The houses of Louis “Lou” Kahn

Art — Produced by Michael O’Reilly

Louis Kahn was an architect known for designing and building monumental structures in service of “the institutions of man”, but he also designed and built a handful of houses for clients that knew him simply as Lou. An exhibition and book about these houses has been developed by George H. Marcus and WIlliam Whitaker, scholars from the University of Pennsylvania – the same school at which Kahn taught. In the ART segment, we go inside two of these Philadelphia-area houses – the Esherick House in Chestnut Hill and the Korman House in Fort Washington – and talk with the current owner of the Korman House, Larry Korman and Kahn’s only son, Nathaniel Kahn. The remarkable film made by Nathaniel from 2003 – MY ARCHITECT – detailing the architect’s extraordinary career and his familial legacy after his death in 1974 – was nominated for a “Best Documentary” Academy Award in that same year.

More information: www.kahnkormanhouse.com

HOUSE (2005, 27:30) Directed by Glenn Holsten

HOUSE is a 2005 documentary tour of the Korman residence that features photography of the home, architectural drawings, archival footage of Louis I. Kahn, and interviews with client Steven Korman and current resident Larry Korman. Additional commentary comes from Peter Reed, Senior Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs at MoMA; Julia Moore Converse, former Director of the Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania; and Nathaniel Kahn.