.5. Kahn´s prominent status in Banham´s book

means that his influence in Denmark is introduced

with the examples of Brutalist architecture to be

found in the country.22 An obvious example of Bru-

talist architecture inspired by Kahn is the Panum

Institute in Copenhagen built 1971-1986 by Eva and

Niels Koppel, Gert Edstrand and Erik Thyrring (KKET

Architects). Kahn is present in the idea of exposing

the concrete construction and with working with the

building as a solid mass. Additionally, the entire brick

façade towards Tagensvej illustrates Kahn´s idea of

‘wrapping ruins around buildings.’23 However, this

is not directly attributable to Kahn´s influence via

Richards Medical Building

1514

1.6.6. En anden vinkel, hvorfra spørgsmålet om ’Lou-

is Kahn i Danmark’ kan anskues, er en teoretiker som

Christian Norberg-Schulz (1926-2000). Igennem en

række indflydelsesrige bøger var han i lighed med

Kahn med til at forme en modreaktion over for den

Internationale Stil. Over for en universel, generisk

arkitektur i glas og stål, der bekendte sig til den in-

dustrielle produktionsmåde af arkitektur, skulle der

bygges huse, som tilpassede sig det menneskelige liv

og gjorde det muligt for brugeren at identificere sig

med bygningen. En identifikation der vedkendte sig

regionale kulturforskelle. For Norberg-Schulz skulle

arkitekturen tage udgangspunkt i det konkrete sted

og forholde sig til de lokale byggeskikke og kultur-

former. ’Kritisk Regionalisme’, som denne bevægelse

blev kaldt, kan sammenfattes i sansen for kontekst og

stedets ånd (Genius Loci er titlen på Norberg-Schulz

berømte bog fra 1979). I hans bøger og artikler findes

der mange henvisninger til Kahn,24 og spørgsmålet er

således, om ikke Kahn via Norberg-Schulz også har

haft en effekt på tankegangen hos danske arkitekter

fra halvfjerdserne og frem.25

1.6.7. Kahns status blandt arkitekter i dag skal derfor

ses i et mere diffust lys, hvor han indgår som en del af

’firmamentet’ af ’de store’ arkitekter. I vores globalise-

rede verden flyder mange internationale strømninger

parallelt med hinanden, og spørgsmålet om en ’dansk’

tradition inden for murstensbyggeri eller et speci-

fikt dansk syn på arkitektur forekommer de fleste at

være et fjernt anliggende. Siden midten af firserne har

dansk arkitektur været et sprængt rum, karakteriseret

ved stilpluralisme og introduktionen af helt nye roller

og magtbalancer mellem henholdsvis arkitekt, ingeni-

ører, entreprenører og bygherrer.26

1.7. De bygninger, der er med, er dem, jeg har

krydset på min vej rundt om i landet – hvilket også

giver bogens billeder et lidt tilfældigt præg. Der fin-

des mange billeder derude, som blot venter på at blive

taget – og her kan bogen måske bruges som en slags

øjenåbner, en invitation til at betragte en række byg-

ninger opført fra 1960’erne og frem i Danmark i et nyt

lys. Billederne rummer i en vis forstand et katalog over

forskellige formelementer, der ’peger’ tilbage på Kahn

– hvorefter øvelsen går ud på selv at gå på opdagelse

efter dem i ens omgivelser. Prøv at betragte det lokale

rådhus, biblioteket, et skolebyggeri eller en daginsti-

tution opført i perioden. Når først man begynder at

se efter, er de over det hele. Inspirationen fra Kahn er

spor fra en anden tid, der ligger gemt i det bebyggede

landskab.

LOUIS KAHN OG MONUMENTALITET

2. I 1944 publicerer Kahn essayet Monumentali-

ty,27 der er hans første store essay i eget navn, hvor

han kritiserer datidens modernisme (udtrykt i den In-

ternationale Stil) for at ’forsømme’ de mulige erfarin-

ger og indsigter, der er tilstede i fortidens arkitektur.

Kahns essay skal ses som et bidrag til en diskussion,

der blev indledt i 1943, hvor arkitekturteoretikeren

Siegfried Giedion sammen med arkitekten Josep L.

Sert og billedkunstneren Fernand Léger skrev Nine

Points on Monumentality.28 I dette skrift anklager

de modernismen for ikke at være i stand til at ska-

be tidssvarende monumenter, der udtrykker menne-

skets kulturelle og åndelige behov. Ifølge forfatterne

er monumentet et symbol på den kollektive kraft, der

går på tværs af generationer og dermed skaber en

sammenhæng mellem fortid og nutid. Monumenter

forener menneskerne og er for så vidt kun mulige,

når der findes en kulturel enhed blandt menneskerne.

Derfor har moderne arkitektur og kunst også taget

afstand fra monumentet, fordi det baserer sig på en

enhed, der ikke længere findes.29 Ikke desto mindre er

behovet der stadig ifølge forfatterne, og spørgsmålet

er, hvilken form monumentet skal have i en moder-

ne verden. En verden, der efter 2. verdenskrig søger

efter nye tidssvarende institutioner, som kan rumme

en ny forståelse for både det universelle (De Forene-

de Nationer) og det kulturspecifikke (de mange nye

selvstændighedsbevægelser der træder frem på den

globale scene med krav om national selvbestemmelse

og anerkendelse af deres særegenhed).

2.1. Louis Kahns essay skal derfor ses som et svar

på den diskussion, Nine Points on Monumentality ind-

Spreckelsen and Ramsgaard Thomsen as the archi-

tects in question qualified as early as 1941.

1.6.6. Another angle from which to consider ‘Louis

Kahn in Denmark’ is provided by the theorist Chris-

tian Norberg-Schultz (1926-2000). Through a series

of influential books he, like Kahn, shaped a counter

argument to the International Style. In opposition to

a universal, generic architecture in glass and steel

that followed suit with the industrial production pro-

cess, houses should be built that suited the people,

and allowed the user to identify him/herself with the

building. An identification that acknowledged there

were regional and cultural differences. According

to Norberg-Schultz, architecture should begin in a

physical place and adjust to the local building prac-

tices and culture. ‘Critical Regionalism’ as this move-

ment came to be called can be summarized as a

sense for context and local atmosphere (Genius Loci

is the title of Norberg-Schultz’s famous book from

1979). In his books and articles, many references to

Kahn are to be found,24 and the question is whether

Kahn, via Norberg-Schulz, has also had an effect on

the mindset of Danish architects from the 1970’s and

onwards.25

1.6.7. Kahn´s status among architects today has

to be seen in more diffuse light, as one among the

‘great’ architects. In our globalized world many in-

ternational trends flow parallel to each other, and the

question as to whether there exists a specific ‘Danish’

tradition of building with bricks, or a certain ‘Danish’

architectural vision will seem to most readers as ir-

relevant. Since the middle of the 1970’s Danish archi-

tecture has exploded, characterized by a pluralism

of styles, new roles and changing power structures

between the architect, engineer, the building com-

pany and the commissioner of the building.26

1.7. The buildings photographed in this book

are those that have crossed my path while travel-

ling round the country – which also give the book

a slightly random feel. Many pictures are out there,

just waiting to be taken – and this book can perhaps

be an eye opener, an invitation to consider buildings

constructed from the 1960’s onwards in a new light.

To some extent, the pictures are a catalogue of var-

ious basic elements leading back to Kahn – and the

exercise is now to go out and identify these in our

surroundings. Try and consider the local town hall, li-

brary, a school or a kindergarten built in that period.

Once you start looking, Kahn is everywhere. The in-

spiration from Kahn are traces from a different time

hidden in the urban landscape.

LOUIS KAHN AND MONUMENTALITY

2. In 1944 Kahn published an essay entitled

Monumentality,27 the first essay written under his

own name, in which he criticizes the modernistic ar-

chitecture of the time (expressed in the Internation-

al Style) for ‘neglecting’ the useful experiences and

insights to be gained from studying the architecture

of the past. Kahn´s essay must be seen as a contri-

bution to the discussion, started in 1943, in which

Siegfried Giedion, an architectural theorist, together

with Josep L. Sert, an architect, and Fernand Léger,

the sculptor, wrote Nine Points on Monumentality.28

In it, they criticize modernism for being unable to

create monuments that express humanity´s cultural

and spiritual needs. According to the authors, monu-

ments are an inter-generational symbol of collective

strength which hereby create a link between the fu-

ture and the past. Monuments unite people, and to

some extent are only possible when some form of

cultural unity exists. This is why modern architecture

distances itself from monuments because they are

based on a unity that no longer exists.29 Nonetheless,

according to the authors, the need still exists and the

question is what type of monument is appropriate

to the modern world? A world, which after WW2 is

seeking new contemporary institutions, able to en-

compass both the universal (the United Nations) and

specific cultural issues (the many new independence

movements appearing across the global scene de-

manding national independence and recognition of

their uniqueness).

1716

ledte, og som med 2. verdenskrig som bagtæppe rej-

ses i en kontekst, hvor dele af den vestlige verden og

dens kultur lå i ruiner. På sin vis kan man sige, at Kahns

egne værker fra 1950’erne og frem er et forsøg på at

skabe tidssvarende moderne monumental arkitektur,

der kan være: ’The expression of man’s highest cul-

tural needs,’30 som det udtrykkes i Nine Points. Kahn

indleder sit essay med følgende definition af monu-

mentalitet: ’Monumentality in architecture may be

defined as a quality, a spiritual quality inherent in

a structure which conveys the feeling of its eterni-

ty, that it cannot be added or changed.’31 Her ser vi,

at Kahn til dels overtager den idé, der blev fremlagt i

Nine Points on Monumentality, nemlig at der i monu-

mentet er en spirituel kvalitet til stede, som rummer

en tidslighed, der overskrider den umiddelbare nutid.

Den spirituelle kvalitet skal forstås som den ’mening’,

arkitekturen giver form til. Hos Kahn tilføjes dog ideen

om ’strukturen’ som afgørende for monumentaliteten,

hvilket peger frem mod hans senere brug af geome-

triske grundformer og den strukturelle tilgang til den

arkitektoniske plan. Et andet afgørende aspekt i Kahns

definition af monumentalitet er sansen for den ’slutte-

de form’, dvs. at intet kan tilføjes eller fjernes.

2.1.1. Længere fremme i essayet skriver Kahn: ’Have

we yet given full architectural expression to such so-

cial monuments as the school, the community or cul-

ture center?’32 Her lægger han sig fuldstændig på linje

med forfatterne til Nine Points, idet han også spør-

ger til, hvorvidt det er lykkedes moderne arkitektur at

skabe sociale monumenter. Spørgsmålet om sociale

monumenter viser Kahns sans for arkitekturens rolle i

samfundet, og at arkitekturen i Kahns optik begynder

med en sans for de institutioner, der ligger til grund

for menneskets sociale eksistens. En socialitet, der er

stedbunden og betinget af de lokale sammenhæn-

ge, hvorigennem arkitekturen opstår – et aspekt der

peger frem mod Kahns andet bidrag til arkitekturen:

spørgsmålet om arkitekturens ’kontekst’.

2.1.2. Hvordan kan det da være muligt at skabe

tidssvarende monumenter i den moderne verden, når

vi ikke længere har en kulturel enhed som udgangs-

punkt? Hertil svarer Kahn: ’Monumentality is enigma-

2.1. Louis Kahn’s essay should therefore be con-

sidered as an answer to the discussion started by Nine

Points on Monumentality and seen in the context of

the western world and its culture which lay in ruins.

In a way one can say that Kahn’s own works from the

1950’s onwards were an attempt to create contem-

porary modern monumental architecture that can

be: ‘the expression of man’s highest cultural needs’30

as expressed in Nine Points. Kahn introduces his es-

say with the following definition of monumentality:

‘Monumentality in architecture may be defined as a

quality, a spiritual quality inherent in a structure which

conveys the feeling of its eternity, that it cannot be

added or changed.’31 Here we can see how Kahn par-

tially incorporates the idea expressed in Nine Points

in Monumentality, that in monuments is to be found a

spiritual quality containing a temporality surpassing

the immediate present. The spiritual quality must be

understood as the ‘meaning’ to which architecture

provides the form. With Kahn however, the idea of

‘structure’ as an essential element of monumental-

ism points towards his later use of geometrical ba-

sic shapes and a structural approach to architecture.

Another decisive aspect of Kahn’s definition of mon-

umentalism is the sense of the ‘complete form’ ie.

that nothing can be removed or added.

2.1.1. Later in the essay Kahn writes: ‘Have we

yet given full architectural expression to such social

monuments as the school, the community or culture

center?’32 Here he is in complete agreement with

the author of Nine Points because he also questions

whether modern architecture has been successful in

creating social monuments. The question of social

monuments illustrates Kahn’s understanding of the

role of architecture in society, as for Kahn, architec-

ture begins with a sense for those institutions that

form the basis of mankind´s social existence. A so-

ciality that is bounded to place and shaped by local

conditions through which architecture is created – an

aspect indicating Kahn’s other contribution to archi-

tecture: the question of architectural ‘context’.

Indian Institute of Management

1918

tic. It cannot be intentionally created.’33 Der findes

altså ingen ’opskrift’ på at skabe et monument, der

kan give form og udtryk til menneskets højeste aspira-

tioner. Ikke desto mindre mener Kahn, at der i studiet

af fortidens arkitektur findes et muligt svar: ’However,

our architectural monuments indicate a striving for

structural perfection which has contributed in great

part to their impressiveness, clarity of form and logi-

cal scale.’34 Kahn foreslår ikke, at arkitekter skal byg-

ge pyramider som de gamle ægyptere eller kopier af

Pantheon i Rom, men at den moderne arkitekt kan fin-

de inspiration i den ’stræben’, som de udtrykker. Den

strukturelle perfektion og den klare form bliver afgø-

rende aspekter af hans egen monumentale arkitektur.

2.1.2.1. For at forstå Kahns ønske om at lade forti-

dens arkitektoniske monumenter være forbilleder for

nutidens formsprog kan det være interessant at ind-

drage tankerne fra George Kubler, Kahns kollega og

nære ven på Yale University, som i 1962 publicerede

den indflydelsesrige bog The Shape of Time. Med in-

spiration fra lingvistikken og elektrodynamikken for-

søger han at udvikle en anden forståelse for tingenes

– og dermed kunstværkernes – historie. I stedet for

at anskue kunsthistorien som en biologisk udviklings-

historie, hvor der er opblomstring, modning og for-

fald, anskuer han historien som et system af netværk,

hvor kunstnere optager ’impulser’ fra fortiden, og

sender nye signaler afsted gennem de former, de an-

vender. Fortidens symbolske udtryksformer er derfor

ikke ’døde’ eller ’afsluttede’, men mulige at indopta-

ge som formelle strukturer. Som Kubler skriver: ’The

present interpretation of any past event is of course

only another stage in the perpetuation of the origi-

nal impulse.’35 Fortidens monumentale værker bliver

dermed til impulser, som den pågældende kunstner

eller arkitekt på et historisk tidspunkt kan indoptage

og videresende, men samtidig også transformere. I re-

lation til Kahns syn på monumentalitet bliver Kublers

position vigtig, fordi fortiden ikke længere ses som en

ophobning af utidssvarende og ugyldige former, men

som formelle muligheder, der kræver kunstnerens kre-

ative fortolkning af dem.

2.1.2. How is it possible to create contemporary

monuments in the modern world when we no longer

possess the cultural unity necessary for the starting

point? To this Kahn answers: ‘Monumentality is enig-

matic. It cannot be intentionally created.’33 There is no

recipe for how to create a monument that can ex-

press humanity’s highest aspirations. Nevertheless,

Kahn believes it is possible to find a viable answer

by studying architecture from the past: ‘However,

our architectural monuments indicate a striving for

structural perfection which has contributed in great

part to their impressiveness, clarity of form and logical

scale.’34 Kahn is not suggesting that architects should

build pyramids like the Egyptians of old, nor copy

the Pantheon in Rome, but that the contemporary

architect can be inspired by the ‘striving’ that these

buildings express. Structural perfection and clear

form become decisive aspects of his own monumen-

tal architecture.

2.1.2.1. To understand Kahn’s wish to let the architec-

tural monuments from the past act as models for con-

temporary form language it can be interesting to in-

clude the thoughts of George Kubler, a colleague and

close friend of Kahn at Yale University, who in 1962

published the influential book The Shape of Time. In-

spired by linguistics and electro-dynamism he tried

to develop an alternative history of the understand-

ing of objects – and through that works of art. Instead

of looking at art history as a biological progression

with a blossoming, maturity and decline, he per-

ceives history as a system of networks, and artists as

those who receive impulses from the past, and then

send out new signals through the forms they choose.

Symbolic expressions from the past are therefore not

‘dead’ or ‘completed’ but are able to be inculcated as

formal structures. As Kubler writes: ‘The present in-

terpretation of any past event is of course only anoth-

er stage in the perpetuation of the original impulse.’35

The monumental works from the past thereby be-

come impulses which the architect in question can

incorporate and transmit, but simultaneously also

transform. Kubler’s position is important in relation

to Kahn’s view of monumentality because the past is

no longer seen as an accumulation of obsolete and

void forms, but as a formal opportunity that demands

the artist’s creative interpretation of them.

2.2. In 1950 Kahn is awarded a year´s residen-

cy at the American Institute in Rome, which had a

crucial influence on his view of architecture and the

question of monumentality. He had already stayed

in Rome from 1928-29, but it was the latter visit that

was the decisive influence on his architectural style.

He makes several visits to classical antique ruins with

help from Frank Brown, an archeologist and expert

in Roman architecture, who also taught at Yale to-

gether with Kahn. He spends long periods in Athens

at the Parthenon and in Cairo where he visits the

pyramids and grave monuments of Luxor.36 A series

of expressive pastel studies indicate how Kahn was

intrigued by how light is reflected on surfaces.

2.2.1. The journey to Rome was a turning point in

Kahn’s vision of the role of monuments as rallying

points in civil society. Antiquity´s monuments are

ruins, witnesses to a past culture no longer in exist-

ence, but as buildings they are still capable of com-

municating to us because of their massive tecton-

ic volumes. Frankly, they are overwhelming, and as

ruins they ask us the question: Where do we come

from? How much of the past is still relevant for us?

The question for Kahn is how can modern architec-

ture create similar monuments that are the equiva-

lent of the architectural masterpieces from the past?

Architecture that expresses the same ‘striving’.

2.3. Kahn’s architecture, starting in the 1950’s,

can therefore be seen as a quest for a new way to

create architecture that visibly expresses monumen-

talism. In his lecture ‘Silence and Light’ from 1968 he

says: ‘Architecture primarily deals with the making

of spaces which serve the institutions of Man.’37 With

Kahn, monumentality is therefore not a question of

enormous buildings or official statues, but rather to

give form to social monuments (community support-

ing institutions containing the ‘objective spirit’ in a

Hegelian sense: schools, libraries, town halls, com-

munity halls, courtrooms etc). Kahn understands

the human being as an expressive entity who forms

2.2. I 1950 får Kahn tildelt et års ophold på The

American Institute i Rom, hvilket får afgørende ind-

flydelse på hans syn på arkitektur og spørgsmålet om

monumentalitet. Allerede i 1928-29 opholdte han sig i

Rom, men det er sidstnævnte ophold, der bliver det,

som for alvor sætter sig dybe spor i hans arkitektur.

Her foretager han en række besøg til klassiske antikke

ruiner under kyndig vejledning af arkæologen Frank

Brown (der også underviste på Yale sammen med

Kahn), som var ekspert i romersk arkitektur. Han til-

bringer også længere tid i Athen ved Parthenon og i

Cairo, hvor han besøger pyramiderne, samt gravmo-

numenterne i Luxor.36 Herfra findes en række ekspres-

sive pastel-studier, hvor Kahn har været optaget af,

hvorledes lyset reflekteres i fladerne.

2.2.1. Rejsen til Rom bliver et vendepunkt for Kahns

syn på monumentets rolle som samlingspunkt i det

civile liv. Oldtidens monumenter er ruiner, vidnesbyrd

fra en fortidig kultur, der ikke længere eksisterer, men

som bygningsværker formår de stadig at tale ind i

tiden i kraft af deres massive tektoniske volumener.

De er slet og ret overvældende, og som ruiner stiller

de spørgsmålet: Hvor kommer vi fra? Hvor meget af

fortiden er endnu nærværende i os? Spørgsmålet for

Kahn er, hvordan arkitekturen i moderne tid kan ska-

be tilsvarende monumenter, der modsvarer fortidens

arkitektoniske mesterværker. Arkitektur, der udtrykker

samme ’stræben’.

2.3. Kahns arkitektur fra 1950’erne og frem kan

derfor ses som en søgen efter en ny måde at skabe

arkitektur, hvori denne stræben efter monumentali-

tet er synlig. Med hans egne ord i foredraget ’Silence

and Light’ fra 1968: ’Architecture primarily deals with

the making of spaces which serve the institutions of

Man.’37 Monumentalitet hos Kahn er som nævnt derfor

ikke et spørgsmål om store bygninger eller riddersta-

tuer, men om at give form til de sociale monumen-

ter (de samfundsbærende institutioner, der rummer

den ’objektive ånd’ i hegeliansk forstand: skoler, bib-

lioteker, rådhuse, forsamlingshuse, domhuse etc.). For

Kahn er mennesket en ekspressiv entitet, der igennem

de samfundsmæssige institutioner virkeliggør sig selv.

Institutionerne skal forstås i bred forstand – og ikke i

2120 National Assembly, Dhaka

2322

blot administrativ, bureaukratisk forstand – som ram-

mer og ideer omkring det menneskelige liv.

2.3.1. At der var tale om en søgen, skal forstås såle-

des, at enhver arkitektonisk opgave for Kahn var et

spørgsmål om at ’redefinere institutionen’ (’restate the

institutions’) i det konkrete rum. ’Every era can be me-

asured by the creation of the new institutions of that

era. (…) Almost every generation has something in it

which demands a restatement of every institution.’38

Og her skal institutioner ses i et bredere perspektiv

som i ’læringens institution’, ’den demokratiske institu-

tion’, ’gadens institution’ etc. Enhver bygning er udtryk

for en institution, og arkitektens opgave er, ifølge Kahn

at finde frem til den konkrete udformning – dets de-

sign – der udtrykker institutionens idé, som modsvarer

menneskets begær efter at eksistere i verdenen.

2.3.1.1. For Kahn selv blev det en søgen, der udmønte-

de sig i en række kraftfulde, monumentale bygnings-

værker, som samtidig var enormt stedsspecifikke i de-

res sans for bygningens funktion. I en vis forstand er

’arven’ fra Kahn hans søgen efter at gen-definere det

arkitektoniske sprog for, hvordan der kan skabes mo-

numenter i en moderne verden. Kahns hovedværker:

nationalforsamlingen i Bangladesh, Ahmedenad Insti-

tute of Management, museerne i Fort Wayne (Indiana)

og Forth Worth (Texas); Exeter Biblioteket og Salk In-

stitute er alle ’institutioner’, der rummer vores civilisa-

tions kerneværdier: demokrati, uddannelse, forskning,

læring og kunst.

2.3.2. I hvert enkelt tilfælde var der tale om at arbej-

de bevidst og længe med bygningens udformning for

derigennem at materialisere ’rummets begær’. Rum-

mets begær hos Kahn betyder den vilje til eksistens,

der manifesteres i arkitekturen, som samtidig er en

sfære før arkitekturen. ’Desire being that quality, that

force, unmeasurable force, everything here stems

from the unmeasurable.’39 Kahn bruger udtrykket ’exi-

stence-will’ til at beskrive kraften fra dette begær, der

udtrykker, ’hvad en bygning gerne vil være’. Hermed

overskrider Kahn en ren funktionel analyse af, hvilke

partikulære behov en bygning skal opfylde, og be-

væger sig ind i et mere intuitivt ekspressivt rum, hvor

arkitekten skal forsøge at tilnærme sig en bygnings

endnu ikke realiserede essens.

2.4. Her er vi fremme ved den metafysiske dimen-

sion i Kahns arkitekturforståelse, der i en vis forstand

også gør ham til mystiker.40 En betegnelse, der skyl-

des hans delvist platoniske begrebsbrug og hans ofte

poetiske udsagn.41 Ikke desto mindre er der en indre

sammenhæng i hans begrebsbrug, der blev udviklet i

kraft af hans funktion som underviser42 og som leder

for de mange assistenter på hans egen tegnestue.43

2.4.1. Hos Kahn er forskellen mellem ’form’ og ’de-

sign’ en vigtig distinktion, som Kahn anvender til at

strukturere opfattelsen af og forløbet i processen med

at skabe arkitektur. Bag manifestationen af enhver

bygning er der en form, en grundlæggende idé med

bygningen, der har karakter af være en art institution

eller et ur-billede.44 Dette er bygningens ’what’. Et ek-

sempel, Kahn ofte bruger, er institutionen ’skole’. Sko-

len begynder med, at mennesket har et begær efter at

lære noget – ’The Institution of Learning’. Oprindelsen

er eleven, der lytter til læreren under et træ. Her finder

vi en grundlæggende ’aspiration’, en forhåbning eller

et begær efter uendelighed (som fænomenologen

Emmanuel Levinas ville sige). Arkitekten skal spørge

til denne idé – det kan være retfærdighed (hvis en

retsbygning skal tegnes) eller demokrati (hvis et par-

lament skal opføres). I den indledende fase spørger

arkitekten ikke til ’hvordan’, men til ’hvad’ – en spørgen

der er åben og for så vidt ’umålelig’ (unmeasurable),

fordi den udgør institutionens ’ånd’. Kahn mente så-

ledes, at enhver bygning ’Must begin with the unme-

asurable, must go through measurable means when

it is being designed and in the end must be unmea-

surable.’45 I den indledende proces både afsøgte og

indoptog arkitekten et aspekt af dette ’unmeasurable’

i bygningens formgivning. Andetsteds taler Kahn om

denne sfære som ’silence’, hvorfra bygningen så op-

står og bliver til ’light’ – som en materiel størrelse i

den virkelige verden. I den første fase søger arkitekten

efter idéens oprindelse som en særlig ’existence-will’.

Hvad er bygningens form et begær efter?

him/herself through social institutions. Institutions

should be understood in a broad context – not just as

administrative, bureaucratic entities – but as frames

and ideas shaping our life.

2.3.1. For Kahn, talking of a ‘quest’ has to be un-

derstood as every architectural assignment being

a question of ‘redefining the institution’ (‘restate

the institutions’) in the specific architectural space.

‘Every era can be measured by the creation of the new

institutions of that era. (…) Almost every generation

has something in it which demands a restatement

of every institution.’38 And here institutions must be

considered broadly to encompass ‘the institution of

learning’, ‘ the democratic institution’, the institution

of the street’ etc. Every building is the expression of

an institution, and the task of the architect, accord-

ing to Kahn, is to discover which physical form best

expresses the purpose of the institution that fulfills

mankind’s desire to exist in the world.

2.3.1.1. For Kahn, this became a search that translat-

ed itself into a series of powerful, monumental build-

ings but which were simultaneously closely linked to

place because of their function. Up to a point, the ‘in-

heritance’ from Kahn has been his search to re-define

architectural language on how to create monuments

in a modern world. Kahn’s major works: the National

Assembly in Bangladesh, the Ahmedenad Institute of

Management, the museums in Fort Wayne (Indiana)

and Fort Worth (Texas), Exeter Library and the Salk

Institute are all institutions which contain contempo-

rary civilization’s key values: democracy, education,

research, learning and art.

2.3.2. In every single case, many hours of long hard

work went into finding the best way to design the

building to reflect its purpose, its ‘spatial desire’. In

Kahn’s terminology, spatial desire means the will to

exist which manifests itself through the architecture,

but which exists simultaneously before the architec-

ture. ‘Desire being that quality, that force, unmeasur-

able force, everything here stems from the unmeasur-

able.’39 Kahn uses the expression ‘existence-will’ to

describe the power of that desire that forces a build-

ing to express ‘what a building wants to be.’ Here

Kahn goes beyond a purely functional analysis of

what particular purpose a building is meant to fulfill

and moves into a more intuitive, expressive mode in

which the architect must attempt to approach the

building’s as yet unfinished essence.

2.4. Here we have reached the metaphysical di-

mension to Kahn´s architectural vision, which to

some extent also makes him a mystic.40 A designa-

tion partly due to his use of Platonic concepts and

his frequent poetic statements.41 Nonetheless there

is an internal consistency between his conceptual

framework evolved from his experiences as a teach-

er42 and as leader of the many assistants in his archi-

tectural office.43

2.4.1. With Kahn the difference between ‘form’ and

‘design’ is an important distinction because Kahn

uses this to structure the perception of how archi-

tecture is created. Behind the manifestation of every

building, there is a form, a basic intent, which has the

character of being a type of institution, or a prime-

val picture.44 This is the building’s ‘what’. An exam-

ple Kahn often uses is the institution of the ‘school’.

Schooling starts with the lust to learn something –

‘The Institution of Learning’. The origin is the pupil

who listens to the teacher sitting under a tree. Here

we find a basic ‘aspiration’, a hope or a desire to-

wards infinity (as Emmanuel Levinas, the phenom-

enologist would say). The architect must search to

find this idea – it can be justice (if a courtroom is

to be designed) or democracy (if a parliament is to

be built). In the preliminary phase the architect does

not ask ‘how’ but ‘what’ – a search that is open and

so to speak unmeasurable because it comprises the

institution’s ‘spirit’. Kahn thought that every building:

‘Must begin with the unmeasurable, must go through

measurable means when it is being designed and in

the end must be unmeasurable.’45 During this prelimi-

nary phase the architect must seek to incorporate an

aspect of this ‘unmeasurable´ quality into the form

of the building. In other places, Kahn talks of this

sphere as ‘silence’ from which the building materi-

alizes and becomes ‘light’ – as a physical entity in

2524

2.4.2. I næste fase indledes selve den konkrete form-

givningsproces – spørgsmålet om design. ’Design is a

personal act, it is how you see it.’46 Her melder virke-

ligheden sig først og fremmest i form af naturlovene

og kræfternes spil i materialerne. Men også i form af

budget, bygherrens ønsker, bygningens funktion, be-

liggenheden, tilgængelige materialer og lokale byg-

geskikke. Designprocessen er bygningens ’hvordan’,

og her begyndte Kahn med planen – dvs. den indre

rumfordeling, og hvor der skulle være åbninger til det

naturlige lys. Denne tilgang til designprocessen havde

Kahn lært fra sin uddannelse i den historiske Beaux-

Art tradition under arkitekten Paul Gret samt via hans

beundring for Frank Lloyd Wright.

2.4.2.1. For Kahn var bygningen et ’society of spaces’,

hvilket betød en ekstrem opmærksomhed på rumme-

nes funktion i distributionen af husets bevægelsesfor-

løb og på hvilke former for menneskelig samkvem, de

enkelte rum genererede. For Kahn var der et hierarki

rummene imellem, der ledte til hans vigtige distinktion

mellem ’served spaces’ og ’serving spaces’. I Kahns ar-

kitektur betød distinktionen, at trapper, korridorer, ele-

vatorskakter og tekniske installationer blev artikuleret

på en ny måde. De blev trukket frem og gjort til selv-

stændige momenter i bygningens form og dermed

til et kendetegn ved Kahnsk arkitektur. Inspirationen

fra Kahn ses senere i arkitektur, hvor denne distinkti-

on bliver aflæselig udefra. Et godt eksempel er Pom-

pidoucentret i Paris fra 1977 tegnet af Renzo Piano og

Richard Rogers (der som nævnt begge studerede hos

Kahn), hvor alle bygningens bærende konstruktioner

og tekniske installationer (ventilationsrør, rulletrapper,

etageovergange) indkapsler huset og danner dets fa-

cade.

2.4.2.2. Kahns skelnen mellem ’served spaces’ og

’serving spaces’ kan opfattes som en fortolkning af

spørgsmålet om den frie plan (’le plan libre’), der af

Le Corbusier blev gjort til et centralt aspekt ved den

moderne arkitektur.47 Den frie plan betød store arealer

uden bærende søjler eller vægge, således at brugeren

selv kunne definere og bestemme rummets funktion.

Kahn udfoldede dette i monumental skala i Salk Insti-

tute, hvor laboratorierne befandt sig i store rum og

the real world. In the first phase the architect seeks

the origin of the idea as a particular ‘existence-will’.

What does the building’s form express a desire for?

2.4.2. The next phase is begun with the actual pro-

cess of giving form to the building – a question of

design. ‘Design is a personal act, it is how you see

it.’46 Here reality starts to impinge itself as natural

laws and the strength and durability of the materials.

But also the issues of budgets, accessible materials

and local building customs. The process of design is

the building’s ‘how’ and here Kahn started with the

plan ie. the internal division of the spaces, and where

there should be access to daylight. Kahn had learnt

this approach to the design process from his training

in the historic Beaux-Art tradition under Paul Gret,

an architect, and via his admiration for Frank Lloyd

Wright.

2.4.2.1. For Kahn, the building was a ‘society of spac-

es’ which meant paying extreme attention to the

function of the spaces, and how the building’s move-

ment patterns and the type of socialization each

room generated was reflected in their distribution.

Kahn saw the spaces in a form of hierarchy, leading

to the important distinction between ‘served spaces’

and ‘serving spaces’. In Kahn’s architecture this dis-

tinction meant that spaces such as staircases, corri-

dors, elevator shafts and technical installations were

expressed in a new way. They were emphasized and

made into independent elements of the building,

and thereby became a characteristic of Kahn’s archi-

tectural style. Inspiration from Kahn can be found in

buildings where these distinct spaces can be seen

from the outside. A good example is the Pompidou

Centre in Paris (1977) designed by Renzo Piano and

Richard Rogers (both of whom, as mentioned pre-

viously, studied under Kahn) where all the bearing

walls and technical installations (ventilation ducts,

escalators, load-bearing walls) encapsulate the

building to create its façade.

2.4.2.2. Kahn’s differentiation between ‘served spac-

es’ and ‘serving spaces’ can be understood as an in-

terpretation of the free plan (‘le plan libre’), which

Le Corbusier made into a central aspect of modern

architecture.47 The free plan entailed large areas with

no load-bearing pillars or walls so that the function

of the room could be defined by the user. Kahn devel-

oped this idea on a monumental scale at the Salk In-

stitute where the laboratories were placed in a huge

room, which could be divided according to the needs

and size of each experiment. All the technical instal-

lations were hidden in the ceiling, while the staircases

were moved out to the sides in separate sections.

2.4.3. Kahn worked methodically through the de-

sign process, starting with a sketch of the building’s

plan, over which he laid tracing paper so that he

could again draw in the building, change its plan, add

or subtract. On top of that he laid yet another piece

of tracing paper and so forth until he had reached a

satisfactory result. He left hundreds of sketches from

the preliminary phases in which he tried to deter-

mine the building’s design.48 He described the pro-

cess metaphorically as being similar to composing

music, in that patterns of rhythm, pauses, structure,

repeats and variations were clarified. ‘To me, when I

see a plan I must see the plan as though it were a sym-

phony, of the realm of spaces in the construction and

light.’49 Kahn himself was an accomplished pianist,

and in the documentary My Architect he is quoted as

saying that if he had not become an architect, then

he would have been a decent composer.

2.5. The difficulties inherent in Kahn’s termi-

nology increase as he also used the word ‘order’

to describe a poetic, pre-language dimension that

comprises both nature and humanity. ‘Order’ is ‘the

maker of all existence,’50 and Kahn is famous for say-

ing ‘Order is’ to characterize a pre-cultural state that

explains how the laws of nature unfold in physical

space. Laws of nature that the architect must know

and accept when creating spaces. That is to say, the

concepts of ‘silence’, ‘unmeasurable’, ‘desire’ and

‘order’ form a chain that together attempts to cap-

ture a Platonic understanding of a first-principle on

which is generated the structure of reality. Perhaps it

can be understood thus: If a first-principle idea is ac-

cepted then a virtual space for the creative process

kunne inddeles efter behov i forhold til eksperimenter-

nes størrelse og omfang. Alle de praktiske installatio-

ner blev lagt under loftet, mens trapperne blev trukket

ud til siderne i selvstændige opgange.

2.4.3. I sin designproces gik Kahn metodisk frem så-

ledes, at han indledte bygningens plan med en skitse,

som han derefter lagde kalkérpapir ovenpå, så han

kunne tegne bygningen igen, ændre dens plan, tilføje

og fjerne. Ovenpå dette lagde han endnu et nyt pa-

pir og så fremdeles til han nåede et tilfredsstillende

resultat. Han efterlod sig et hav af skitser fra den-

ne indledende fase, hvor han forsøgte at bestemme

bygningens design.48 Kahn beskrev metaforisk udvik-

lingen af planen som kompositionen af musik, hvor

spørgsmålet om rytme, pauser, struktur, gentagelser

og variationer blev afklaret. ’To me, when I see a plan

I must see the plan as though it were a symphony, of

the realm of spaces in the construction and light.’49

Selv var Kahn en habil pianist, og i dokumentarfilmen

My Architect citeres han for at sige, at hvis han ikke

var blevet arkitekt, så kunne han være blevet en hæ-

derlig komponist.

2.5. Vanskeligheden ved Kahns terminologi forøg-

es, idet han også indfører begrebet ’order’ til at be-

tegne denne poetiske, før-sproglige dimension, der

omfatter både naturen og menneskene. ’Order’ er ’the

maker of all existence,’50 og Kahn er kendt for at sige

’Order is’, for dermed at pege på en før-kulturel orden,

der indeholder naturlovene for kræfternes udfoldelse

i det fysiske rum. Naturlove som arkitekten skal ken-

de og acceptere i udformningen af rum. Det vil sige,

at begreberne ’silence’, ’unmeasurable’, ’desire’, og ’or-

der’ danner en kæde, der tilsammen forsøger at ind-

fange en platonisk forståelse af et første-princip, som

genererer virkelighedens strukturering. Man kan må-

ske forstå det således: Ved at antage et første-princip

muliggør Kahn et virtuelt rum for den kreative proces,

som er før den aktuelle realisering af en bygning. Det

vil sige, at arkitekten har adgang til en zone af virtuali-

tet, hvori han eller hun har mulighed for at kontemplere

bygningens muligheder og så at sige udfolde dens ’be-

gær’. Virtualitetens styrke består i mængden af uane-

de muligheder, der byder sig til for at blive aktualiseret

2726

med konkrete midler. Den færdige bygning skal ifølge

Kahn antyde en bevidsthed om denne virtuelle zone –

have noget af ’the unmeasurable’ i sin manifestation.

2.5.1. Disse forestillinger om arkitekturens ’væsen’

hos Kahn afslører på den ene side, at han har en es-

sentialistisk tilgang til arkitektur. Den store arkitektur

findes, fordi visse arkitektoniske monumenter formår

at vække inspiration i mennesket og skabe en vær-

dig ramme om det. Han talte om arkitektur med stort

A: ’Architecture’ som forskellig fra ’architecture of the

marketplace’. Sidstnævnte er den arkitektur, der ikke

stiller spørgsmål til sin egen funktion som bygning el-

ler til det sted, hvori det indgår, men i sit formsprog

lader sig diktere af markedet. På den anden side var

Kahn i lige så høj grad bevidst om kontingensen ved

den menneskelige verden: at arkitekturen opstår igen-

nem et samspil af forskellige omstændigheder, hvori

tilfældighed også indgår. Derfor er der hos Kahn heller

ingen illusion om, at ’Arkitekturen’ findes som et rum,

hvor alle kan gå hen og tilegne sig den. Tværtimod.

Som han siger i den anden version af foredraget ’Si-

lence and Light’ fra 1969: ’You can’t get a hold of ar-

chitecture. It just has no presence. Only a work of ar-

chitecture has presence, and a work of architecture

is presented as an offering to architecture.’51 Dette ci-

tat udtrykker på afgørende vis Kahns egen forståelse

af hans søgen som arkitekt og det arkitektursyn, han

repræsenterer. Arkitektur findes ikke som en ren ideel

form eller som aktivitet løsrevet fra den sammenhæng,

den finder sted i. Der findes udsagn om arkitektur (en

opfattelse han deler med den nominalistiske position,

der ligger til grund for konceptkunsten). Ethvert byg-

geri er derfor en ’gave’ (offering) til arkitekturen, hvori

der fremvises et bud på, hvad arkitektur kunne være.

Arkitekturens ’ånd’ kan derfor ikke udtømmes eller til-

fredsstilles, men arkitekten kan vise, at der har været

stillet spørgsmål til arkitekturen.

2.5.2. I Kahns stræben efter at indfange og give form

til en metafysisk dimension igennem arkitekturen,

spiller det naturlige lys en central rolle i kraft af dets

atmosfæriske potentiale. Det naturlige lys er solens

eget lys og dermed hele tiden foranderligt i forhold til

tidspunkt på dagen, årstid, temperatur og klima. Lyset

becomes possible, which is present before the actual

design of the building has begun ie. the architect is

given access to a zone of virtuality from which he/

she is able to contemplate the opportunities inher-

ent in a building, and, so to speak, bring its ‘desires’

into existence. The strength of virtuality lies in its

expression of the boundless opportunities that lie

waiting to become actualized as physical forms. Ac-

cording to Kahn, the finished building should imply

an awareness of this virtual zone – have something of

the ‘unmeasurable’ in its manifestation.

2.5.1. These thoughts on the nature of architec-

ture’s ‘being’ reveal, on the one hand, that Kahn has

an essentialist approach. Great architecture is cre-

ated because certain architectural monuments are

able to animate inspiration and create a meaningful

frame for it. He speaks of architecture with a capital

‘A’ as being distinct from ‘architecture of the market

place’. The latter is architecture that does not ques-

tion its function as a building, or to its placement in

its surroundings, but lets the market dictate its idi-

om. On the other hand, Kahn was also keenly aware

of the coincidental nature of human existence: that

architecture arises through a combination of diffe-

rent circumstances, some of them coincidental. Kahn

has therefore no illusions that ‘Architecture’ exists as

a space to which everyone can be admitted. On the

contrary. As he says in another version of his lecture

‘Silence and Light’ (1969): ‘You can’t get hold of ar-

chitecture. It just has no presence. Only a work of ar-

chitecture has presence, and a work of architecture is

presented as an offering to architecture.’51 The quote

expresses definitively Kahn’s own understanding of

his quest as an architect to define the architectural

vision he represents. Architecture cannot be found as

a pure ideal form, nor as an activity isolated from its

context. Statements can be made about architecture

(a point of view he shares with the nominalistic ap-

proach that forms the basis of conceptual art). Every

building is therefore an ‘offering’ to architecture

in that it demonstrates the potential of what archi-

tecture could become. So Architecture’s ‘spirit’ can

never be exhausted or satiated, but the architect can

show that questions to architecture have been asked.

Salk Institute

2928

er afgørende for livet på jorden og dermed en del af

den ’order’, Kahn forsøgte at give form til. I det alle-

rede nævnte foredrag, ’Silence and Light’, siger han: ’I

sense Light as the giver of all presences, and mate-

rial as spent light. What Light makes casts a shadow

and the shadow belongs to Light. The mountain is of

Light, its shadow belongs to Light.’52 I citatet ser vi,

hvordan lyset gør verdenen nærværende for os (’giver

of all presences’), idet et materiale viser sig for os i ly-

set og dermed bliver en måde at ’bruge’ lyset på. Ma-

terialevalget peger tilbage på en opfattelse af, hvor-

dan bygningen skal vise sig selv i lyset (’material as

spent light’). Der er store fænomenologiske forskelle i

sansningen af træ, glas, beton, stål, mursten og natur-

sten, fordi materialerne reflekterer lyset på forskellig

vis. I citatet ser vi også, hvordan lyset kobles sammen

med sin modsætning, skyggen, og tilsammen danner

de en dynamisk enhed. Et citat, der i en anden sam-

menhæng kunne læses som poesi, men giver mening,

fordi Kahns egen arkitektur rummer overvældende

lysforløb, hvor lyset enten opstår igennem en struktur

af lys/skygge eller som en sivende indirekte lyskilde.

2.5.2.1. Materialet absorberer lys og afslører samtidig

sin egen tekstur (eller mangel på samme). For Kahn er

det vigtigt at kende materialernes iboende egenska-

ber og anerkende, at de har deres egen natur (eller

orden, som han siger). I sit berømte foredrag på The

Pratt Institute i 1973 er Kahn ofte citeret for følgende:

’If you think of brick, for instance, and you consult

the orders, you consider the nature of brick. This is

a natural thing. You say to brick, ”what do you want,

brick?” And brick says to you, ”I like an arch.” And

you say to brick, ”Look, I want one too, but arches

are expensive and I can use a concrete lintel over

you, over an opening.” And then you say, ”What do

you think of that, brick?” Brick says, ”I like an arch.”

It’s important, you see, that you honour the material

that you use.”53 Her ser vi, hvordan Kahn giver stem-

me til materialet og dermed depersonaliserer sig selv

i et forsøg på at trænge ind i værdien og styrken af et

materiale. For Kahn handler det om at bruge et mate-

riale på en måde, der lader dets iboende egenskaber

komme til udfoldelse – og blive til et begær i sig selv.

2.5.3. I spørgsmålet om arkitekturens dannelse af

lys igennem sit formsprog (’Structure is the maker of

light’54) og materialevalg finder vi en nøgle til forståel-

se af atmosfære hos Kahn. Når Kahns arkitektur i dag

fremstår så kraftfuld, skyldes det denne dobbelte sans

for materiale og form i forhold til lys. ’The most won-

derful aspects of the indoors are the moods that light

gives to space.’55 Atmosfæren hos Kahn er denne sans

for, at bygningen ’løfter’ mig op på et andet niveau

af selvbevidsthed. Både som kropslighed (bygningens

tekstur, dens dybde, dens form) og som ånd (dens

manifestation af at være et monument for en institu-

tion). Atmosfæren løfter mig op til et niveau, hvor jeg

ønsker at udtrykke mig: ’I sense Threshold, Light to

Silence, Silence to Light, the ambiance – Inspiration,

wherein the desire to be, to express, crosses with the

possible.’56 Monumentalitetens kraft hos Kahn består

i at skabe en atmosfære, hvori jeg både føler mig an-

erkendt som selvstændigt individ og samtidig ønsker

at udfolde denne individualitet, dvs. realisere mig selv

som menneske inden for en større samfundsmæssig

orden. Atmosfæren i sin positive variant er den tryg-

hed, som et monument kan indkapsle og give form til:

manifestationen af en institution, hvori jeg som individ

kan eksistere og samtidig være del af et fællesskab.

Igennem hele Kahns forfatterskab går spørgsmålet

om de offentlige institutioners rolle i samfundet og

deres nødvendighed for at skabe en værdig (’digni-

fied’) ramme om det menneskelige liv. Arkitektur, der

udtrykker en bevidsthed om dette, inspirerer – og er

selv opstået ud af en inspiration, ’a sense of wonder.’57

LOUIS KAHN OG DANSKE KUNSTNERE

3. Louis Kahn er først og fremmest en stor arki-

tekt, der har påvirket generationer af arkitekter i det

20. århundrede over hele verden. Fra Japan til Brasi-

lien til Danmark kan hans påvirkning spores. Men kan

påvirkningen fra Kahn også gælde billedkunsten? Her

bliver det straks vanskeligere at se en sammenhæng,

fordi der er tale om to forskellige discipliner. Det giver

dog mening i de tilfælde, hvor billedkunstnere eksplicit

har arbejdet med arkitektur enten som motiv eller som

2.5.2. Through Kahn´s striving to capture and give

shape to a metaphysical dimension through archi-

tecture, natural light came to play a central role

because of its potential to create ambience. Natu-

ral light is the sun’s own light and thus constantly

changing according to the day, season, temperature

and climate. Light is vital to life on earth and thus

part of the ‘order’ Kahn tried give form to. In the

afore mentioned lecture ‘Silence and Light’ he says:

‘I sense Light as the giver of all presences, and ma-

terial as spent light. What Light makes casts a shad-

ow and the shadow belongs to Light. The mountain

is of Light, its shadow belongs to Light.’52 The quote

illustrates how light makes the world present to us

(‘giver of all presences’), because materials are re-

vealed to us through light and thus become a way of

‘using’ light. The choice of materials indicates that

the architect has considered how the building shall

present itself in light (‘material as spent light’). There

are considerable phenomenological differences in

how wood, glass, concrete, steel, bricks and stone

are sensed because the materials reflect light in dif-

ferent ways. The quote also illustrates how light in-

teracts together with its opposite, shadow, to form

a dynamic entity. A quote that in another context

could be understood as poetry, but is meaningful

here because Kahn’s own architecture contains over-

whelming light sequences, where the light is either

experienced through a combination of light/shadow

or as a trickling, indirect source.

2.5.2.1. Materials absorb light and simultaneously re-

veal their structure (or lack of). For Kahn, it is im-

portant to know their inherent characteristics and

recognize they have their own nature (or ‘order’ as

he says). In his famous lecture at the Pratt Institute

in 1973 the following remark by Kahn is often quoted.

‘If you think of brick, for instance, and you consult the

orders, you consider the nature of brick. This is a natu-

ral thing. You say to brick, “what do you want, brick?”

And brick says to you, “I like an arch.” And you say to

brick, “Look, I want one too, but arches are expensive

and I can use a concrete lintel over you, over an open-

ing.” And then you say, “What do you think of that,

brick?” Brick says, “I like an arch.” It´s important, you

see, that you honour the material that you use.’53 Here

we see how Kahn gives the material a voice, thus

depersonalizing himself in an attempt to compre-

hend its value and force as a material. Kahn believed

that a material should be treated in a way that allows

its inherent characteristics to unfold – and become a

desire in itself.

2.5.3. When considering the question of how the

architect creates light through his composition of

structure (‘Structure is the maker of light’54) and

choice of materials, we find a key to understanding

Kahn’s concept of ambience. The reason why Kahn’s

buildings today appear so powerful is because of this

dual awareness for how both choice of material and

the composition of the structure interact with light.

‘The most wonderful aspects of the indoors are the

moods that light gives to space.’55 With Kahn this

sense of ambience is expressed by the building uplift-

ing the spectator to another level of self-awareness.

Both as a physical unit (the texture of the building,

its depth, its form) and its spirituality (its manifesta-

tion as a monument for an institution). The ambience

raises me to a level where I wish to express myself:

‘I sense Threshold, Light to Silence, Silence to Light,

the ambiance – Inspiration, wherein the desire to be,

to express, crosses with the possible.’56 With Kahn,

the force of a monument lies in its ability to create an

ambience in which I feel both acknowledged as an in-

dependent individual, while simultaneously wishing

to unfold this individuality ie. to realize my full poten-

tial as a citizen within the greater whole of society.

In its positive variation, ambience is the safety that a

monument can encapsulate and give expression to:

the manifestation of an institution in which I, as an

individual, can exist and be a part of the communi-

ty. Throughout Kahn’s authorship runs the question

of the role of public institutions in society, and their

necessity for creating a dignified frame for human

existence. Architecture that expresses a conscious-

ness of this need inspires – and itself arises from an

inspiration - ‘a sense of wonder.’57

3130

arkitekter. I USA er det bl.a. oplagt at pege på den ar-

kitektuddannede billedkunstner Gordon Matta-Clarks

projekt ’Conical Intersect’ til Biennalen i Paris i 1975,

hvor han skar kæmpestore cirkelrunde huller i et hus,

der skulle rives ned for at gøre plads til Pompidou-

centret. Udskæringerne og de rumlige effekter, de

skaber, har stor formel lighed med både Kahns biblio-

tek i Exeter og hans projekt til nationalforsamlingen i

Bangladesh.

3.1. I Danmark er Per Kirkeby den kunstner, der

måske tydeligst har taget Kahn til sig i sine murstens-

skulpturer og byggeprojekter. Mange af hans fritstå-

ende skulpturer kan opfattes som ruiner, antydninger

af langt større bygninger. De står åbne og uafslutte-

de i (by)landskaberne, opført i mursten, enigmatiske

i deres form. Andre gange har de et klart defineret

mønster, hvor strukturen skaber rytmiske forløb af lys

og skygge. I bogen her optræder kun to murstens-

skulpturer af Kirkeby, henholdsvis den store foran me-

trostationen på Amager ved DR Byen og den noget

mindre ved Vesterport Station i København.

3.1.1. Kirkebys murstensskulpturer omfatter mere

end hundrede projekter, der er højst individuelle i de-

res form.58 Flere af dem har en monumental, tårnlig-

nende karakter, såsom hans projekt fra 1987 til rådhu-

set i Stuttgart. En næsten 13 meter høj skulptur der

står selvstændigt ud fra hovedhuset, hvis forside har

seks smalle søjler, der danner dybe skygger på fla-

den. Af andre projekter med tydelige spor af Kahn

kan nævnes Kimbrertorvet i Aars fra 1995, projektet

til Frankfurt am Main i 1996 og Ballerup III fra 1996.

Et gennemgående træk er brugen af tårnlignende

former, der indgår i rytmiske forløb med kontrastful-

de lys-skygge-relationer. Sidstnævnte projekt består

af otte tårne forbundet af en væg, hvori der indgår

fordybninger af varierende dybde samt døråbninger.

Facadeforløbet har en monolitisk karakter – nærmest

som en ringmur – samtidig med, at det er muligt at gå

igennem.

3.2. I nyere tid er projektet til Kirk Kapitals nye ho-

vedsæde ved Vejle Fjord et eksempel på Kahn-inspi-

reret arkitektur i Danmark udført af en billedkunstner.

LOUIS KAHN AND DANISH ARTISTS

3. Louis Kahn is first and foremost a great archi-

tect who has influenced generations of architects all

over the world throughout the 20th century. From

Japan to Brazil to Denmark his influence can be

traced. But can he be said to have influenced the

visual arts? Here it becomes more difficult to find a

link because we are speaking of two different disci-

plines. However, it makes sense in those situations

where the artist has explicitly worked with archi-

tecture, either as a motive or as an architect. In the

US, an obvious example is Gordon Matta-Clark who

trained as an architect; his project ‘Conical Intersect’

for the Paris Biennale (1977), cut out huge circles in

a house that was to be demolished to make room for

the Pompidou Centre. The spatial effect created by

the cut-outs has very strong formal similarities to the

library Kahn designed in Exeter, and his project for

the National Assembly in Bangladesh.

3.1. In Denmark, the brick sculptures and building

projects of the artist Per Kirkeby are the most visible

evidence of Kahn’s influence. Many of his free-stand-

ing sculptures can be perceived as ruins, sugges-

tions of much bigger buildings. They stand open and

unfinished in (city)scapes, built of brick and enig-

matic in their form. Other edifices have a clearly

defined pattern showing how the structure creates

a rhythmic progression of light and shadow. In this

book there are only two examples of Kirkeby´s brick

sculptures, one in front of the DR City metro station

on Amager, and a smaller one at Vesterport Station,

Copenhagen.

3.1.1. Kirkeby designed over a hundred brick sculp-

tures that are all highly individual in their form.58 Seve-

ral of them are monumental, tower-like structures eg.

his project for Stuttgart Town Hall from 1987. Almost

13 meters high, this sculpture stands independently

from the main building whose façade has six small-

er columns forming deep, surface shadows. Other

sculptures where Kahn’s influence can be clearly

National Assembly, Dhaka

3332

Bygningen er tegnet af Studio SOS (Studio of Other

Spaces), der ledes af kunstneren Olafur Eliasson og

arkitekten Sebastian Behmann. Inspirationen fra Kahn

er først og fremmest en formel inspiration, samt en

sans for bygningens kontekst. På det formelle plan er

bygningens form (fire sammenstillede cylindre), snit-

tene i facaden, brugen af ’lokale’ mursten (produceret

hos Petersens Tegl i Broager) samt placeringen ved

vandet inspireret af Kahns administrationsbygninger

til parlamentet i Bangladesh. Derudover knytter bru-

gen af cirkelformer også an til allerede eksisterende

siloer på Vejle Havn og viser dermed en sans for den

stedlige kontekst.

3.2.1. Dog, som ny bygning i havnen adskiller ho-

vedsædet sig radikalt fra både industrihavnens ældre

funktionelle byggeri og de nytilkomne luksuslejlighe-

der, der opføres i nærheden. Forskellen består især i

bygningens brug af komplekse ellipser som formgiv-

ningsprincip i facadens udskæringer. Hermed marke-

res en videreudvikling af Kahns formsprog og samti-

dig signaleres en bevidsthed om en flydende, hybrid

og digitalt medieret rumforståelse i og for det 21.

århundrede. Bygningen er dog stadig monumental i

sit udtryk og samtidig også enigmatisk i al sin frem-

medhed. Ser man på pressefotografierne, er der no-

get uomgængeligt ’Kahnsk’ over bygningen, som den

elegant spejler sig i aftensolens sidste rødlige stråler.

3.2.2. I kraft af sit nyskabende formsprog er Kirk

Kapitals hovedsæde blevet (endnu)59 et vartegn for

Vejle og dermed et muligt identifikationspunkt for

byens borgere – en ambition der ligger i forlængelse

af den kritiske regionalismes ønske om at bryde med

generisk modernistisk arkitektur (en arkitektur, der i

parentes bemærket kunne have været løsningen for

en kontorbygning til en investeringsfond). Bygningen

er specifik i sit monumentale udtryk og vil fremover

være med til at ’brande’ Kirk Kapital som firma og Vej-

le som by. Den er blevet til et ’brandscape’ for at bru-

ge arkitektur-kritikeren Anna Klingmanns begreb.60

Spørgsmålet er dog, om et hovedsæde for en investe-

ringsfond kan blive til et socialt monument i Kahnsk

forstand. Lige nu er firmaets hovedformål: ’Primarily

a business and investment company which seeks to

create a long-term capital return for the benefit of

the current shareholders and generations to follow.’61

Derudover driver Kirk Kapital også en velgørenheds-

fond, men sidstnævnte er blot et ’tillæg’ til Kirk Kapi-

tals hovedformål. At være en kapitalfond, der ønsker

at profitmaksimere og sikre sig selv, sine aktionærer

og efterkommere et afkast er et ’legitimt’ formål i en

senkapitalistisk økonomi. Også når investeringerne

udføres professionelt og følger ’high ethical stan-

dards,’62 som der står på hjemmesiden. Men man kan

stille det kritiske spørgsmål, om det som kapitalfond

er passende at indhylle sig selv i en monumental mur-

stensbygning, der indskriver sig i en kahnsk tradition

for samfundsmæssig ansvar og åndelig inspiration.63

3.3. Kategorien ’Danske kunstnere, der udfører ar-

kitektur,’ er ikke så omfangsrig i nyere tid, hvilket kan

forklares som en kunstnerisk og systemisk omstæn-

dighed, hvad angår både praksis og berømmelse. En

kunstner skal først have en så tilstrækkelig stor skulp-

turel historik bag sig og samtidig tilstrækkelig stor en

grad af international bevågenhed, at vedkommende er

at foretrække frem for en allerede anerkendt arkitekt.

Der er dog en række kunstnere, som har bygget huse,

hvoraf bør nævnes J.F. Villumsens egen ateliervilla i

Hellerup og udstillingsbygningen ’Den Frie’ ved Øster-

port Station, Gunnar Aagaard Andersens ’Det Skæve

Hus’ i Herning (i samarbejde med arkitekterne Karen

og Jan Eggen), Niels Guttormsens ’Vingehuset’ ved

Egebjerggård samt Bjørn Nørgaards boligkompleks

’Bispebjerg Bakke’ i København.64 Sidstnævnte er en

storstilet slangeformet bygning i mursten, der orga-

nisk flyder igennem landskabet med bølgende tag og

buede facader. Inspirationen synes dog her snarere at

være Antonio Gaudi end Kahn.

3.3.1. Der er dog sikkert mange kunstnere, som har

været fascineret og inspireret af Kahn – dog uden at

det har udmøntet sig i konkrete kunstværker eller

bygninger, hvori det kan ses. Bl.a. kunne man nævne

Institut for Skalakunst ved kunstnerne Hein Heinsen,

Stig Brøgger og Mogens Møller, samt billedhuggerne

Henrik B. Andersen, Elisabeth Toubro og Niels Gut-

tormsen. Dertil kunne tilføjes nyere samtidskunst-

nere som FOS, Superflex, Elmgreen og Dragset, der

seen include the 1995 Kimbrertorvet in Aars, and

projects for Frankfurt am Main (1996) and Ballerup

III (1996). A common characteristic is the use of tow-

er-like forms that compose a rhythmic progression

of strongly contrasting light-shadow patterns. The

latter project is composed of eight towers connect-

ed by a wall full of door openings and indentations

of varying depth. The monolithic progression of the

façade is like a city wall, which is simultaneously pos-

sible to walk through.

3.2. A recent example of Kahn-inspired architec-

ture in Denmark created by an artist is Kirk Kapital´s

new headquarters on Vejle Fjord. The building is de-

signed by Studio SOS (Studio of Other Spaces) led

by the artist Olafur Eliasson and Sebastian Behman,

an architect. Inspiration from Kahn is first and fore-

most formal: the four collocated cylinders, the slash-

es in the façade, the use of ‘local’ bricks (produced

at Petersens Tegl, Broager) and its placement at the

water´s edge all indicate inspiration from the Na-

tional Assembly in Bangladesh. Furthermore, a sen-

sitivity to local context is shown in the use of circu-

lar forms which link the building to the silos of Vejle

Harbour.

3.2.1. However, as a new building, it differs radi-

cally from both the old, functional buildings of the

industrial harbor and the luxury apartments, recent-

ly built nearby. The main difference lies in slashing

complex ellipses into the façade, thereby creating its

form-giving principle. This marks a further develop-

ment of Kahn’s language of form, and simultaneously

indicates an awareness of the floating, hybrid, digi-

tal spatial awarenesss characterizing the 21st centu-

ry. The building is still monumental in its expression

while simultaneously enigmatic in its foreignness. If

one looks at the press photos of the building, there

is an undisputable ‘Kahnness’ about it as it elegantly

reflects itself in the last reddish rays of the evening

sun.

3.2.2. Because of its innovative expression, Kirk

Kapital’s headquarters have become yet (another)59

landmark for Vejle, and thus a possible identification

point for the citizens of the town. An ambition that

springs from critical regionalism’s desire to break

with generic modern architecture (a form of archi-

tecture that, by the way, could have been used to

build an office block for an investment fund). The

building has an explicit, monumental presence and

will be used in the future to ‘brand’ Kirk Kapital as a

firm, and Vejle as a city. It has become a ‘brandscape’,

to use the concept coined by Anna Klingmann, an ar-

chitectural critic.60 However, the question is whether

the headquarters of an investment fund can become

a social monument as understood by Kahn. At the

moment, the main aim of the firm is: ‘Primarily a busi-

ness and investment company which seeks to create

a long-term capital return for the benefit of the cur-

rent shareholders and generations to follow.’61 Apart

from that, Kirk Kapital also runs a charitable fund,

but this is merely a supplement to the main aim. To

be a capital fund whose aim is to maximize profits

and ensure for itself, its shareholders and future gen-

erations a return on their money is a ‘legitimate’ goal

in a late capitalist economy. Also when, according

to its homepage, the investments are carried out

professionally and to ‘high ethical standards.’62 But

critical questions can be asked as to whether a cap-

ital fund can disguise itself with a monumental brick

building that simultaneously inscribes itself in Kahn’s

tradition for social responsibility and spiritual inspi-

ration.63

3.3. There are not that many contemporary art-

ists in the category ‘Danish artists who design build-

ings’, and the reason is related to the artistic and

systemic conditions regarding practice and fame. An

artist must first acquire a sufficiently strong sculp-

tural background while simultaneously attracting a

high degree of international fame so that the per-

son in question is chosen rather than a well-estab-

lished architect. There are, however, several artists

who have built houses eg. J.F. Willumsen’s own stu-

dio-villa in Hellerup and the museum ‘Den Frie’ at

Østerport Station; Gunnar Aagaard Andersen’s ‘The

Crooked House’ in Herning (together with Karen

and Jan Eggen, both architects); Niels Guttormsen’s

‘Wing House’ at Egebjerggård, and Bjørn Nørgaard’s

3534

arbejder installatorisk i krydsfeltet mellem kunst og

arkitektur som socialt design af environments. Fælles

for disse er en skeptisk og delvist legende tilgang til

monumentet.65 Af kunstnere, der har arbejdet monu-

mentalt rent kunstnerisk, dog uden at have en Louis

Kahn-inspireret tilgang til monumentet, kan igen næv-

nes Bjørn Nørgaard og en kunstner som Ingvar Cron-

hammer. I førstnævntes tilfælde er der tale om en sært

fabulerende folkelig stil i bombastiske formater, mens

sidstnævnte har dyrket en art surreel tekno-æstetik,

hvor materialet i mange tilfælde har været bemalet

stål.

LOUIS KAHN SOM KRITISK FIGUR

4. Louis Kahn repræsenterer en bestemt strøm-

ning i det 20. århundrede, der på moderne betingelser

forsøgte at genintroducere aspekter af den klassiske

arkitektur. Først og fremmest spørgsmålet om arkitek-

turen som manifestation af samfundets institutioner,

hvorigennem mennesket realiserer sig selv. Kahns ar-

kitektur er monumental og spirituel på en måde, der

minder om ruiner fra tidligere civilisationer. Hans am-

bition var, at moderne arkitektur skulle have samme

storslåede kraft som fortidens bygningsværker. Han

fik inspiration fra skotske middelalderborge, romersk

arkitektur, ægypternes pyramider, Parthenon i Athen

og sin egen tids ingeniørmæssige og matematiske

landvindinger. Derfor kan man også se ham i forlæn-

gelse af den franske revolutions-arkitektur, fordi han

igennem sin arkitektur ønskede at ’re-state the institu-

tions of man.’66

4.1. I mine øjne kan Kahn ses som en kritisk mod-

standsfigur, fordi han fastholdt muligheden for arki-

tekturens storhed, om det så gjaldt et boligkompleks,

et kollegium, et forskningscentrum eller et bibliotek.

En storhed jeg personligt sjældent oplever i den enor-

me ny boligmasse, der er blevet tilført det københavn-

ske byrum de seneste årtier. Måske er det de tekno-

logiske og økonomiske betingelser, hvorunder den

bliver bestilt, udtænkt og opført. En uheldig alliance

af cad-programmer (computer-assisted design) og

excel-ark, spekulanter og entreprenører, og et enormt

pres på boligmarkedet, hvor efterspørgslen overstiger

udbuddet.

4.1.1. Der er ingen tvivl om, at de computerpro-

grammer,67 der bruges i dag, er en stor landvinding,

hvad angår rumskabelse, renderinger og eksekverin-

gen af de tekniske tegninger, der skal bruges hos in-

geniørerne og beton-støberne.68 Men, som sociologen

Richard Sennett har peget på i sin bog The Craftsman

fra 2008, opstår der en distance mellem computerens

animerede bygninger og den kropsligt internalisere-

de tegning.69 Alle arkitekter før computerens indtog

opøvede tegnefærdigheder ved at studere ældre ar-

kitektur og dermed internaliserede de proportioner,

materialernes skyggevirkninger og relationen mellem

bygningens enkelte elementer. De lærte bygninger at

kende med deres krop og udviklede dermed en evne,

som blev aktualiseret, når nye bygninger skulle opfø-

res. Og de brugte tegninger, når der skulle udvikles,

skitseres og detailplanlægges. Kroppen var med hele

vejen igennem. Det kan ses og mærkes rent oplevel-

sesmæssigt, når man står over for en computertegnet

bygning, at den er generet i et univers styret af algo-

ritmer.

4.1.2. Overfor cad-programmernes tynde streger,

der kan udstrækkes og varieres i det uendelige, står

Kahns ekspressive hånd, der tegner og gentegner i en

proces, som først går igennem bygningens ’hvad’ og

dernæst forsøger at tilnærme sig bygningens ’hvor-

dan’. En hånd, der er trænet i klassisk tegning, der har

studeret skyggerne og i stilhed betragtet lysets skif-

tende farveklange på en bygnings facade.

4.2. Ud over den teknologiske revolution, der har

fundet sted i arkitekturen som disciplin og i dens

fremstillingsmåde, så er der også spørgsmålet om

arkitekturens sociale værdi. I meget af det nye byg-

geri, der tilføres det københavnske byrum, bliver der

bygget for et bestemt segment og med kortsigtet

profit for øje. Den i forvejen eksisterende opdeling af

byen i rige og fattige bydele intensiveres, og den so-

ciale mangfoldighed ekskluderes fra de nye bydele. I

hastighedens og profittens navn ofres de åndehuller

housing estate ‘Bispebjerg Bakke’ in Copenhagen.64

The latter is a fabulous, snakelike building of brick

which floats through the landscape with curving

roofs and facades. However, the inspiration here

seems to come more from Antonio Gaudi rather than

Kahn.

3.3.1. There have surely been many artists who have

been both fascinated and inspired by Kahn – with-

out, however, ever having translated their inspiration

into concrete pieces of art or building design. For ex-

ample, the Institute for Skalakunst by Hein Heinesen,

Stig Brøgger and Mogens Møller, all artists, or the

sculptors Henrik B. Andersen, Elisabeth Toubro and

Niels Guttormsen. Additionally, new contemporary

artists such as FOS, Superflex, Elmgreen and Dragset

all work with installations at the junction between

art and architecture to create socially designed en-

vironments. Common to them all is a skeptical and

partly playful approach to the monument.65 Artists

that have used the monument from an artistic per-

spective include Bjørn Nørgaard, and an artist such

as Ingvar Cronhammer. In the case of the former, we

are looking at a strange, fantastic style in bombastic

shapes, while the latter has cultivated a surreal tech-

no-aesthetic, often using painted steel.

LOUIS KAHN AS CRITICAL FIGURE

4. Louis Kahn embodies a definite 20th century

movement which attempts to re-introduce aspects

of classical architecture on modern conditions. First

and foremost is the question as to whether archi-

tecture is a manifestation of society’s institutions

which enable a person to realize his/her potential.

Kahn’s architecture is at once both monumental and

spiritual, resembling ruins from earlier civilizations.

His ambition was that modern architecture should be

as magnificent as that from the past. He drew inspi-

ration from Scottish castles from the Middle Ages,

Roman ruins, Egyptian pyramids, the Parthenon in

Athens and the mathematical and engineering feats

from his own time. Thus, one can see his architecture

as a realisation of the ideals of the French Revolution

which desired to ‘re-state the institutions of man.’66

4.1. To me, Kahn can be seen as a critical figure

of resistance because he maintained that it was pos-

sible for architecture to be great, whether it was a

housing estate, a hall of residence, a research cen-

tre or a library. A greatness that I, personally, seldom

experience among the huge number of new build-

ings erected in the modern cityscape of Copenha-

gen within the last decades. Perhaps this is due to

the technological and economic circumstances un-

der which they were ordered, designed and built. An

unlucky combination of CAD-programmes (comput-

er-assisted design) and Excel spreadsheets, specu-

lators and construction companies operating in a

market where demand exceeds supply.

4.1.1. No doubt the cad programmes67 that are cur-

rently in use are an enormous help in creating the

technical drawings and specifications needed by

the engineers and construction companies.68 But as

Richard Sennett, a sociologist, points out in his book

The Craftsman (2008), a distance is created between

the computer’s animated buildings and the internal-

ized drawing done by hand.69 Before the advent of

the computer, every architect practiced his drawing

skills by studying existing architecture and thus in-

ternalized the proportions, the effect of shadow on

surfaces and the relationship between the individual

parts of a building. They got to know buildings with

their bodies and thus developed an innate skill which

came into use when a new building was to be erect-

ed. And they used drawings when the building need-

ed to evolve, be sketched out or planned in detail.

The body was present all through the process. You

come to know instinctively when you are looking at a

computer-generated building that it was conceived

in a universe governed by algorithms.

4.1.2. In contrast to the thin lines drawn by a CAD

programme, that can be expanded and varied an

infinite number of times, we have Kahn’s expres-

sive hand that draws and re-draws, finding its way

through the ‘what’ of the building, to then try and

3736

i byrummet og i boligmassen, hvori mere flygtige og

skrøbelige former for det fælles liv kan opstå.70 Her vil-

le Kahn måske have gjort noget andet. Tænkt det fæl-

les byggede miljø på en måde, der havde givet plads

til mere heterogene, hybride former for menneskeligt

liv, der inkluderede på tværs af vores forskelle. ’Com-

monness makes one think.’71

4.2.1. Når jeg fremfører Kahns begreb om monu-

mentalitet som en indgangsvinkel til hans arkitek-

tur-filosofi, skyldes det min bekymring for de fælles-

skabsbevarende institutioners ’svækkede værdi’. Med

det mener jeg, at de seneste skandaler om store fir-

maers skatteunddragelse, manipulation af demokrati-

ske valg, informationsbobler og udbredelsen af fake

news gør det nødvendigt igen at ’re-state our institu-

tions’, som Kahn har sagt det. Vi har brug for et nyt

sprog til at tænke og formgive monumenter, der rum-

mer de institutioner, som kan udtrykke vores kollek-

tive drømme, længsler og håb. Monumenter der kan

give os en tro på, at social retfærdighed er mulig – om

det så gælder boligbyggeri, skoler, universiteter eller

sundhedsklinikker. Monumenter der kan inspirere os til

at leve og tænke i en fælles verden.

4.3. Louis Kahns projekt som arkitekt kan i en vis

forstand anskues som en form for oversættelse: er-

faringen af fortidens arkitektur oversat til en nutidig

moderne livsverden. Klassisk arkitektur kan ses på en

ny måde igennem Louis Kahns værker, fordi han for-

måede at genskabe en forbindelse, der for mange el-

lers forekom umulig. Bogen her – i et langt mindre og

ubetydeligt omfang – har samme karakter af en over-

sættelse, men ud fra andre teknologiske betingelser

og en anden tidshorisont. Publikationen har Instagram

som forudsætning – en medieplatform, hvis væsen er

øjeblikkets fotografi. Det handler om at fange nuet,

uploade det, og gå videre til næste moment. Ingen

ved længere hvilke billeder, der har været på Insta-

gram, og ingen interesserer sig for dem. De er opslugt

i det store billedhav, som Instagram udgør. Instagram

handler ikke om at gå tilbage, skabe en sammenhæng

eller være afventende. Ud fra disse betragtninger har

mit projekt været kontrært i forhold til medieplatfor-

mens egen logik. Igennem den begrænsede optik og

reach the ‘how’ of the building. A hand which has

been trained in classical drawing, which has studied

the effect of shadows and silently considered the

changing properties of light on the building’s façade.

4.2. Apart from the technological revolution

which has affected architecture as a discipline and

its method of presentation, there is also the question

of its social value. Much of the new being built in the

urban spaces of Copenhagen has been for a certain

segment of the population and with a short-sighted

desire to maximize profits. Divisions already existing

between rich and poor have been intensified, and so-

cial diversity is excluded from these new areas. In the

name of speed and profit, breathing spaces in the

cityscape where transient and fragile forms of rela-

tionship could flourish, have been sacrificed.70 Here

Kahn would probably have done something differ-

ent. Envisaged communal spaces in a way that al-

lowed for more heterogeneous, hybrid forms of life

which were inclusive in spite of differences. ‘Com-

monness makes one think.’71

4.2.1. The reason I take Kahn’s concept of monu-

mentality as an entry point to his architectural phi-

losophy, is because of my concern that the institu-

tions that encourage a sense of community are being

weakened. Here I am thinking of the recent tax eva-

sion scandals by big companies, the manipulation of

democratic elections, the spread of information bub-

bles of fake news, all of which make it necessary to

‘re-state’ our institutions as Kahn has said. We need a

new language with which to imagine and give shape

to monuments that express our collective dreams,

longings and hopes. Monuments that can give us a

belief that social justice is possible, whether this has

to do with housing estates, schools, universities or

health clinics. Monuments that can inspire us to live

and think collectively.

4.3. Louis Kahn’s role as an architect can, to some

extent, be considered as a form of translation: expe-

rience from the past translated into a new, modern

way of life. Classical architecture can be understood

afresh through his works because he managed to

Exeter Library

38

i materialiteten af fotografierne, der nu er blevet trykt,

opnår de her præsenterede billeder en ’modstand’

over for tidens – og Instagrams – overskrivning af det

forgangne. Billederne er nu tilstede i en anden form

end den glatte skærm, hvorpå man kan swipe videre.

De er trukket ud af billedstrømmen og peger tilbage

på en anden tid for dansk arkitektur. De er blevet over-

sat til en analog kropslig verden – blevet til virkelighed

i papirets materialitet, som et objekt, der kan holdes

i hånden som en bog, og tilsammen danner de med

teksten et tankerum: ’Louis Kahn i Danmark.’

create a connection which for many was thought im-

possible. This book – to a much lesser extent – has

the same character as a translation, but from a tech-

nological perspective and from another time. The

publication has Instagram as a precondition – a me-

dia platform whose nature is ephemeral. The idea is

to catch the moment, upload it and then move on to

the next. No one knows any longer which pictures

have been on Instagram and no one cares. They are

swallowed up in the enormous lake of pictures which

comprise Instagram. Instagram is not about retrac-

ing your steps, creating a connection or marking

time. In the light of these considerations, my pro-

ject has been in opposition to the media platform’s

own logic. Through this narrow view and because of

the physical nature of the pictures now printed, the

chosen photographs are in opposition to the peri-

od’s – and Instagram’s – over-writing of the past. The

pictures are now present in another format than the

smooth screen from which one can swipe forward.

They have been taken out of the picture stream to

draw attention to another period in Danish architec-

ture. Translated into an analogue, physical world –

one that is based on the feel of the paper, as a book

which can be held in the hand, and together with the

text they create a thought space: ‘Louis Kahn in Den-

mark.’

Trenton Bath House

4140

NOTER

1 Instagram-projektet og nu denne tekst kan fra et

vist perspektiv betragtes som en form for ’pri-

vat’ kunstnerisk forskning. Privat i den forstand

at jeg hverken har været en del af et institutio-

nelt forskerfællesskab i selve processen eller har

nogen ønsker om at opnå en videnskabelig grad

med projektet. Min udsigelsesposition knytter

sig til den platform, jeg har udviklet igennem de

sidste 13 år, hvor jeg i min kunstneriske produkti-

on har arbejdet med repræsentation af arkitek-

tur i maleri. Mit kunstneriske projekt er knyttet

til den moderne arkitektur og dens ideologiske,

sociale og psykologiske betydning som det te-

matiske omdrejningspunkt for de billeder, jeg

har malet i alle disse år. ’Forskningen’ her er der-

for afledt af den interesse, jeg har i arkitektur

– og indgår i en større struktur af ’konkurreren-

de interesser’. Se min Non-philosophy and Con-

temporary Art, ’Competing Interest: The Artistic

Project’, p. 86-90 fra 2015, hvor jeg beskriver det

kunstneriske projekt som konsekvensen af den

position, kunstneren indtager i et socialt rum.

2 I et par tilfælde, hvor jeg ved nærmere eftertan-

ke har fundet relationen til Kahn for svag, har jeg

udeladt billederne.

3 Kahn har været vigtig som mentor og inspira-

tionskilde for mange arkitekter, der har været

afgørende for bruddet med modernismen til

postmodernismen inden for arkitekturen. I Erik

Nygaards Arkitektur i en forvirret tid fra 1995

skriver han følgende, som giver en idé om Kahns

betydning: ’Den anden af postmodernismens

”fædre” var Charles Moore. Moores position og

udvikling var en helt anden end Venturis, men

de har fælles rod i undervisningen på Princeton

i halvtredserne, specielt Louis Kahns undervis-

ning. Princeton var i disse år arnestedet for den

nye arkitektur i USA med lærere som Kahn og

Peressutti, der insisterede på historiens betyd-

ning. ”Det kommer alt sammen fra Kahn, det

hele,” har Moore senere sagt. Venturi er knap

så kategorisk. Kahn bereder da også, mere end

nogen anden arkitekt, overgangen fra moder-

nisme til postmodernisme. Hans monumentale,

ofte arkaiserende former og beaux arts-ag-

tige, symmetriske planer er ganske vist langt

fra Venturi og Moores arkitektur, men han brød

isen og åbnede for historien og for selve for-

mens betydning,’ p. 45-46. At Charles Moore til-

skriver Kahn så stor en betydning er selvfølgelig

en oversimplificering, men det fortæller noget

om den status, Kahn har haft i arkitekturverde-

nen.

4 Ud over disse nævnte strømninger regnes Kahn

også som inspirationskilde til den strukturali-

stiske tilgang til arkitektur – især hans The Ri-

chards Medical Building fra 1957-64 med dens

plan som et mønster, der kunne vokse frit, var

et ofte benyttet referencepunkt for denne type

arkitektur i 1960’erne.

5 For en historisk perspektivering af Kahns be-

tydning i det 20. århundredes arkitektur og som

’master of monumentality’, se William J.R. Cur-

tis: Modern Architecture Since 1900, p. 518-527.

6 Se min Non-philosophy and Contemporary Art,

’Merleau-Ponty: The Space of Non-philosophy,’

p. 28-41, hvor jeg redegør for begrebets opståen

og betydning hos Merleau-Ponty samt sætter

det i relation til samtidskunst. Bogen fremsætter

den påstand, at non-filosofi betegner den måde,

hvorpå samtidskunstnere tænker og handler på.

Hos Merleau-Ponty betegner non-filosofi den

personlige investering, der følger med ethvert

forsøg på at tænke selv i mødet med allerede

eksisterende tanker. Som han siger i foredraget

’Mennesket og modgangen’ fra 1951: ’Intet men-

neske kan overtage ideer uden ved den blot-

te stiften bekendtskab med dem at omforme

dem, indgyde dem sin egen altid forskellige

væremåde.’ p. 194. Non-filosofi er en aktivitet,

der opstår i spændingsfeltet mellem at tileg-

ne sig allerede eksisterende tankeformationer,

og så samtidig forsøge at situere sig, dvs. tage

udgangspunkt i sin egen situation og herfra

forsøge at udvikle en position, hvorfra der kan

udsiges noget. Inden for kunsten er dette de-

finitionen på det kunstneriske projekt, fordi en

kunstner både indoptager og forskyder de etab-

ENDNOTES

1. From a certain perspective, the Instagram-pro-

ject and now this text can be seen as a form of

’private’ artistic research. Private in the sense

that I have neither been part of an institutional

research team in the process, nor have any de-

sire to obtain an academic degree. My position

is related to the platform I have developed over

the past 13 years where I have worked with the

representation of architecture in painting. My

artistic production is concerned with modern

architecture and its ideological, social and

psychological significance as the thematic fo-

cus for all the images I have painted over the

years. The ’research’ presented here is thus the

outcome of the interest I have in architecture

– and is part of a large area of ’competing in-

terests’. See my Non-philosophy and Contem-

porary Art, ’Competing interests: The Artistic

Project’, pp. 86-90 (2015), where I describe

the artistic project as the consequence of the

position the artist assumes in a social space.

2. With hindsight, in a couple of cases, I have

found the relation to Kahn to be weak and thus

omitted the images.

3. Kahn has been important as a mentor and

source of inspiration for many architects who

were crucial to the transition from modern-

ism to postmodernism in architecture. In Erik

Nygaard’s Architektur i en forvirret tid (1995),

the following gives an idea of Kahn’s impor-

tance: ’The other ’father’ of postmodernism

was Charles Moore. Moore´s position and de-

velopment was completely different from Ven-

turis, but they have a common source in the

teachings at Princeton in the fifties, especially

the teaching of Kahn. Princeton was then the

breeding ground for the new architecture in

the USA with teachers such as Kahn and Per-

essutti who insisted on the meaning of history.

Moore has later said: ”It all comes from Kahn,

everything.” Venturi is not so categorical. Kahn

prepares - more than any other architect – the

transition from modernism to postmodernism.

His monumental, often archaic forms and sym-

metrical beaux-arts-like plans are far from the

architecture of Venturi and Moore, but he broke

the ice and opened up history to the meaning

of the form,’ pp. 45-46. That Charles Moore

ascribes such huge significance to Kahn is

of course an over-simplification, but it says

something about the status Kahn has had in

the architectural world.

4. Outside these architectural movements Kahn

is also regarded as a point of inspiration for

the structuralist approach to architecture – es-

pecially ’The Richards Medical Building’ from

1957-64. This was often used as a reference

point for 60’s type architecture because of its

plan as an open-ended pattern that can ex-

pand freely.

5. For a historical perspective on the significance

of Kahn for 20th century architecture and as a

’master of monumentality’, see Willam J. R.

Curtis: Modern Architecture Since 1900, pp.

518-527.

6. See my Non-philosophy and Contemporary

Art, ’Merleau-Ponty: The Space of Non-philos-

ophy’, pp. 28-41, where I account for the ori-

gin of the concept and meaning in the work

of Merleau-Ponty and its relationship to con-

temporary art. The book posits that non-phi-

losophy refers to the way whereby the con-

temporary artist thinks and acts. In the works

of Merleau-Ponty, non-philosophy designates

the personal investment that follows from

every attempt to think for oneself in the meet-

ing with existing thoughts. As he states in the

lecture Man and his Adversity from 1951: ’No

human being can receive a heritage of ideas

without transforming them through the sole act

of knowing them; without injecting into them

his own, always different, way of being,’ p. 194.

Non-philosophy is an activity that arises in the

tense field of attempting to appropriate exist-

ing ideas and simultaneously situating oneself

within them. Meaning: having as a point of

departure one’s own situation and from here

attempting to develop a position from where

4342

lerede systemer for selv at kunne sige noget nyt.

At bedrive non-filosofi er derfor ikke stringent

videnskabelig forskning, snarere en essayistisk

forsøgsvis måde at tænke på, der ligger tættere

på litteraturen og kunsten som æstetisk disci-

plin. Non-filosofi kan betragtes som en eksisten-

tiel måde at komme overens med verden, hvor

man igennem værket forsøger at kommunikere

en eller anden form for erfaring. Erfaringen for

mit vedkommende, der ligger til grund for det-

te projekt, er mit møde med Louis Kahns egen

arkitektur i 2008 i La Jolla, Californien, hvor jeg

besøgte Salk Institute, og som på afgørende vis

forandrede mit syn på, hvad moderne arkitektur

kunne som disciplin. Mødet var en brud-erfaring,

fordi det indførte en hel ny skala i min vurde-

ring og forståelse for arkitektur. Fascinationen

af Kahn har nu varet i over 10 år – og dette skrift

er en foreløbig ’station’ på vejen i min forståelse

og tilegnelse af Kahn som arkitekt, teoretiker og

inspirationskilde for arkitektur.

7 Filmen ligger online på Youtube og kan også be-

tragtes som en uægte søns forsøg på både at

indskrive sig i sin berømte fars ’legacy’ og som

en bearbejdning af en traumatisk barndom med

en fraværende far, der aldrig tilvalgte dem som

familie. Et gennemgående tema i filmen er såle-

des Nathaniel Kahns spørgen til, hvad folk vidste

om Kahns hemmelige familier og hans konstan-

te gøren opmærksom på, at han er søn af Kahn.

Et af de sidste afsnit er samtalen mellem Kahns

tre børn, der voksede op hver for sig og aldrig

mødte hinanden i deres barndom.

8 Bl.a. bliver Anne Tyng af Buckminster-Fuller

kaldt for ’Kahns geometriske strateg’, hvilket

skyldes hendes eminente sans for matematik

og geometri. Hun skulle således have været af-

gørende i udviklingen af Kahns ’City-Tower’, lof-

tet i Yale Art Gallery, samt Trenton Bath House.

Harriet Pattison begyndte at arbejde for Kahn

i 1958 som landskabsarkitekt og var bl.a. med

til at udvikle haveanlægget omkring Kimbel Art

Museum i Fort Worth, Texas.

9 En anden student og medarbejder hos Kahn,

arkitekten og teoretikeren Robert Venturi, har

således også i flere sammenhænge hævdet, at

Kahn lod sig kraftigt inspirere – og delvist stjal –

af hans ideer om bl.a. kontekst, sansen for ruiner

og det historiske. Der er ingen tvivl om, at Kahn

lod sig inspirere af mange ud over Anne Tyng

og Harriet Petterson – lige fra Le Corbusier, til

Buckminster Fuller, til Josef Albers og George

Kubler. Spørgsmålet om, hvor hvilke ideer kom-

mer fra, er ikke så afgørende i min optik; snarere

er det et spørgsmål om, hvad der bliver gjort

med ideerne, dvs. hvilke bygninger Kahn fik

opført, som manifesterede de ideer, der optog

ham, og som han arbejdede ud fra. For en grun-

dig oversigt over alle de mange personer ’rundt

om Kahn’, der inspirerede ham, samt for en gen-

nemgang af alle hans hovedværker, se det store

monumentale værk om Kahn skrevet af Robert

McCarter, hvorfra jeg har hentet en stor del af

min viden om Kahn.

10 Tanken her er inspireret af sociologens Pierre

Bourdieus teori om det kulturelle felt, som han

fremlægger i: ’Skitse til en videnskab om værker

inden for kunst, kultur og videnskab,’ i Af Prak-

tiske Grunde. Arkitekter gennemløber som alle

kulturproducenter en ’løbebane’, dvs. bevæger

sig igennem uddannelsesmæssige stadier og

karrieremæssige forløb, hvor de vil stifte be-

kendtskab med feltets dominerende kræfter,

hvorfra de har muligheden enten at følge feltets

logik (indordner sig i doxa) eller bryde med det

(skabe en ny doxa). Kahns position i arkitektur-

historien repræsenterer sådan et brud, og for

mange arkitekter blev hans position set som en

ny mulig vej at følge. Arkitekten Frank Gehry

udtrykker det meget fint i dokumentarfilmen:

’Louis Kahn was fresh air’ (min 50.12).

11 Jeg har ikke været optaget af at finde ud af,

hvem arkitekten bag de byggerier, jeg har do-

kumenteret, har været. Kun i få tilfælde har jeg

vidst, hvem arkitekten var eller gjort forsøg på at

finde ud af det – da det interessante for mig har

været spørgsmålet om inspirationen fra Kahn,

og hvordan den har vist sig i bygningsværker fra

1960’erne og frem.

something can be stated. Within contemporary

art this is the definition of the artistic project,

because an artist both internalises and displac-

es the established systems in order to commu-

nicate something new. Non-philosophy is thus

not stringent, scientific research, rather an es-

sayistic position closer to literature and art as

an aesthetic discipline. Non-philosophy can be

seen as an existential way of coming to terms

with the world whereby the artist through his

art attempts to communicate some kind of ex-

perience. For my part the experience which

constitutes this project is my encounter with

Louis Kahn’s architecture in 2008 at La Jolla,

California. Here, I visited the Salk Institute and

it radically changed my view on what modern

architecture was capable of as a discipline. The

encounter was a rupture because it introduced

a whole new dimension to my assessment and

understanding of architecture. The fascination

with Kahn has lasted more than a decade now

– and this text is a temporary ’station’ on my

path to understanding and appreciating Kahn

as architect, theoretician and source of inspi-

ration for architecture.

7. The film is online on Youtube and can be

seen as an illegitimate son’s attempt to both

inscribe himself in the ’legacy’ of his famous

father and the processing of a traumatic child-

hood with an absent father, who never chose

them as a family. A recurrent theme in the film

is Nathaniel Kahn asking people what they

knew about Kahn’s secret families, and his

constant drawing attention to him being the

son of Louis Kahn. One of the last sections is

the conversation between Kahn’s three chil-

dren who grew up separately and never met

each other in their childhood.

8. Buckminster-Fuller calls Anne Tyng for ’Kahn’s

geometrical strategist’ due to her eminent

sense of mathematics and geometry. She was

pivotal in the development of Kahn’s ’City-Tow-

er’, the ceiling at Yale Art Gallery and Trenton

Bath House. Harriet Pattison began working for

Kahn in 1958 as a landscape architect and was

part of developing the garden complex around

Kimbel Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.

9. Another student and assistant in Kahn’s of-

fice was the architect and theoretician Robert

Venturi. He has claimed that on several occa-

sions Kahn was heavily inspired – and partly

stole – his ideas about context, the sense for

ruins and the importance of history. There is no

doubt that Kahn was inspired by many apart

from Anne Tyng and Harriet Petterson: from Le

Corbusier, to Buckminster- Fuller, Josef Albers

and George Kubler. The question of which ide-

as came from where is not so important in my

view, rather what is done with the ideas. Mean-

ing, which buildings did Kahn actually build

that manifested the ideas that occupied him.

For a thorough exposition of all his major pro-

jects see the monumental biography written

by Robert McCarter from whom I have received

a great deal of my knowledge about Kahn.

10. The thought presented here is inspired by the

sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of the

cultural field which he presents in ’Sketch to

a Science on Works within Art, Culture and

Science,’ in Practical Reason. Architects pass

through career paths as cultural producers,

meaning they move through educational stag-

es and work-positions where they will encoun-

ter the dominating forces of the cultural field.

Through these encounters they have the op-

portunity either to follow the logic of the field

(subordinate oneself to doxa) or break with it

(create a new doxa). Kahn’s position in the his-

tory of architecture represents such a break,

and for many architects his position was a new

path to follow. The architect Frank Gehry ex-

presses it very succinctly in the documentary:

’Louis Kahn was fresh air’ (min 50.12).

11. I have not been interested in discovering who

were the architects of the buildings I have doc-

umented. Only occasionally have I known who

the architect was, or attempted to find out. The

interesting aspect for me has been the ques-

tion of the inspiration from Kahn, and how it

4544

12 Louis Kahn, ’Conversation with Karl Linn’, in Es-

sential Texts, p. 185.

13 Se Claus M. Smidt, Vangede Kirke, hvor han også

påpeger Spreckelsens inspiration fra Kahn. Han

skriver følgende herom: ’1960-62 var Spreckel-

sen gæsteprofessor ved Ohio State University

og modtog stærke indtryk af arkitekten Louis

Kahn’s teglstensarkitektur,’ p. 11.

14 I skoleåret 67/68 fik skolen endda besøg af Kahn,

hvilket givetvis har været med til at understøtte

interessen for hans arkitektur.

15 Denne viden skylder jeg arkitekt Lena Kondrup

Sørensen, tidligere lektor på Aarhus Arkitekt-

skole.

16 Ud over Exners byggerier i Jylland er det også

værd at nævne C.F. Møllers Ravnsbjergkirken fra

1976 i Viby uden for Aarhus, hvis cirkeludsnit i

endevæggen er en klar henvisning til Kahn.

17 Se Nordisk Arkitektur af Nils-Ole Lund, hvor

dette aspekt gøres til et karaktertræk ved skan-

dinavisk arkitektur. Han skriver bl.a. i kapitlet

'Den danske tradition' om Søllerød Rådhus, at

det er i overensstemmelse: ’med den danske tra-

ditions krav om ”sluttet” form,’ p. 43. At formen

afsluttes kan opfattes således, at arkitekturen

bringer orden i tingene i form af gode boliger

som ramme om det menneskelige liv. Mange af

den danske funktionalismens bedste bygnings-

værker kan i en forstand opfattes som ’Kahn

avant la lettre’, fordi mange af de aspekter, der

knytter sig til Kahns ikonografi, også findes her.

Universitetsparken i Aarhus, Det Danske Insti-

tut i Rom, Nyborg Bibliotek og Idrætshøjskolen

i Sønderborg rummer monumentale aspekter i

deres formsprog.

18 Exners sans for murstenenes tekstur kan spores

tilbage til deres inspiration fra den svenske arki-

tekt Sigurd Lewenrentz, og som i dag også kan

ses hos Kirk Kapitals nye hovedsæde Fjorden-

hus i Vejle.

19 Reyner Banham,

New Brutalism – Ethic or Aesthetic, p. 44.

20 Reyner Banham,

New Brutalism – Ethic or Aesthetic, p. 44.

21 Louis Kahn, ’Form and Design,’

in Essential Texts, p. 69.

22 Af andre danske arkitekter, der lod sig inspirere af

brutalismen, bør nævnes Friis & Moltke, Erik Chri-

stian Sørensen og Knud Munk – hvor sidstnævn-

tes Roskilde Amtsbygning er med i bogen her.

23 At indpakke bygninger i ruiner har en dobbelt

funktion hos Kahn. Først og fremmest fungerer

indpakningen som klimaskærm mod sol, vind og

vejr; derudover er ’ruinen’ et spor fra en historisk

tid, hvor en ny tid blev indstiftet. Som Kahn si-

ger i foredraget ’Silence and Light I.’: ’When its

use is spent and it becomes ruin, the wonder of

its beginning appears again,’ Essential Texts,

p. 229. Et andet nyere eksempel på denne form

for ’indpakning’ er Jean Nouvels koncertsal til

DR-byen, hvor den organiske delvist skalforme-

de sal er omkranset af en kube beklædt med en

blå stofagtig skærm.

24 Norberg-Schulz drøfter helt eksplicit Kahn i tek-

sten 'Kahn, Heidegger and the Language of Ar-

chitecture,' trykt i Oppositions, nr. 18, fra 1979. I

artiklen gennemgår han Kahns arkitekturfilosofi

i relation til Heideggers analyse af Dasein og ek-

sistentialstrukturerne udfoldet i Sein und Zeit. I

bogen Principles of Modern Architecture findes

også en række henvisninger til Kahn.

25 I en vis forstand peger denne tilgang til arkitek-

turen frem mod en overordnet trend, der i dag

kan spores inden for den progressive arkitek-

tur-diskurs, nemlig spørgsmålet om arkitektu-

rens økologiske bæredygtighed i relation til en

nyfortolkning af lokalt funderede byggeskikke.

Det at bygge økologisk bæredygtigt er blevet

identitetsskabende for arkitekturens brugere –

og kobler dermed sansen for det regionale med

spørgsmålet om identifikation.

26 Spørgsmålet om, hvornår den danske arkitektur

’opløses’ i stilpluralisme i form af mange paral-

lelspor af ismer og uden nogen enhedslig kon-

sensus, kan være vanskelig at afgøre. Erik Ny-

gaard hævder således i Arkitektur i en forvirret

tid, at begyndelsen til ’opløsningen’ er starten af

1970’erne, der falder sammen med postmoder-

nismens gennembrud i arkitekturen.

manifested itself in buildings from the 1960’s

onwards.

12. Louis Kahn, ’Conversations with Karl Linn’,

in Essential Texts, p. 185.

13. See Claus M. Smidt, Vangede Kirke, where he also

indicates the inspiration from Kahn in the works

of Spreckelsen. He writes: ’Between 1960-62

Spreckelsen was guest-professor at Ohio State

University and heavily influenced by the architect

Louis Kahn and his brick-architecture,’ p. 11.

14. In 1967/68 Louis Kahn visited the school which

presumably strengthened the interest in his ar-

chitecture.

15. I am indebted to Lena Kondrup Sørensen, an

architect and former associate professor at

Aarhus School of Architecture, for this knowl-

edge.

16. Besides the Exner’s buildings in Jutland it is

also worth mentioning Ravnsbjerg Church by

C.F. Møller from 1976 in Viby, just outside Aar-

hus. The church has a huge circle in the end

wall that is a clear reference point to Kahn.

17. See Nordic Architecture by Nils-Ole Lund

where this aspect is seen as a defining trait of

Scandinavian architecture. In the chapter on

the Danish tradition he describes the city hall

of Søllerød that it is in accordance: ’with the

Danish traditional demand for a ’closed’ form,’

p. 43. A closed form indicates how architecture

brings order to life by creating good build-

ings as a frame for human existence. Many of

the best Danish functionalist buildings can be

seen as ’Kahn avant la lettre’, because many

of the aspects of his iconography are present

here. The University of Aarhus, the Danish In-

stitute in Rome, Nyborg library and the Sports

High School of Sønderborg contain monumen-

tal aspects in their formal idiom.

18. The Exners’ sense for the texture of brick can

be traced back to their inspiration from the

Swedish architect Sigurd Lewenrentz; a sensi-

bility that also can be seen in Fjordenhus, Kirk

Kapital’s new headquarters in Vejle.

19. Reyner Banham,

New Brutalism – Ethic or Aesthetic, p. 44.

20. Reyner Banham,

New Brutalism – Ethic or Aesthetic, p. 44.

21. Louis Kahn, ’Form and Deisgn,’

in Essential Texts, p. 69.

22. Other Danish architects who were inspired by

brutalism include Friis & Moltke, Erik Chris-

tian Sørensen and Knud Munk whose Roskilde

Country Building is in this book.

23. To wrap buildings in ruins has a double func-

tion with Kahn. First and foremost the wrap-

ping functions as a climate shield against the

sun, wind and weather; secondly, the ’ruin’ is

a trace from a historical moment when a new

beginning was established. As Kahn says in the

lecture ’Silence and Light I.’ : ’When its use is

spent and it becomes a ruin, the wonder of its

beginning appears again,’ in Essential Texts, p.

229. A recent example of wrapping a building

is Jean Nouvel’s concert hall for the Danish

Radio Broadcasting Corporation in Copenha-

gen, where the organic, shell-shaped hall is

surrounded by a cube wrapped in a blue, lin-

en-like shield.

24. Norberg-Schultz explicitly discusses Kahn in

Kahn, Heidegger and the Language of Archi-

tecture, published in Oppositions, nr. 18, from

1979. In the article he examines the architec-

tural philosophy of Kahn in relation to Heideg-

ger’s analysis of Dasein and the existential

structures that are uncovered in Sein und Zeit.

In Principles of Modern Architecture there are

several references to Kahn.

25. To a certain extent this approach to architec-

ture points towards a current trend that can be

traced within the progressive architectural dis-

course: the ecological sustainability of archi-

tecture in relation to local building traditions.

To build ecologically and sustainably has be-

come a way of creating identity for the users

of the architecture – and thereby connecting

the sense for the regional with the question of

identification.

4746

26. When Danish architecture ’disperses’ into a

pluralism of styles with many ‘isms’ running

parallel and without any uniform consen-

sus it can be difficult to evaluate. In his book

Arkitektur i en forvirret tid Erik Nygaard claims

that the ’dissolution’ begins in the first half of

the 70’s when Postmodernism breaks through

in architecture.

27. Kahn publishes the essay in Paul Zucker’s New

Architecture and City Planning: A Symposium.

I am quoting from the essay as it is printed in

Louis Kahn: Essential Texts, pp. 21-31.

28. The text can be downloaded as a pdf from

www.monoskop.org

29. A recent similar critical approach to Louis

Kahn can be found in Tectonic Acts of Desire

and Doubt by Mark Rakatansky that in a de-

constructive way attempts to show problems

with Kahn’s use of geometric forms and ele-

vation of essential qualities of the materials.

One of Kahn’s famous statements: ’What does

brick want?’ is re-told as a joke: ’It wants to be

veneer.’ Meaning the brick does not want to

coincide with its own essence, rather be a thin

shell, a surface. To a certain extent I under-

stand the skeptical approach to architecture

that Rakatansky represents because this opens

up for a much wider and flexible approach.

On the other hand, I believe Kahn to be much

more utopian because he insists on the social

monuments as being essential for the objec-

tive spirit of society. Personally, I believe in

democratic and judicial institutions that enjoy

trust and legitimacy among the people they

are there to govern. Society must have such in-

stitutions. Otherwise, a society composed of

weak social institutions that are vulnerable to

corruption, breeds skepticism among its citi-

zens regarding their legitimacy, and becomes

vulnerable to domination by the strongest; for

me, this is not a desirable society. Perhaps this

is the ’lesson’ of the postmodern. That not all

shall be dissolved and destroyed – but that

we actually need institutions to regulate the

neo-liberal market and maintain central values

as frames for our lives. In Community of Contri-

bution I will attempt to develop a theory about

the generous community that will deal more

thoroughly with these thoughts. The book is

expected to be finished late 2019.

30. Siegfried Giedion, Joseph L. Sert and F. Léger:

Nine Points on Monumentality, section 2.

31. Louis Kahn, ’Monumentality,’

in Essential Texts, p. 21.

32. Louis Kahn, ’Monumentality,’

in Essential Texts, p. 22.

33. Louis Kahn, ’Monumentality,’

in Essential Texts, p. 22.

34. Louis Kahn, ’Monumentality,’

in Essential Texts, p. 22.

35. George Kubler, The Shape of Time, p. 18.

36. See Robert McCarter’s section ’Rome and the

power of ruins’, pp. 56-59 in the biography

on Kahn, with his detailed description of the

journey to Rome and how Kahn was inspired

by classical architecture. The section ’Teach-

ing Architecture’, pp. 46-51 is also of interest

because it describes Kahn’s colleagues and

closest friends at Yale University. Among other

things, Kahn’s relation to the visual artist Josef

Albers should be mentioned, because he, like

Kahn, was deeply fascinated by the monumen-

tal architecture of the past. With Albers it was

not the classical Mediterranean architecture,

but the Pre-Colombian architecture in Mexi-

co. See the catalogue Josef Albers in Mexico

edited by Lauren Hinkson which explains the

significance of his travels on the development

of his own experimental art.

37. Louis Kahn, ’Silence and Light I,’ in Essential

Texts, p. 230. The lecture ’Silence and Light’

exists in two versions where certain formula-

tions are repeated, but also altered. In the fol-

lowing I quote from them both. The difference

is marked with ’I’ and ’II’.

38. Louis Kahn, ’Conversation with Karl Linn,’

in Essential Texts, p. 187.

39. Louis Kahn, ’Silence and Light II,’

in Essential Texts, p. 236.

27 Kahn publicerer essayet i Paul Zuckers New Ar-

chitecture and City Planning: A Symposium.

Jeg citerer fra essayet, som det er trykt i Louis

Kahn: Essential Texts, p. 21-31.

28 Teksten kan downloades som pdf fra www.mo-

noskop.org.

29 En nutidig tilsvarende kritisk tilgang til Louis

Kahn findes i bogen Tectonic Acts of Desire

and Doubt af Mark Rakatansky, der på dekon-

struktiv vis forsøger at vise det problematiske

i Kahns brug af geometriske former og ophø-

jelse af essentielle egenskaber ved materialer-

ne. Et af Kahns berømte udsagn: ’What does

brick want?’ – bliver genfortalt som vittighed: ’It

wants to be veneer.’ Dvs. murstenen ønsker ikke

at være i overensstemmelse med sit eget indre

væsen, snarere at være en tynd skal, en overfla-

de. I en vis forstand forstår jeg godt den skep-

tiske tilgang til arkitekturen, som Rakatansky

repræsenterer, fordi den skeptiske tilgang åbner

for en langt bredere og mere fleksibel tilgang

til arkitektur. Omvendt står Kahn for mig som

en langt mere utopisk arkitekt, fordi han insiste-

rer på de sociale monumenter som væsentlige

for samfundets objektive ånd. Jeg er personligt

tilhænger af demokratiske og juridiske institu-

tioner, der fungerer og nyder tillid blandt de

mennesker, de politisk skal bestemme og juri-

disk dømme over. Samfundet må have bæren-

de institutioner. Modsætningen hertil, et sam-

fund præget af svage sociale institutioner, der

er sårbart over for korruption, fremavler mistillid

blandt borgere til dets legitimitet og åbner for

muligheden af, at den stærkes ret bliver domi-

nerende, er for mig at se ikke et ønskværdigt

samfund. Måske dette er ’læren’ af det postmo-

derne. At ikke alt skal opløses og nedbrydes –

men at vi faktisk har brug for institutioner til at

regulere det neo-liberale marked og fastholde

centrale værdier og rammer for vores liv. Jeg vil

i bogen Community of Contribution forsøge at

udvikle en teori omkring det generøse fælles-

skab, der går i dybden med disse tanker. Bogen

forventes færdig sidst i 2019.

30 Siegfried Giedion, Joseph L. Sert og F. Léger,

Nine Points on Monumentality, sektion 2.

31 Louis Kahn, ’Monumentality,’

in Essential Texts, p. 21.

32 Louis Kahn, ’Monumentality,’

in Essential Texts, p. 22.

33 Louis Kahn, ’Monumentality,’

in Essential Texts, p. 22.

34 Louis Kahn, ’Monumentality,’

in Essential Texts, p. 22.

35 George Kubler, The Shape of Time, p. 18.

36 Se Robert McCarters afsnit ’Rome and the pow-

er of ruins’, p. 56-59 i biografien om Kahn, hvor

han indgående beskriver rejsen til Rom og hvad

Kahn lod sig inspirere af fra antik arkitektur.

Derudover er afsnittet ’Teaching architecture’,

p. 46-51 også af interesse, fordi der her redegø-

res for Kahns nære kollegaer og venner på Yale

University. Bl.a. bør nævnes Kahns relation til

billedkunstneren Josef Albers, der ligesom Kahn

var dybt fascineret af fortidens monumentale

arkitektur. Hos Albers var det dog ikke Middel-

havets antikke arkitektur, men den præcolumbi-

anske arkitektur i Mexico. Se kataloget Josef Al-

bers in Mexico redigeret af Lauren Hinkson, der

redegør for rejsernes betydning for udviklingen

af Albers egen eksperimentelle kunstpraksis.

37 Louis Kahn, ’Silence and Light I,’ in Essential

Texts, p. 230. Foredraget 'Silence and Light' fin-

des i to versioner, hvor visse formuleringer gen-

tages og samtidig også forskydes. I det følgen-

de citeres der fra dem begge to. Forskellen er

markeret med ’I’ og ’II’.

38 Louis Kahn, ’Conversation with Karl Linn,’

in Essential Texts, p. 187.

39 Louis Kahn, ’Silence and Light II,’

in Essential Texts, p. 236.

40 I dokumentarfilmen om Louis Kahn nævner arki-

tekten Moshe Safdie dette som en af årsagerne

til, at Kahn ikke havde større succes som arkitekt

i sin egen levetid. Hans mysticisme har virket af-

skrækkende – og gør det stadig – på mange,

fordi hans begrebsbrug ikke er baseret på ratio-

nelle argumenter. Der er mange steder tale om

en intuitiv vision, der virker i kraft af dens ’orake-

4948

lagtige’ poetiske effekt på tilhøreren. Her anno

2018 er det ’totaliteten’ af Kahn, der stadig fasci-

nerer mig og til dels gør, at jeg accepterer hans

mysticisme: den lille fortættede vansirede krop,

hans måde at ’tale arkitektur på’ og så de helt

utrolige bygningsværker, der på én gang virker

tidløse og samtidig helt nutidige. Mysticismen til

trods vil jeg dog mene, at der er en vis indre

sammenhæng i Kahns egen begrebsverden –

og i det følgende vil jeg forsøge at redegøre for

den.

41 Se Louis Kahn, Conversations with Students,

der har karakter af en ’ventileret’ prosa-poesi,

der også kendes fra Buckminster-Fuller.

42 For et eksempel på Kahns måde at tale på og

tænke arkitektur som forelæser, se https://www.

youtube.com/watch?v=ZaUtcKqdL5E, der er en

grynet sort/hvid optagelse fra den internationa-

le designkonference i Aspen i 1972.

43 Der findes en række beskrivelser af, hvordan det

var at studere hos Kahn og arbejde for ham. At

hos Kahn talte man ikke timerne, men dedikere-

de sig fuldstændigt til processen med at udvikle

projektet hinsides enhver forestilling om dag og

nat. Flere tidligere medarbejdere har beskrevet

oplevelsen af at være på en ’mission’ med Kahn,

hvor det ikke handlede om profit, men om ska-

belsen af arkitektur. Se bl.a. http://arcadenw.org/

blog/our-architect-working-with-louis-kahn

44 Det er bl.a. her, at Kahns platonisme bliver tyde-

lig – og han mente vitterlig, at der var sådanne

evige transcendente strukturer, som var uforan-

derlige. ’What will be has always been,’ er et an-

det af Kahns berømte udtryk.

45 Louis Kahn, ’Form and Design,’

in Essential Texts, p. 69.

46 Louis Kahn, ’The Nature of Nature,’

in Essential Texts, p. 120.

47 Se Christian Norberg-Schulz, Principles of Mo-

dern Architecture, kapitel 2: ’The Free Plan,’ p.

23-35, for en yderligere diskussion af den frie

plan som et afgørende moment ved moder-

ne arkitektur. I kapitlet skriver Norberg-Schulz

følgende om Kahns udvikling af den frie plan:

’The Richards Medical Building illustrates two

ideas which would become very influential: the

conception of a building as a ”pattern of open

growth,” and the distinction between ”served”

and ”serving” spaces. (…) The cluster of towers

thus created bears a certain resemblance to the

densely grouped units of medieval towns, and

at the same time represents an open system.

A free plan of a new kind is thus proposed,

where openness is not necessarily achieved by

means of direct transitions between inside and

outside, but rather by a pattern which may be

extended when needed,’ p. 32.

48 For et indblik i mængden af tegninger og skit-

ser, der knytter sig til de enkelte projekter, se: ht-

tps://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/

co_display_overview.cfm/480049

49 Louis Kahn, ’Silence and Light II,’

in Essential Texts, p. 236.

50 Louis Kahn, ’Form and Design,’

in Essential Texts, p. 62.

51 Louis Kahn, ’Silence and Light II,’

in Essential Texts, p. 241.

52 Louis Kahn, ’Silence and Light I,’

in Essential Texts, p. 229.

53 Louis Kahn, ’Lecture at Pratt Institute,’

in Essential Texts, p. 271.

54 Louis Kahn, ’Silence and Light I,’

in Essential Texts, p. 231.

55 Louis Kahn, ’Silence and Light I,’

in Essential Texts, p. 231.

56 Louis Kahn, ’Silence and Light I,’

in Essential Texts, p. 229.

57 Louis Kahn, ’Lecture at Pratt Institute,’

in Essential Texts, p. 270.

58 En anden læsning af Kirkebys murstensskulptu-

rer er at se dem i forlængelse af Malevichs arki-

tektoner – hvilke Kirkeby selv gør, bl.a. i teksten

Rundt om Grundtvigs Kirken, p. 53-62, i pam-

fletten om Grundtvigs Kirke fra 1990. Her skri-

ver han følgende: ’Mine murstensskulpturer er

også Arkitektoner,’ p. 58.

59 ’Bølgen’ tegnet af Henning Larsens Architects

har indtil nu været byens arkitektoniske ’brand’.

Fremtiden vil afgøre, om Kirk Kapitals nye ho-

vedsæde vil være i stand til at overtage den rolle.

40. In the documentary on Louis Kahn, Moshe Saf-

die, an architect, mentions this as one of the

reasons why Kahn did not enjoy greater suc-

cess as architect in his own time. His mysticism

discouraged many people (and still does) be-

cause concepts are not based on rational ar-

guments. In many instances, it is an intuitive

vision that works because of its ’oracle-like’

poetic effect on the listener. Here, anno 2018,

it is the ’totality’ of Kahn that still fascinates

me and to a certain extent makes me accept

his mysticism: his small, intense, disfigured

body, his way of ’speaking architecture’ and

then his incredible works of architecture, that

at once seems timeless and yet so contempo-

rary. Despite his mysticism, I believe there is

some sense of inner coherence in Kahn’s own

conceptual framework – and in the following I

will attempt to explain it.

41. See Louis Kahn, Conversations with Students,

that has the character of ’ventilated’ prose-po-

ety which is also known from Buckminster-Full-

er.

42. For an example of Kahn’s way of speaking and

thinking architecture as a lecturer, see https://

www. youtube.com/watch?v=ZaUtcKqdL5E. It

is a grainy black/white recording from the in-

ternational design conference at Aspen in 1972.

43. There are several accounts of what it was like

to study with and work for Kahn. There was no

notion of night or day, and one did not count

the hours, but dedicated oneself absolutely to

the process of developing a project. Several

employees have described the experience of

being on a ’mission’ with Kahn where it was

not about profit but the creation of architec-

ture. See http://arcadenw.org/ blog/our-archi-

tect-working-with-louis-kahn

44. It is especially here that Kahn’s Platonism be-

comes apparent – and he really did believe that

there were such transcendent structures which

were invariable. ’What will be has always been,’

is another of Kahn’s famous expressions.

45. Louis Kahn, ’Form and Design,’

in Essential Texts, p. 69.

46. Louis Kahn, ’The Nature of Nature,’

in Essential Texts, p. 120.

47. See Christian Norberg-Schulz, Principles of

Modern Architecture, chapter 2: ’The Free

Plan,’ pp. 23-25, for a further discussion of the

free plan as a decisive aspect of modern archi-

tecture. In the chapter Norberg-Schulz writes

about Kahn’s development of the free plan:

’The Richards Medical Building illustrates two

ideas which would become very influential: the

conception of a building as a ”pattern of open

growth,” and the distinction between ”served”

and ”serving” spaces. (...) The cluster of tow-

ers thus created bears a certain resemblance to

the densely grouped units of medieval towns,

and at the same time represents an open sys-

tem. A free plan of a new kind is thus proposed,

where openness is not necessarily achieved by

means of direct transitions between inside and

outside, but rather by a pattern which may be

extended when needed,’ p. 32.

48. For an idea of the number of drawings and

sketches relating to the individual projects,

see: https://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/

pab/ app/co_display_overview.cfm/480049

49. Louis Kahn, ’Silence and Light II,’

in Essential Texts, p. 236.

50. Louis Kahn, ’Form and Design,’

in Essential Texts, p. 62.

51. Louis Kahn, ’Silence and Light II,’

in Essential Texts, p. 241.

52. Louis Kahn, ’Silence and Light I,’

in Essential Texts, p. 229.

53. Louis Kahn, ’Lecture at Pratt Institute,’

in Essential Texts, p. 271.

54. Louis Kahn, ’Silence and Light I,’

in Essential Texts, p. 231.

55. Louis Kahn, ’Silence and Light I,’

in Essential Texts, p. 231.

56. Louis Kahn, ’Silence and Light I,’

in Essential Texts, p. 229.

57. Louis Kahn, ’Lecture at Pratt Institute,’

in Essential Texts, p. 270.

58. Another reading of Kirkeby’s brick sculptures

is to see them in continuation of Malevich’s ar-

5150

60 Se Anna Klingmann, Brandscapes – Architectu-

re in the Experience Economy, hvor hun gen-

nemgår arkitekturens udvikling henimod nuti-

dens fokus på arkitektur som branding. Louis

Kahn spiller en stor rolle som kritisk inspirations-

kilde, idet han som arkitekt formåede at skabe

relevant og meningsfuld arkitektur, der ikke er

påvirket af oplevelsesøkonomiens hurtige jagt

på sensationer og ’billedarkitektur’. Hun afslut-

ter bogen med et efterord, der beskriver Louis

Kahns projekt til nationalforsamlingen i Dhaka,

Bangladesh. Over for en arkitektur-som-brand

sætter hun følgende ’aspiration’ for arkitekturen:

’It is an architecture that is no longer obsessed

with the object, with representation, or with

newness, but one that is chiefly concerned

with creating a meaningful and lasting identity

that is responsive to the particularities of pe-

ople and places. (…). Kahn’s National Assembly

building in Dhaka is just one of many examples

in the history of architecture in which a buil-

ding was successfully applied as an idenity-ge-

nerating medium,’ p. 328.

61 Se https://www.kirkkapital.dk/about-us/

62 Se https://www.kirkkapital.dk/activities/

financial-investments/

63 Man kunne sagtens forestille sig, at bygningen

fik en hel anden betydning og værdi, hvis Kirk

Kapital mere målrettet gik efter først og frem-

mest at blive en aktiv filantropisk organisation,

hvis hovedformål var generøst at bidrage til

samfundets ’positive’ udvikling, såsom bekæm-

pelse af social ulighed, grøn vækst og større de-

mokratisk bevidsthed. Man kunne også forestille

sig, at de rømmede bygningen, fandt et andet

og mere diskret kontorhus og i stedet udlejede

bygningen til et nyt innovationscenter for social

og økologisk bæredygtighed. Så ville bygningen

blive et pejlemærke for social visdom og håbet

om en bedre verden. I princippet kunne Kirk Ka-

pital således re-definere sig selv og sine aktivi-

teter som ’institution’ – og dermed tilnærme sig

den ’symbolske værdi’, der ligger gemt i byg-

ningens formsprog.

64 Ud over Villumsen har bl.a. Poul Gernes, Per Kir-

keby og Kirstine Roepstorff bygget egne deci-

derede atelierhuse. Dertil skal lægges det utal af

atelier-tilbygninger, kunstnere har foretaget på

deres egne huse.

65 Man kunne mene, at det ligger i avantgardekun-

stens DNA at ’nedbryde’ arkitekturen og alle

dens monumentale bygninger, da disse inkar-

nerer den borgerlige orden par excellence. Især

siden 1960’erne med neo-avantgardens udbre-

delse og kunstinstitutionens internalisering af

dens konceptuelle program har der været en

grundlæggende anti-monumental holdning til

arkitekturen. Et teoretisk rum, hvor denne po-

sition kommer til udtryk, er den berømte bog

af Denis Hollier, Against Architecture fra 1974

(amerikansk oversættelse i 1989), der undersø-

ger Georges Batailles kritiske syn på arkitektu-

ren.

66 Se Robert McCarters, Louis I. Kahn, p. 21, hvor

han nævner de franske revolutionsarkitek-

ter Étienne-Louis Boullée og Claude-Nicolas

Ledoux som afgørende inspirationskilder for

Kahn.

67 Der findes i dag en stor vifte af mulige compu-

terprogrammer, hvorigennem arkitektur tegnes

og realiseres. Heriblandt kan nævnes ActCad

Professional, Bluebeam, Sketch-up Pro, Archi-

Cad, MicroStation, CorelCad, Chief Architect,

Vectorworks Architect, Softplan, Floorplanner,

Conceptdraw Pro, Arcon Evo, Cedar Architects,

Sweethome Pro, Envisoner etc.

68 Digitaliseringen af den industrielle fremstilling

af arkitektur har også betydet en hastighedsfor-

øgelse af den tid, hvormed arkitektur udtænkes

og realiseres. Byggeprocessen er blevet optime-

ret på alle fronter. Det er således slående, hvor

lang tid Kahns store projekter var undervejs –

både i deres projekteringsfase og den efterføl-

gende byggefase. Den langsomme tilblivelse af

Kahns arkitektur har givetvis været en væsentlig

årsag til, at han var økonomisk fallit ved sin død,

men omvendt en af årsagerne til, at han i dag

hyldes for sine bygninger. De er gennemtænkt

og gennemarbejdede.

chitectons – which Kirkeby himself does in the

pamphlet Rundt om Grundtvigs Kirken, (1990)

pp. 53-62 on the Grundtvig Church. Here he

writes: ’My brick sculptures are also architec-

tons,’ p. 58.

59. Until recently, ’The Wave’ drawn by Henning

Larsen Architects has been the architectural

’brand’ of the city. The future will determine

whether Kirk Kapital’s new headquarters will

take over that role.

60. See Anna Klingmann, Brandscapes – Archi-

tecture in the Experience Economy, where she

writes how architecture has evolved into the

contemporary focus on architecture as brand-

ing. Louis Kahn has been a significant source

of critical inspiration because he succeeded

in creating relevant and meaningful architec-

ture that was not influenced by the experi-

ence economy’s desire for quick sensations

and ’image-architecture’. She ends the book

with an afterword which evokes Louis Kahn’s

project for the National Assembly in Dhaka,

Bangladesh. Against architecture-as-brand

she proposes ’aspiration’ architecture: ’It is an

architecture that is no longer obsessed with the

object, with representation, or with newness,

but one that is chiefly concerned with creating

a meaningful and lasting identity that is respon-

sive to the particularities of people and places.

(...). Kahn’s National Assembly building in Dha-

ka is just one of many examples in the history of

architecture in which a building was successful-

ly applied as an identity-generating medium,’ p.

328.

61. Se https://www.kirkkapital.dk/about-us/

62. Se https://www.kirkkapital.dk/activities/finan-

cial-investments/

63. One could imagine that the building could

gain new significance and value if Kirk Kapi-

tal focused more on becoming an active phil-

anthropic organization whose main purpose

was to generously contribute to the ’positive’

development of society eg. combating so-

cial in-equality, ’green’ economic growth and

increased democratic awareness. One could

also imagine that they left the building, found

another more discreet office complex and in-

stead rented the building to a new center for

innovation of social and ecological sustainabil-

ity. Then the building would become a beacon

for social wisdom and hopes of a better world.

In principle Kirk Kapital could thus re-define

itself and its activities as an ’institution’ - and

thereby approximate themselves to the ’sym-

bolic value’ that lies hidden in the formal idiom

of the building.

64. Besides Villumsen, other artists eg. Poul

Gernes, Per Kirkeby and Kirstine Roepstorff

built their own art studios as separate hous-

es. Added to these are the vast number of stu-

dio extensions that artists have made to their

houses.

65. One could say that it is within the DNA of the

avantgarde to ’destroy’ architecture and all its

monumental buildings, since these incarnate

the bourgeois order par excellence. Especially

since the 1960’s with the dissemination of the

neo-avantgarde, and the internalisation of the

art institution’s conceptual program there has

been a profound, anti-monumental attitude to

architecture. A theoretical space where this

position is expressed is the famous book by

Denis Hollier, Against Architecture (1974) (US

translation in 1989) which investigates Georg-

es Batailles critical view of architecture.

66. See Robert McCartes, Louis I. Kahn, p. 21

where he mentions Étienne-Louis Boullée and

Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, the architects of the

French revolution, as important sources of in-

spiration for Kahn.

67. Today there are a huge number of computer

programs by which architecture is conceived

and drawn. Just to mention some of the cur-

rent programs on the market: ActCad Profes-

sional, Bluebeam, Sketch-up Pro, ArchiCad,

MicroStation, CorelCad, Chief Architect, Vec-

torworks Architect, Softplan, Floorplanner,

Conceptdraw Pro, Arcon Evo, Cedar Archi-

tects, Sweethome Pro, Envisoner etc.

5352

Kirkeby, Per: Brick Sculpture and Architecture,

Catalogue Raisonné, Kunsthaus Bregenz,

Verlag Walter König, Køln, 1997.

Klingmann, Anna: Brandscapes – Architecture

in the Experience Economy, The MIT Press,

Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2007.

Kubler, George: The Shape of Time,

Yale University Press, New Haven, 1964.

Lobell, John: Between Silence and Light,

Shamdala Publications, Boston, 2008.

Lund, Nils-Ole: Nordisk Arkitektur,

Arkitektens Forlag, København, 1991.

McCarter, Robert: Louis I. Kahn,

Phaidon Press, London, 2009.

Merleau-Ponty, Maurice: Om sprogets fænomenologi,

Gyldendal, 1999.

Nygaard, Erik: Arkitektur i en forvirret tid,

Christian Ejlers’ Forlag, København, 1995.

Norberg-Schulz, Christian: Kahn, Heidegger and the

Language of Architecture,

Oppositions, nr. 18., 1979.

Norberg-Schulz, Christian: Principles of

Modern Architecture,

Andreas Papadakis Publisher, London, 2000.

Rakatansky, Mark: Tectonic Acts of Desire and Doubt,

Architecture Words 9,

Architectural Association London, London, 2012.

Rosa, Joseph: Louis I. Kahn,

Taschen, Köln, 2006.

Scully, Jr. Vincent: Louis I. Kahn,

Prentice-Hall International, London, 1962.

Sennett, Richard: The Craftsman,

Penguin Books, London, 2008.

Smidt, Claus M.: Vangede Kirke,

Poul Kristensens Forlag, 1999.

Ørum-Nielsen, Jørn: Længeboligen,

Kunstakademiets Forlag, København, 1988.

BIBLIOGRAFI/ BIBLIOGRAPHY

Banham, Reyer: The New Brutalism – Ethic or

Aesthetic?, The Architectural Press,

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Bek, Lise & Oxvig, Henrik (red.): Rumanalyser,

Fonden til udgivelse af Arkitekturtidsskrift B,

Aarhus, 1997.

Borch, Christian (ed.): Atmospheres,

Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, 2014.

Bourdieu, Pierre: Af Praktiske Grunde,

Hans Reitzels Forlag, København, 1997.

Christiansen, Jørgen Hegner: Dansk Beton Arkitektur,

Forlaget Vandkunsten, København, 2018.

Curtis, William J. R.: Modern Architecture Since 1900,

Phaidon Press Limited, London, 2007.

Giedion, Sigfried: Space, Time and Architecture,

Harvard University Press, Cambridge,

Massachusetts, 1974.

Giurgola, Romaldo: Louis I. Kahn,

Editorial Gustavo Gili, S.A. Barcelona, 1996.

Goldberger, Paul: Why Architecture Matters,

Yale University Press, New Haven, 2009.

Havsteen-Mikkelsen, Asmund:

Non-philosophy and Contemporary Art,

A Mock Book, København, 2015.

Hinkson, Lauren: Josef Albers in Mexico,

Guggenheim Museum Collection,

New York, 2018.

Hollier, Denis: Against Architecture – The Writings

of Georges Bataille, The MIT Press, Cambridge,

Massachusetts, 1995.

Johansen, Karsten Friis: Antikkens Filosofi,

Nyt Nordisk Forlag, Arnold Busk,

København, 1998.

Kahn, Louis: Essential Texts,

W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 2003.

Kahn, Louis I.: Conversations with Students,

Princeton Architectural Press, 1998.

Kahn, Louis I.: Silence and Light,

Park Books, Zürich, 2013.

Kahn, Nathaniel: My Architect,

116 min. film, 2005.

Kirkeby, Per: Rundt om Grundtvigs Kirken,

Grundtvigs Kirke, 1990.

69 Se Richard Sennett, The Craftsman, p. 39-45,

for en udfoldelse af denne kritik. Problemet med

cad-programmer er ifølge Sennett ophøret af

cirkularitet mellem bygningen, der skal opføres

et konkret sted, og selve tegningen heraf, der

involverer kroppens tilegnede viden om stedet

og bygningen.

70 Et eksempel på denne tendens er i den nye by-

del ved Amager Strandpark. Igennem længere

tid forsøgte privatpersonen Anders Poulsen

sammen med et interessentskab af andre frivil-

lige at lave et socialt og økologisk bæredygtigt

hus – Voksfabrikken – midt iblandt de nye luk-

suslejligheder. Efter længere tids trækken i lang-

drag valgte investoren alligevel at nedrive den

til formålet udvalgte bygning og i stedet bygge

endnu flere dyre ejendomme. For en yderligere

beskrivelse af projektets intentioner se https://

www.facebook.com/voksfabrikken/

71 Louis Kahn, ’Silence and Light I,’

in Essential Texts, p. 234.

68. The digitalization of the industrial production

of architecture has also meant an increase in

speed in the conceptualization and building

processes. The building stages have been op-

timized on all fronts. It is significant how long

Kahn’s biggest project took to get under way

– both in the project phase and then building

it. The slow process was probably an import-

ant reason why he was bankrupt on his death,

but also one of the reasons why today he is

praised for his buildings. They are thoroughly

thought through.

69. See Richard Sennett, The Craftsman, pp. 39-45

for a more detailed analysis of this critique. Ac-

cording to Sennett the problem with cad-pro-

grams is the cessation of circularity between

the building to be built in a specific place and

the actual drawing of it that involves an innate

bodily knowledge of the place and the struc-

ture.

70. An example of this tendency is the new subur-

ban area of Amager Strandpark in Copenha-

gen. For several years, Anders Poulsen, a con-

cerned citizen, together with other volunteers,

attempted to create a socially and ecolog-

ically sustainable house – Voksfabrikken – in

the midst of all the new luxurious apartments.

After a period of deliberate delay, the inves-

tor decided to demolish the building intended

for the project. Instead he chose to build even

more expensive properties. For a further de-

scription of the intentions of the project see

https:// www.facebook.com/voksfabrikken/

71. Louis Kahn, ’Silence and Light I,’

in Essential Texts, p. 234.

55

Louis Kahn i

Danmark in

Denmark

Sjællandsbroen, Sydhavnen

5756

Nyborg StationPolititorvet, København

59

Vasbygade, Sydhavnen

58

Høje Taastrup Station

6160

Roskilde Stationstorv Hedehusene

6362

Skandiagade, Sydhavnen Springbanen, Gentofte

6564

Hovedbanegården, København Vestre Fælledvej, København

6766

Stavnsholtkirken, FarumTycho Brahe Planetarium, København

6968

Stavnsholtkirken, FarumStavnsholtkirken, Farum

7170

Vangede Kirke, GentofteVangede Kirke, Gentofte

7372

Stenløse Torv Frøbel Højskole, Roskilde

7574

Aarhus MusikhusFisketorvet, København

7776

Hinnerup Bibliotek Daugbjergvej, Aarhus

7978

Norgesgade, KøbenhavnHilmar Baunsgaard Allé, København

8180

Østergade, Esbjerg Artillerivej, København

8382

Ørestads Boulevard, København Nørrebro Park Skole, København

8584

Strandgade, København Møntstrædet, Frederikssund

8786

Jernbanegade, Frederikssund Pilestræde, København

8988

Raffinaderivej, København Odense Posthus

9190

Øresundskollegiet, København Øresundskollegiet, København

9392

Øresundskollegiet, København Strandgade, København

94 95

Herlev Bibliotek Holmbladsgade, København

96 97

Tietgensgade, København Vasbygade, Sydhavnen

9998

Øster Farimagsgade, København Randersgade, København

101100

Bådehavnsgade, Sydhavnen Holsted Kirke, Næstved

103102

Rådmandshaven, Næstved Drechselsgade, København

105104

Danske Bank, Oslo Islev Kirke

106 107

Munkebo, Roskilde Mehldahlsgade, København

108 109

Dronningensvej, København Sct. Mogens Gade, Viborg

110 111

Toldbodgade, Viborg Teglholmsgade, Sydhavnen

113112

Otto Busses Vej, KøbenhavnGuldbergsgade, København

114 115

Tagensvej, København Kongens Nytorv, København

Havnegade, Vejle Flegborg, Vejle

116 117

119118

Vejle HavnEnghavevej, Sydhavnen

121120

Vestre Engvej, Vejle Vejle Havn

123122

Christianshavn, København Foldegade, Vejle

125124

Sønderborggade, Vejle Vasbygade, Sydhavnen

126

Køgevej, Roskilde

Denne publikation er generøst støttet af: Photo Credits:

p. 4

Yale Art Gallery

Photo: Lionel Freedman. Louis I. Kahn

Collection, University of Pennsylvania and

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum

Commission.

p. 8

Yale Art Gallery

Photo: John Ebstell / Courtesy Keith Delellis

Gallery.

p. 12

Richards Medical Building

Photo: Anant D. Raje Collection, The Architec-

tural Archives, University of Pennsylvania.

p. 17

Indian Institute of Management

Louis I. Kahn Collection, University of

Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Historical and

Museum Commission.

p. 20-21

National Assembly, Dhaka

Photo: Nurur Khan.

p. 27

Salk Institute

Louis I. Kahn Collection, University of

Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Historical and

Museum Commission.

p. 31

National Assembly, Dhaka

Photo: Nurur Khan.

p. 37

Exeter Library

Louis I. Kahn Collection, University of

Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Historical

and Museum Commission.

p. 39

Trenton Bath House

Photo: John Ebstell / Courtesy Keith Delellis

Gallery.

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